Former Deputy Tompkins County Sheriff Zachary Starner’s trial for Perjury is set to begin on Monday, March 20th. District Attorney Matthew Van Houten discussed the upcoming trial at the recent meeting of the Tompkins County Public Safety Committee.
Starner’s alleged perjury is believed to have played a role in the acquittal of Tompkins County Deputy Scott Walters during his 2019 trial for Rape. Starner has been on paid administrative leave since September of 2019. Starner was arrested in February of 2021.
“That is a significant trial for the county because this is a sheriff’s deputy who has been out on administrative leave but being paid for a long time pending trial. So they’ll be some closure with that one way or another,” Van Houten said.