Judge: “Stunningly Sloppy Police Work” By EPC Investigators

The murder trial for a man accused of killing his 9-year-old daughter will proceed, despite what a judge calls “stunningly sloppy” police work by El Paso County Sheriff’s Office investigators.

A judge was considering throwing out the case against Hanif Sims, the man accused of killing Genesis Sims and burying her body in the crawl space of their Monument home.

On Monday, Judge G. David Miller issued a scathing ruling saying, while the case would continue, “there are serious issues as to the credibility of two very senior investigators,” issues that he said could impact the entire case and lead to an acquittal.

The ruling states that Detective Ralph Losasso gave false testimony in the case after destroying his notes and misplacing the recording of Hanif Sims’ July 8 confession.

The judge writes that there were ten inaccurate statements from Losasso, including that Sims said he let Genesis lay dying for two days before implying that he buried her alive. According to the ruling, Losasso stated the interview was not recorded, and there was also an issue with Sims not being read his full Miranda rights.

The mistakes came to light when the tape of the interview re-surfaced last month.

Judge Miller wrote, “The errors the court has discerned are stunning in their recklessness and understandably raise the specter of fraudulent police conduct.” He goes on to say that at the end of the court’s analysis, it was unclear whether Losasso was grossly negligent or “engaged in intentional deception and fabrication to the Court.”

Losasso’s supervisor, Sergeant Robert Jaworski, was also criticized as he witnessed the interview with Sims and backed Losasso’s account.

The judge’s ruling noted that Losasso has mishandled or misplaced evidence in three other cases. Losasso attributed his mistakes in the Sims case to fatigue from working more than 24 hours without sleep.

Losasso was the sheriff’s office employee of the year in 2007. A spokesperson couldn’t say Monday night whether he or Jaworski had been reprimanded. The spokesperson said she could not comment on the ruling because the judge has issued a gag order on everyone involved in the case.

Sims trial will start Monday. His girlfriend, Monique Lynch, has already pleaded guilty to child abuse charges and is set to testify against him.