Steep costs for Zamora shooting-rampage trial

Nearly $7 million that Skagit County had socked away in reserves to run every aspect of local government is expected to take a hit in the coming months as the bills roll in to pay for the prosecution and defense of the man charged in last month's horrific shooting rampage in Alger that left six dead.

County budget and judicial leaders say they have never contended with a case of this magnitude and aren't certain how much it will cost as it winds through the courts.

Skagit County officials have looked south to King County's multimillion-dollar Green River killer case and a recent aggravated-murder case in Yakima County for tips, and have come up with a plan they hope will keep the expenses in check.

County officials have asked presiding Superior Court Judge Dave Needy to oversee the costs. Needy said he will sign off on "every dime" of county funds dedicated to the case stemming from the Sept. 2 shooting rampage in the tiny town of Alger.

Isaac Zamora, 28, is charged with 20 felony counts, including six counts of aggravated first-degree murder. He is scheduled to be arraigned later this month. Skagit County Prosecutor Rich Weyrich has 30 days after the arraignment to announce whether he will seek the death penalty.

Needy said the defense and prosecution will be asking for expensive expert testimony regarding Zamora's psychological status. In court after his arrest, Zamora announced, "I kill for God, I listen to God."

Mental-health issues will be a major feature in the case, said public defender Keith Tyne. Zamora's mother, Dennise Zamora, said he has struggled with mental illness for decades.

Superior Court judge

Needy, who is one of four Superior Court judges in the county, said the decision to appoint him as the "budget judge" means that he and the judge assigned to the criminal trial won't discuss what the other is doing. He described it as "a Chinese wall" to guarantee fairness in the criminal case.

"There are certain expenses that are associated with any case of this magnitude, the county and I are aware this is going to be a huge strain on county budget," Needy said. "I believe everyone in this county knows it is going to cost a lot of money and we're trying to be responsible with how it is allocated."

Weyrich declined to comment about Needy's role.

Tyne didn't return calls for comment.

County Budget and Finance Director Trisha Logue said there is concern about how much the case is going to cost.

No precise figures

Neither Logue nor Needy know how much the case could cost, nor did they know whether the money would pay for the hundreds of hours of overtime hours already racked up by police and forensic investigators.

Zamora is charged in the deaths of sheriff's Deputy Anne Jackson, 40; Chester Rose, 58; Julie Binschus, 48; Greg Gillum, 38; David Radcliffe, 58; and Leroy Lange, 64. Prosecutors also charged him with six counts of attempted murder, including the shooting of a State Patrol trooper.

For any county, handling a high-profile murder case can cost well into the millions.

King County sheriff's spokesman John Urquhart said the county spent nearly $12 million on the case against Green River killer Gary Ridgway between 2001, when Ridgway was identified as the suspect, and 2003 when he pleaded guilty to 48 counts of aggravated murder. Urquhart said he wasn't sure how much was spent investigating the case since the first victim was killed in 1982.

In 2002, King County applied for help from the state to defray Green River case costs. That year, the county was paid $8,396,785 under the Extraordinary Criminal Justice Costs Act, which is administered by the Office of Public Defense.

The act is designed to help counties defray the costs of defending capital murder cases, which can be a tremendous burden to smaller counties.

"The amounts of money that have been appropriated are partial reimbursements," said office director Joanne Moore. "The smaller counties can be hit hard by these cases."

Last year, the fund paid King County $855,145, Klickitat County $154,856 and Yakima County $737,514.

The amount paid to Yakima County included some reimbursement for a high-profile murder case involving the slaying of a 21-year-old man and his 3-year-old daughter at the hands of two men.

One of the driving cost factors in aggravated-murder cases is the looming possibility of a death penalty.

To comply with state law defendants must be provided with additional protections at trial, including two attorneys, at least one of whom has experience in capital cases.

The Yakima case is an example: The defense teams in that case spent nearly $2 million before the county prosecutor announced he would not seek a death penalty.

Yakima County Superior Court Judge James Lust, who was appointed to oversee the finances in the case, said his biggest regret was that the death-penalty decision should have been made sooner.

Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com

Information from

the Yakima Herald-Republic

is included in this report.