A total of 15 job applications have been received from candidates hopeful to replace former Mancos Marshal John Cox, who resigned amid of flurry of criminal charges last fall.

Mancos Town Administrator Andrea Phillips has confirmed that 15 lawmen, the majority of whom are from Colorado, filed job applications for the vacant post.

Charged in separate incidents for crashing into a guardrail while intoxicated, using public resources to conduct a personal investigation on a romantic rival and fabricating a speeding ticket, Cox resigned as town marshal on Nov. 16.

Moving forward, the next steps in the hiring process include asking each candidate to provide fingerprints for a FBI background check, Phillips said. Candidates will then be asked to complete an online psychological evaluation along with a physical agility test and drug screening.

“We want to narrow down the applicants to a pool of about four or five before an oral review board,” Phillips said.

The oral review board, made up of officials from surrounding law enforcement agencies, will evaluate candidates on various situations and scenarios, Phillips said. A series of panel investigations, one consisting of town staff and the other made up of community members, will further narrow the field of applicants to two or three.

Those top finalists would then be subjected to an extensive background check conducted by an outside firm hired by the town, Phillips said.

“We want to take our time and do this right,” Phillips said. “It’s going to be a competitive process.

Phillips added that she hopes a job offer would be extended by mid-March, then swear in the next marshal in early April. The annual salary ranges from $58,000 to $64,000.

Cox was never fully vetted when hired in Mancos as a deputy marshal in 2012. He was promoted to marshal the following year.

After he resigned, an Internet search revealed that Cox received a 2009 DUI conviction while a police officer in Indiana.

Cox still faces DUI charges in La Plata County after he hit a guardrail on U.S. 160 in November. He also faces six misdemeanor charges in Montezuma County from separate incidents in August and September.

In addition to a new marshal, Mancos also plans to hire another deputy marshal. A total of four job applications were received for the open position, which has an annual salary of $43,000 to $48,000.