A judge is sanctioning the Maine attorney general’s office, saying they failed to properly disclose records in a case of a man accused of killing his mother.
It concerns records indicating a witness might not be credible in a case involving Jason Ibarra, according to the Portland Press Herald.
Earlier this month, Ibarra pleaded guilty to domestic violence manslaughter in the death of his mother, 66-year-old Jeanine Ross, in Bath in May 2022.
He strangled his mother to death. Authorities were called to the apartment by the suspect’s brother who said Ibarra called him to say he killed their mother because she attacked him.
As part of a plea deal, Ibarra’s first charge of depraved indifference murder was dismissed.
Justice Daniel Billings said it’s the latest in what he described as a “troubling” pattern of late disclosures in homicide cases in the state.
In the Ibarra case, Billings said the attorney general’s office violated the discovery process but not disclosing key personnel records before jury selection, including one document raising questions about the credibility of a witness.
An official from the attorney general’s office said the decision came as a surprise and that other courts have not found fault with its actions.
