Detectives' mistakes lead to reassignment, internal reviews

He swore a man confessed to burying his daughter alive.

The record shows he was wrong or he lied — and now he’s no longer a detective.

The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday that major crimes investigator Ralph Losasso will be transferred out of the unit — one of several course corrections announced in the wake of a troubled investigation.

Sheriff Terry Maketa said he also has ordered a review of supervisors over his major crimes unit, as well as an audit of the unit’s major cases — 23 in all. In addition, all 400 sworn employees will receive a refresher on evidence processing.

The changes came after a judge knocked lead detective Losasso and supervisor Sgt. Robert Jaworski for what he called “stunningly sloppy police work” in the case of admitted child-killer Hanif Sims. Maketa did not dispute the characterization.

Both were present for a jailhouse interview with Sims, and both repeatedly testified to a version of events that didn’t happen.

Whether the errors were the result of deception or a series of careless mistakes remains an open question, 4th Judicial District Judge G. David Miller said last month after conducting a review of court transcripts. Miller, however, declined to toss the case, saying “police misbehavior” wasn’t enough to counteract other evidence against Sims and the responsibility of the courts to see to justice.

Maketa said nothing in the men’s past suggests they are capable of a cover-up. Maketa said he was previously blocked from commenting by a gag order that no longer applies to him in the Sims case.

Sims, 31, averted a first-degree murder trial Monday in the death of his 7-year-old daughter Genesis by taking a last-minute plea — raising questions over whether he got off easy because of the detectives’ errors.

Prosecutors and the Sheriff’s Office deny that’s the case, but won’t comment on when, precisely, Sims was offered his deal.

Instead of a potential life sentence, Sims will face 27 to 40 years in prison when he is sentenced on April 14.

Losasso will go back to patrol this month because of known problems with two other cases involving missing audio recordings, while Jaworski has no such record, Maketa said.

The transfer was strictly an administrative matter, meaning it doesn’t affect Losasso’s pay or benefits.

Whether Losasso faces official discipline depends on an internal-affairs investigation initiated last month. Maketa will also determine whether action is warranted against Jaworski.

While pledging to hold his deputies to account, Maketa praised Jaworski’s work at the sheriff’s office and called Losasso a “tremendous employee” who until the recent complaints had a solid reputation as one of five major-crimes detectives.

Part of the sheriff’s review will be to determine if there were extenuating circumstances that might explain the repeated errors, Maketa said.

“It’s such out-of-character behavior,” he said, adding that Losasso has played a central role in many successful investigations.

The Sims investigation involved changing statements by Losasso and Jaworski about their July 2010 interrogation of Sims at a jail in Henderson, Nev., shortly after his arrest with co-defendant Monique Lynch.

Lynch, who initially was charged with Genesis’ murder, accepted a plea to a lower charge in exchange for her testimony against Sims. She was sentenced by Miller to 27 years in prison.

On the stand and in sworn documents, the sheriff’s detectives repeatedly alleged Sims confessed to leaving his injured daughter to suffer on a bed for two days before she was buried, possibly alive.

When a missing tape surfaced in December and proved it didn’t happen, Losasso blamed sleep-deprivation, and said he misinterpreted Sims’ answer to a question he posed as to whether Genesis could have lived if he had gotten her help — a standard question in interrogations. Jaworski, who affirmed Losasso’s false account, said: “We made a mistake.”

Faced with a motion to dismiss in December, Judge Miller directed withering criticism at the pair but said a jury would have to determine if they were lying or just guilty of “stunningly sloppy police work.”

Maketa denied the errors led to Sims’ plea deal, saying a “mountain of evidence” would have led to a conviction at trial.

But Maketa, like the 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, said he couldn’t say if a deal was on the table before the audio turned up.

“You’re going to have to ask the D.A.,” Maketa said.

The District Attorney’s Office has declined to answer the question, saying the gag order still applies to prosecutors. Sources in the office claim that problems related to Losasso and Jaworski “factored into” a complicated mix — but weren’t the deciding factor.

Defense attorneys Matthew Werner and Tracey Eubanks have declined to comment until Sims is sentenced.

Had the trial gone forward, prosecutors would have battled conflicting stories by Lynch and Sims, who blamed each other and who both were investigated on suspicion of previous child abuse against Genesis.

Other obstacles include the fact Genesis’ body was so decomposed a cause of death couldn’t be determined.

Defense attorneys were granted “wide latitude” to question Losasso and Jaworski over their errors in what Miller likened to “the dream cross-examination.” Defense attorneys didn’t agree, saying they would have had to belabor allegations so damaging that they didn’t want to discuss them at trial. Sims’ attorneys said the allegation leaked to the public and made it impossible for Sims to get a fair trial.

The District Attorney’s Office assigned an investigator to hunt down evidence to corroborate the defense’s claims detectives botched Sims’ confession. The D.A. investigator tracked down a voice recorder belonging to a Henderson, Nev., detective who also sat in on the disputed interview — although Losasso said no one else was present.

Maketa, who said he was “taken aback” by the errors, announced steps to diagnose what went wrong and to prevent problems from recurring.

“It had such tremendous consequences — or potential consequences,” he said.

Under the audit of cases, the sheriff’s major crimes team will check each of 23 cases to ensure evidence has been processed and properly stored, Maketa said.

In addition to transferring Losasso, Maketa said he ordered his Internal Affairs unit to investigate a trio of complaints against the detective — a step he said he didn’t order sooner for fear of further disrupting the Sims case.

Losasso, a six-year veteran of the major crimes unit, was blamed in two other cases involving missing audio files, including a murder case, but they didn’t raise the threat of a case dismissal.

In the case of Big O Tires shooter Logan McClelland, for example, a recorded interview with McClelland wasn’t given to the defense until the trial was under way. McClelland was convicted of manslaughter.

Maketa said he also will conduct a review of supervision in the major crimes unit, which is overseen by two sergeants, a lieutenant and a commander, and gauge whether he can provide relief to overworked detectives.

The sheriff said he ordered new procedures for storing audio recordings months ago, even in cases where it appears the file is corrupt, which was the explanation given for the misstep Big O shooting case.

Maketa said the sheriff’s office will participate in an effort by the District Attorney’s Office to provide refreshers when it comes to evidence processing and other areas where errors can make it difficult for prosecutors to meet their burden of proving charges “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Prosecutors will make presentations at the sheriff’s office, and they will be recorded and screened for all of Maketa’s sworn officers.

District Attorney Dan May has said he approached several agencies with the plan in December after a judge complained about a string of evidence violations in her courtroom. Some involved mistakes by investigators rather than prosecutors. Colorado Springs police, who were responsible for missing video files in the case of dragging-death suspect Detra Farries, will also participate, May said.

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