A former lawman is free pending appeal of a conviction of petty misdemeanor last month. Disgraced cop Christopher McCasland was given six months, the maximum sentence, after being found guilty for possessing of stolen property.
“Deputy McCasland has violated the trust placed in him. It is a betrayal of the community and the oath that he took,” said Judge Drew Tatum. The judge placed McCasland into immediate custody and granted an appeal bond of $1,000.
McCasland’s attorney, Dean Border, filed an appeal. The former Angel Fire and Roosevelt County constable has been released.
New Mexico State Police investigated burglaries in Angel Fire in 2014. McCasland took the report of burglary while working for Angel Fire Police Department. State troopers alleged he had taken part in the thefts.
McCasland was charged with committing a burglary by the 8th Judicial District Attorney’s Office in Colfax County. McCasland was arrested in Quay County by NMSP in July 2020 on the charge of receiving stolen property over $500 but not more than $2,500, a fourth-degree felony. Those charges were later dismissed due to the statute of limitations.
The 9th Judicial District Attorney’s Office charged McCasland with being in possession of the property on July 9, 2020, when numerous reported stolen items were found in his home.
Once authorities determined the value of the property, then six years old, was less than $250 in value the charge was dropped to a misdemeanor. Property is determined by what the items are worth on the day the property was located.
McCasland is the son of Quay County Commissioner Franklin McCasland.
