‘They deserve better’: 12th Judicial District Attorney raises concern over mismanaged evidence
Mackenzie Stafford
COSTILLA COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) – The 12th Judicial District Attorney, Anne Kelly, spoke to the Costilla County Commissioners in a special meeting on July 9.
In that meeting, District Attorney Anne Kelly told commissioners, “I have never said, ever, that I do not trust a police agency, and I do not trust the Costilla County Sheriff’s Office.”
“It was incredibly difficult for me to make that statement,” Kelly recounted Monday. “The concern started out with the sheriff’s office not providing us with the evidence we needed to prosecute in a timely manner. And that creates ethical concerns for my office. But more importantly, it tends to chip away at the trust the community has in the criminal justice system,” said Kelly.
She explained concerns to the Costilla County Commissioners from her office regarding the practices at the Costilla County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO). D.A. Kelly told commissioners she was not getting evidence in time, it was sometimes misplaced or lost, making it difficult for the District Attorney’s Office to prosecute some cases.
“Costilla County residents deserve better. They deserve better from their leaders. They deserve better from their law enforcement agencies,” D.A. Kelly told KRDO13.
In one case, D.A. Kelly said she was working to hold an alleged domestic violence abuser accountable in court. But she says the CCSO lost the DNA swabs proving that a woman was choked, so her office had to throw out the case.
“I dedicated my entire career to supporting victims and getting justice for those victims. It’s awful. It’s absolutely awful. I’m optimistic that the sheriff’s office joins my concern and wants to make these cases better. But it’s the worst thing for a prosecutor to have to tell a victim that we cannot move forward with your case because we don’t have the material from the sheriff’s office. So as a prosecutor, it’s really, it’s quite devastating,” explained 12th Judicial District Attorney Anne Kelly.
On Monday, KRDO13 met with the District Attorney to hear her concerns and learn what’s being done to address them.
“Every law enforcement agency has to have a well-established system of documenting when they’re taking in evidence, when they’re taking in DNA swabs, or drugs or guns. The [Costilla County] sheriff’s office does not have that in place currently. And that’s created big concerns, because you want to be able to have faith that the evidence that you’re presenting in court is the thing that you purport it to be. And when you don’t have a system, a chain of custody system in place, that becomes very difficult to be able to tell that to a jury with any sort of confidence,” shared Kelly.
The Costilla County Sheriff tells KRDO13 their space for evidence is full. He said if they seize any more large evidence, they will be handing it over to the D.A.’s Office. The District Attorney confirmed they have offered to hold evidence in the sheriff’s office’s cases because they want to have more control over the chain of custody.
“I do want to emphasize the fact that the sheriff’s office, I believe, wants to do the right thing, and I see them making at least some kind of effort. I hope that they continue with that because their citizens, the ones that voted them into office, the ones whose taxpayer money goes to their office. I want them to do well. I want to support them in trying to figure out what’s going on,” said Kelly.
KRDO13 also offered an interview to the CCSO. Sheriff Danny Sanchez declined and offered the statement included below. He also added that he is currently working to resolve these issues.
Sheriff Sanchez tells KRDO13 he did not know his deputy’s body-worn cameras were turned off, nor that the batteries were not holding a charge.
A sheriff’s oversight committee has been formed. It consists of Sheriff Sanchez, the Costilla County Attorney, and two team members from the District Attorney’s Office.