Former Johnstown Police Commander Aaron Sanchez Arrested On Charges Of Stalking

JOHNSTOWN, Colo. (CBS4) – A former Johnstown police commander has been arrested on charges of stalking after months of investigative work by the Weld County Sheriff's Office. Former Johnstown Police Commander Aaron Sanchez was arrested on Feb. 3 without incident just hours after a judge signed an arrest warrant.

A spokesperson for the Weld County Sheriff's Office said the department was contacted by Johnstown Police's internal affairs office in September of 2021 after receiving a complaint about Sanchez's alleged actions.

Investigators with WCSO determined Sanchez's alleged actions were criminal in nature and worthy of an arrest warrant. A judge approved the warrant on Thursday, Feb. 3. Sanchez's charges are associated with allegations that he stalked at least one individual.

Sanchez appeared before a judge and was released from the WCSO jail after posting a $50,000 PR bond.

According to an arrest affidavit, Sanchez spent more than a year stalking the victim. Date recovered from GPS technology showed Sanchez was passing the victim's home multiple times a day on certain dates.

Investigators said Sanchez found a way to turn off his GPS in his police vehicle. However, of the 17 days they were able to recover, Sanchez was at or near the victim's house nine of those days.

The victim said she noticed Sanchez was following her from 7:30 a.m. until after 8 p.m. on many days. She accused him of following her to her children's school and even while she was running.

She said she stopped exercising in public after she saw him four different times during one run. The victim said he was often driving his patrol vehicle even when she knew he shouldn't be on shift. At one point Sanchez allegedly stopped stalking her for one week. When she contacted the police department she learned he was on vacation. Days later the alleged stalking resumed.

The victim told investigators she initially didn't want anything to happen to Sanchez, saying she simply wanted him to stop following her.

However, the victim eventually told police she purchased a $3,000 security system after growing so fearful that she felt Sanchez may one day show up and shoot her.

When investigators started looking into the allegations they found disturbing evidence. Investigators say they found a calendar on which Sanchez had written the victim's birthday. He allegedly also wrote down the birthdays of her children.

The two were never in an intimate relationship.

Sanchez also allegedly had photos and videos of the inside of the victim's home. The victim told police she had never invited him over.

Investigators also found photos and videos of the victim on Sanchez's electronic devices. Investigators said the images and videos appeared to have been taken without her consent or knowledge.