A Maricopa County Superior Court judge has overturned a conviction in a first-degree murder case because information about the lead homicide detective’s history of misconduct was kept secret from the defense.
In his order, Judge Kevin Wein wrote the case would have changed if the defendant knew about Det. Jennifer DiPonzio’s history of mishandling evidence and other misconduct.
“The fact remains that the case agent in this matter engaged in misconduct and lied about it in an interview with defense counsel in this case,” according to Wein’s ruling.
The defendant, Randall Barnes, was indicted with First-Degree murder in late 2018.
Three years, later he accepted a plea deal for manslaughter.
In court, his attorneys have argued that he took the deal because he otherwise could have faced life in prison.
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Barnes filed for post-conviction relief in 2023 – a decision coming after ABC15 exposed that DiPonzio had a history of repeated misconduct that had not been disclosed in dozens of cases.
Wein ruled that Barnes should have been entitled to that exculpatory evidence, and the judge ruled it was compounded by DiPonzio’s lies in his case.
“In addition to [findings of DiPonzio’s poor performance as a detective], there is evidence of DiPonzio’s misconduct in this matter,” Wein wrote. “First, the State does not dispute that DiPonzio misled the grand jury when she testified that the Defendant was identified as the shooter by a witness.”
The judge also found that DiPonzio, who’s no longer a police officer, misled defense counsel when she failed to disclose more about her history of misconduct during a pre-trial interview.
In addition to revealing DiPonzio’s history of misconduct, ABC15 also discovered that she was working two jobs at the same time she claimed to be too unwell to testify or be contacted about her cases.
Contact ABC15 Chief Investigator Dave Biscobing at Dave@abc15.com.
