December 20, 2016
From DenverPost.com
Costilla County Undersheriff Andrew J. Espinoza is accused of allowing a client to speed in a patrol car
The undersheriff of a southern Colorado county faces several charges, including felonies and an accusation of official misconduct, for allegedly violating state wildlife laws through his hunting outfitter, in part by helping his clients hunt on land where they didn’t have permits.
Costilla County Undersheriff Andrew J. Espinoza, 39, was taken into custody Friday on an arrest warrant, court records show.
He is suspected of three counts of illegally selling wildlife and one count each of attempting to tamper with physical evidence, illegal possession of wildlife, illegal use of electronic equipment in furtherance of a crime and hunting without proper and valid licenses (complicity).
CPW investigators began looking into Espinoza in 2014 after stopping a vehicle near La Junta that was carrying several hunters from West Virginia, the warrant says. In their truck, authorities found four sets of mule deer antlers and several bags of meat, but that the proper regulations had not been followed.
Court records show Espinoza’s warrant had a $5,000 bail. The 12th Judicial District attorney, whose jurisdiction the case has been filed in, did not immediately return a message seeking comment on Tuesday.