California Sixth Appellate District reverses murder conviction of Monterey County man over “ineffective assistance of counsel”
SALINAS, Calif. (KION) -- California's Sixth Appellate District has reversed the Monterey County Court murder conviction of a man prosecutors said killed his father in Carmel back in 2020.
Joseph Sampognaro Jr was found guilty of murdering his father back in September 2020. He was convicted in a Monterey County court the following year.
An opinion documented drafted by the appeals court said they're doing so because the defendant had "ineffective assistance of counsel."
Sampognaro's counsel at the time was identified in the appeals court document as Thomas O'Keefe and Rachel Miller.
The appeals court calls for a retrial on the murder charge, plus a weapons charge and a resentencing for two counts of evading a peace officer.
Two major reasons were at play for the decision, according to the court document:
- O'Keefe and Miller failed to object during prosecutor's closing argument when character evidence and prior convictions were used in court by prosecutors in front of the jury. "Counsel's acquiescence to the admission of prejudicial character evidence constitutes ineffective assistance requiring reversal."
- One of Sampognaro's attorneys, identified as Miller, was involved in a sexual relationship with a sheriff's deputy, identified as Donovan Gonzales, who was serving as a bailiff that was employed by the same sheriff's office investigating the case. "The existence of an undisclosed relationship at a minimum may have affected counsel's focus during trial. This further undermines our confidence in the verdicts on counts 1 and 4 [Murder and weapons charge]."
According to the appellate opinion, descriptions of Sampognaro's violent tendencies during testimony in court "may have led jurors to conclude that he acted in keeping with those tendencies," and were examples of character evidence that was agreed to not be admissible in court for this specific case.
The appeals court said they agreed evidence of Sampognaro's involvement in the shooting was "very strong" but there was also evidence which could have swayed at least one juror to believe he may have been innocent.
The document said multiple people were in the barn where the shooting took place at the time it happened, including individuals who owned weapons or had motives to potentially hurt Sampognaro's father.
As for the affair between the bailiff and defense attorney, the appeals court points out a marital relationship between a defense attorney and a bailiff must be disclosed to both the attorney's client and the court.
Two of the defendant's aunts testified they saw Miller flirting with Gonzales during trial, too, and complained to O'Keefe about her behavior.
O'Keefe testified to the appellate court saying he didn't think Miller was being flirtatious. Also adding "she was a young attorney who was nervous, and she was trying to calm her nerves."
O'Keefe also testified he believed Miller was being "a little bit too friendly" with the prosecutor, deputies and court staff.
At some point O'Keefe said Sampognaro would not speak to either members of his counsel, which the defense believe impacted their ability to develop possible ways to prevent him from being convicted.
The appellate court document closes with the clerk of the court being "directed to send a copy of our opinion to the State Bar."
KION has reached out to the District Attorney's Office and Public Defender's Office in Monterey County for comment on this document filed on November 5, 2024.
The full document is provided below:
Monterey County man found guilty of murdering father during argument
Monterey County resident Joseph Sampognaro, Jr., was found guilty of first-degree murder by a jury Monday, according to the Monterey County District Attorney's Office.
The jury also found that Sampognaro, Jr. personally used a gun and convicted him of evading police with willful or wanton disregard for public safety, evading against traffic and being a felon in possession of a gun.
The DA's Office said that at around 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 12, Sampognaro, Jr. went to a converted barn on a ranch near the summit of Laureles Grade and asked his father- Joseph Sampognaro, Sr.- if he could borrow a vehicle. When his father refused, they reportedly got into an argument.
During the argument, investigators say Sampognaro, Jr. shot his father multiple times in the hand, arm and head before leaving the area in his father's Corvette.
Deputies with the Monterey County Sheriff's office responded, and the DA's Office said he led them on a chase from Laureles Grade and Carmel Valley road to a part of Highway 1 south of Carmel. Sampognaro, Jr. reportedly weaved through traffic at speeds that got up to more than 100 miles per hour. The chase ended when deputies forced the car off the road.
Sampognaro, Jr. is facing up to 53 years and 8 months to life in prison when he is sentenced on May 25.
