Two former Avery County Sheriff deputies are facing charges from the NC-State Bureau of Investigation. The charges stem from an incident that occurred back in July 2021 after allegations of assault involving two deputies and a teenager in the Sheriff’s Office Explorer program. An Avery County grand jury indicted both Luis Alberto Sanchez, age 27, of Vilas, and Joshua James Marshall, age 38, of Morganton. According to the indictments, Marshall and Sanchez encouraged a 17-year-old girl to use a stun gun belonging to the sheriff’s office on herself. The teenager who reportedly wanted to go into law enforcement went to the authorities about the incident. The girl’s family has said there is a cellphone video of their daughter being shocked with the Taser. The Avery County Sheriff’s Office asked the SBI to investigate the case in July. On January 24, investigators took their findings to the grand jury. The two former officers were each charged with contributing to the abuse of a juvenile and willful failure to discharge duties.
Marshall was sworn in as a deputy in 2020, less than a year after he was fired from the Morganton Department of Public Safety. Sanchez was sworn in as a deputy in December 2018. Both were fired on July 28, according to the Avery County Clerk of Court’s office.
Bond was set at $5,000 in the case for both men and they were ordered not to have contact with the teenager. Both Sanchez and Marshall are set to appear in court on February the 9th.
Sanchez Marshall
