A former sheriff in Colorado has been apprehended in Mexico after attempting to flee from sexual exploitation of a child charges.

On Friday, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation announced that Mexican authorities took Jesus Damian Nieblas, 28, into custody in the Mexican border town of Agua Prieta, earlier in the week.

Nieblas was transferred to the custody of the U.S. Marshals in Arizona, where he awaits extradition to Colorado.

According to CBI, on July 10, law enforcement carried out a search warrant on Nieblas’s Norwood home and vehicle, at which time he fled to Mexico.

During the investigation, CBI found enough evidence to issue a probable cause warrant. The warrant reportedly included several sexual exploitations of a child and failure to report counts.

• One (1) count of Sexual Exploitation of a Child (Class 3 Felony)
• Eleven (11) counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Child (Class 4 Felony)
• Sixteen (16) counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Child (Class 5 Felony)
• Twenty-seven (27) counts of Failure to Report Child Abuse or Neglect (Class 2 Misdemeanor)

According to CBS News, Nieblas was a San Miguel County sheriff’s deputy until he resigned in late June. Before becoming a sheriff, he worked as a code enforcement officer at the Telluride Marshal’s Office until August 2020.

Nieblas had also served for the Norwood School District as a school resource officer until his removal for horseplay with the school’s wrestling coach.

San Miguel Sheriff Dan Covault alerted CBI after he learned that one of its deputies was accused of a crime, which launched the investigation, the sheriff’s office said, according to CBS News.

“These alleged crimes are clearly serious and disturbing to all of us who worked with Mr. Nieblas. We support the CBI’s efforts in their investigation and will wait until he has his day in court to be able to have closure on this situation,” Covault said in a statement.

“The Sheriff’s Office is committed to transparency, integrity and the highest of moral standards. Criminal activity or unethical behavior will not be tolerated, and we will address any of these issues directly and decisively.”

CBI shows that Nieblas is currently at the Cochise County Jail in Bisbee, Arizona. He is being held on a $100,000 cash-only bond.

[Feature Photo via Colorado Bureau of Investigation]