In a bizarre turn of events, Custer County Commissioner Bill Canda turned himself in to the Custer County Sheriffâs Office after a warrant for his arrest was issued on Friday, April 10. Itâs not clear at this time which prosecutorâs office issued the warrant, but the last office tasked with the investigation was the 12th Judicial District Attorneyâs Office in Alamosa.
According to a press release by the Sheriffâs Office, Mr. Canda subsequently turned himself in to the Custer County Jail, where he was charged with one count of Tax Evasion under Colorado Revised Statute 39-21-118(1), a Class 6 felony. He posted a $1,250 cash or surety bond and was released pending further court proceedings.â
What makes the arrest strange is that the warrant for Canda was issued a month after the Custer County Sheriffâs Office stated that Canda had been cleared of wrongdoing by the 12th Judicial District Attorney. In the April 10 press release, the Sheriffâs Office stated that there was a mistake in their March 14 statements.
As previously reported in the Tribune, Canda has been facing an Investigation by the Colorado Ethics Commission for allegedly using the countyâs tax-exempt status for his personal business. An ethics complaint filed by former Planning and Zoning Director Dorothy Carsten garnered the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission’s attention in August of 2025, when the commission voted to initiate an investigation into Canda.
Carsten asked the commission to investigate at least six instances in which Commissioner Bill Canda may have used the Custer County Tax Exempt Certificate to purchase hardware and supplies for the private septic business he owns. In 2008, Canda started Talon Earthworks, Inc., a small excavation and septic business. Commissioner Canda served in the United States Air Force for several decades and, upon retiring, returned to his hometown of Westcliffe and the family Canda Ranch.
Sheriff Rich Smith, after seeing the ethics commission investigation, asked 11th Judicial District Attorney Jeff Lindsey to have the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Colorado Department of Revenue conduct an investigation. Ultimately, the CBI report was turned over to the 12th Judicial District, headquartered in Alamosa, to review the investigation results. This was done because both the Sheriff and the 11th Judicial District Attorney have departmental budgets funded by the Custer County Commissioners, and they want to avoid any conflict of interest.Â
On March 14, the Custer Sheriffâs Office stated in a press release that the 12th Judicial District had decided there was no probable cause to charge Canda. Sheriff Smith then posted the CBI report online for transparency.
Much of the CBI report focuses on purchases that Canda made at the WinSupply plumbing store in Cañon City. These purchases were for his Talon Earthworks excavation company.
On Several purchases, sales taxes had not been paid immediately, and the CBI agent noted a back-and-forth between the manager and Canda over the amount of tax still due. Ultimately, Canda appears to have paid the taxes. It is not known if the public CBI report is the basis for the current arrest warrant.Â
The 12th Judicial District Attorney is Anne Kelly, who has proven to be a tough prosecutor. Earlier this month, her office indicted Costilla County Sheriff Danny Sanchez, his undersheriff, Cruz Soto, as well as three deputies for a slew of crimes. Kelly is also the lead prosecutor on the Barry Morphew murder trial.Â
The Tribune will continue to report on this issue as details become available.
Jordan HedbergÂ
