Sheriff Maketa: Mistakes In Sims Case “A Black Cloud” Over Office
El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa responded Tuesday to mistakes his investigators made in the Hanif Sims case; mistakes a judge called “stunningly sloppy police work.”
It was the same day Sims was sentenced to 40 years in prison for the death of his daughter Genesis. Sims took a plea deal for child abuse resulting in death and avoided a first-degree murder charge.
Sims wasn’t the the only one facing discipline in connection to this case after two investigators mishandled evidence and one gave false testimony.
“I think it does somewhat put a black cloud over our investigations division as a whole and the office,” said Maketa. “It’s something I take very seriously. It’s something we’re going to have to work twice as hard to make sure there’s not a repeat of this and also to restore any type of credibility that may have been lost.”
Maketa said the lead detective in the case, Deputy Ralph Losasso, got a five day suspension without pay and three months of probation. He was also re-assigned to the patrol division. Losasso’s supervisor, Sergeant Robert Jaworski got a letter of reprimand.
“I know they’re both very remorseful. I would say embarrassed is another word they’d use,” said Maketa. “Both feel they’ve let down the organization.”
Sims’ public defenders requested the case against Sims be thrown out after the mistakes came to light in January. The judge in the case said no, but issued a scathing ruling criticizing the detectives, and suggesting Losasso may have intentionally lied. Maketa said an internal investigation showed that was not the case.
“The big question was if there was any malice or intent,” said Maketa. “I didn’t believe so in the beginning and the investigation supported that.”
4th Judicial District Attorney Dan May has denied that investigators’ mistakes had any role in Sims’ plea deal, but Genesis Sims’ mother told KRDO Newschannel 13 that the D.A.’s office informed her that the screw ups are why the plea deal had be offered.
“Unless I was willing to take a chance of him being acquitted,” Jopetia Garretson said she was told. “I was praying he would take a plea deal if that was the only way to make sure he got some type of time. Yes, I did agree to it, but I wasn’t happy with it.”
She said she now feels she made the wrong call, and that 40 years with possible parole isn’t enough for her ex.
“Now I wish like hell I would’ve taken a chance with it going to trial,” said Garretson.
The plea was offered to Sims soon after the mistakes were discovered. Maketa said he believes the possibility of those mistakes prompting a deal is “next to nothing.”
In January, the judge in the case said Losasso gave false testimony after destroying his notes and misplacing the recording of Sims’ July 8 confession.
In a ruling, the judge wrote 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. Losasso had stated the interview was not recorded, but then the tape surfaced.
