Ithaca, N.Y. — A Tompkins County sheriff’s deputy was convicted Wednesday of lying under oath during a criminal trial, prosecutors said.
Zachary D. Starner, 36, of Lansing, was convicted of third-degree perjury, a misdemeanor, and faces up to a year in jail, District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said in a news release.
Starner had been on administrative leave from the sheriff’s office since his arrest in February 2021, Van Houten said.
He was originally charged with first-degree perjury, a felony that carries a prison sentence of up to seven years, for giving false testimony in defense of a fellow deputy facing rape charges, The Ithaca Voice reported in 2021.
Starner was called as a defense witness in 2019 for Scott Walters who, along with another man, was accused of raping a woman incapable of giving consent.
On the stand, Starner denied he was questioned by a state police investigator about surveillance video that showed Walters and the other man with the victim. He later admitted that was a lie during a punishment hearing by the sheriff’s office, the Voice reported.
Walters was acquitted of all charges by an Ithaca jury. Matthew Pinney, the other man charged, took a plea deal for lesser charges and testified against Walters at trial.
Sentencing for Starner is May 26.
Staff writer Fernando Alba covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, story idea, question or comment? Reach him: Email | Twitter or at 315-690-6950.
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