The Cost of Accused Killer's Mistrial: $135,000
PASCO, Wash. -- More than two decades after the auto body shop slayings in Pasco, Franklin County prosecutors have to start all over again to take accused killer Vicente Ruiz to trial. KEPR discovered the latest mistrial cost the county $135,000.
In short, a massive jury pool and countless delays ran up the bill. Franklin County prosecutors explained how attorneys poured hours into this case to make sure a suspected quintuple murderer didn't walk free. Ruiz is charged in Franklin County superior court with five counts of aggravated first-degree murder and one count of first-degree attempted murder.
Tuesday, a judge declared a mistrial after the defense team argued they were not given several copies of police reports, including one about a potential witness who identified a suspect other than Ruiz. His first mistrial was declared in 2008, when the defense needed more time for DNA testing.
Despite the latest mistrial, prosecutor Steve Lowe promised to try the case a third time.
"A prosecutor's duty is to enforce the letter of the law and therefore it's not really a matter of whether it's worth it. I think the law requires and dictates such," Ryan Verhulp said, Chief Civil Deputy Prosecuting attorney. He spoke to Action News on behalf of Steve Lowe who was out of town.
"We try to do so with the public in mind and I'm confident we've done that thus far," Verhulp continued.
Action News found that if the second trial had continued in full, it was expected to cost more than $180,000. We dug into the numbers to find out if changing the trial venue would be more cost-effective. The prosecutors office argued, it wouldn't. They said it would likely be more expensive to take Ruiz to trial outside of Franklin county because they would have to pay for staffing, lodging, meals and travel.
But there's no denying the financial strain the case took on Franklin County's already tight budget. Franklin County Commissioner Brad Peck explained how revenues this year are just slightly above expenses.
"Those are very difficult expenses for us to cover especially in this economy, but we also need to be very clear though that cost is not a driving factor," Peck said. "The county will do what we need to do to carry forth with these trials. The individual still has that right to a proper defense and the county will still fund that."
To cover the exorbitant costs, commissioners agreed to transfer $100,000 from the contingency budget to help pay for Ruiz's trial and potentially three other murder trials set for just this year.
"It's not a matter of the county saying 'we won't pay for it.' Make no mistake, we will. We're committed to providing defenses that are consistent with the law."
At this point, Peck said it's too early to tell if the high costs of this year's trials will create cutbacks in next year's budget.
Some of the prosecutor's costs are off set by the fines paid by criminals. It's part of the Crime Victim Witness Fund. Verhulp did not know how much of that came out of the pool.
In short, a massive jury pool and countless delays ran up the bill. Franklin County prosecutors explained how attorneys poured hours into this case to make sure a suspected quintuple murderer didn't walk free. Ruiz is charged in Franklin County superior court with five counts of aggravated first-degree murder and one count of first-degree attempted murder.
Tuesday, a judge declared a mistrial after the defense team argued they were not given several copies of police reports, including one about a potential witness who identified a suspect other than Ruiz. His first mistrial was declared in 2008, when the defense needed more time for DNA testing.
Despite the latest mistrial, prosecutor Steve Lowe promised to try the case a third time.
"A prosecutor's duty is to enforce the letter of the law and therefore it's not really a matter of whether it's worth it. I think the law requires and dictates such," Ryan Verhulp said, Chief Civil Deputy Prosecuting attorney. He spoke to Action News on behalf of Steve Lowe who was out of town.
"We try to do so with the public in mind and I'm confident we've done that thus far," Verhulp continued.
Action News found that if the second trial had continued in full, it was expected to cost more than $180,000. We dug into the numbers to find out if changing the trial venue would be more cost-effective. The prosecutors office argued, it wouldn't. They said it would likely be more expensive to take Ruiz to trial outside of Franklin county because they would have to pay for staffing, lodging, meals and travel.
But there's no denying the financial strain the case took on Franklin County's already tight budget. Franklin County Commissioner Brad Peck explained how revenues this year are just slightly above expenses.
"Those are very difficult expenses for us to cover especially in this economy, but we also need to be very clear though that cost is not a driving factor," Peck said. "The county will do what we need to do to carry forth with these trials. The individual still has that right to a proper defense and the county will still fund that."
To cover the exorbitant costs, commissioners agreed to transfer $100,000 from the contingency budget to help pay for Ruiz's trial and potentially three other murder trials set for just this year.
"It's not a matter of the county saying 'we won't pay for it.' Make no mistake, we will. We're committed to providing defenses that are consistent with the law."
At this point, Peck said it's too early to tell if the high costs of this year's trials will create cutbacks in next year's budget.
Some of the prosecutor's costs are off set by the fines paid by criminals. It's part of the Crime Victim Witness Fund. Verhulp did not know how much of that came out of the pool.
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