The former Sheriff of El Paso County, in which Colorado Springs is located, was
indicted last week. The only real mystery is why prosecutors waited until he had been out of office for months when his misconduct was widely known. This particular incident involves a women who was a victim of domestic violence at the hands of a cop. As Colorado Pols explains:
Terry Maketa, former El Paso County Sheriff, was indicted Wednesday, May 25, 2016, by a Grand Jury on six felony counts, including extortion, tampering with a witness, and second-degree kidnapping. The latter two charges stem from Maketa and codefendants Paula Presley and Juan San Agustin intimidating a witness to keep her from testifying against her abuser, a deputy under Maketa’s supervision.
From Benzel and Sun’s Gazette reporting:
After a sheriff’s deputy was arrested in August 2013 for assaulting his girlfriend, Maketa directed the woman to recant her story and tell investigators she “instigated the incident in order to allow (the deputy) to get his job back,” the indictment alleges. When the woman, a civilian jail employee, followed his instructions and provided a false confession about being “the aggressor,” she was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence, assault and driving under the influence.
“Detective Lisa Kaiser, the interviewing and arresting officer, did not believe she had probable cause to arrest (the woman) for either crime, but arrested (her) because the order came from her superiors,” the indictment says.
Maketa was booked and bonded out of jail on Thursday, May 26 . Maketa had resigned in disgrace in 2014, ahead of a recall effort, amidst charges of sexual misconduct, corruption, and incompetence in his office.
Previous coverage
here. He
threatened to deport detainees when the federal government failed to do so. He was also a
constitutional sheriff, which basically means that he was willing to engage in treason by declaring war on federal officials, a problem that
hasn't gone away as NPR reports today.
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