Swamped with nearly 4,000 criminal cases this year alone, the Davis County Attorney's Office has asked its county commissioners for help.
Opting to go for manpower over money, prosecutors have received about $40,000 to hire an additional investigator to work in the County Attorney's Office.
"Instead of just asking for X amount of dollars to meet the needs, we felt that the most important thing we can do is help the attorneys and the staff prepare these types of cases," incoming Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings said Thursday. "Bring in an investigator with experience to help handle these cases."
The Davis County Commission also approved contracting out to hire another public defender for indigent defendants.
Prosecutors in Davis County said that by the end of the year, they will have filed nearly 4,000 felony and class A misdemeanor cases in a bedroom county that continues to see growth in population — and crime.
This year alone, Farmington's 2nd District Court is juggling a record 10 homicide cases. Seven of them are still pending, including:
David Edward Drommond Jr., 29, accused of shooting and killing his ex-wife, JaNeil, and wounding her father in August 2005. Drommond is scheduled to go on trial next month.
Richard Stuart Carlson, 52, accused of killing his wife, JoAnn. Layton police said she was beaten, suffocated and then dumped in a bathtub to make it appear like an accident.
Dominic Plescia, 22, accused of child abuse homicide in the death of his 3-week-old daughter.
Jeremy Hauck, 18, accused of shooting his mother, Laura Hauck, slitting her throat and then dumping her body in a freezer.
Robert Cameron Houston, 17, charged with raping and murdering Raechale Elton in Clearfield back in February. She was a counselor in a group home for troubled teens who offered Houston a ride home on a snowy day.
Michael Moll, 18, accused of stabbing a man to death outside a Clearfield grocery store in September.
Angela Andrews, 36, charged with murder and aggravated sex abuse of a child in the death of her 10-year-old stepdaughter, Shelby Andrews, at their home in Syracuse.
Andrews' husband, Ryan, recently pleaded guilty to murder in Shelby's death.
Also, Walter White pleaded guilty in connection with the July overdose death of Samantha Mikesell, a girl who the convicted sex offender took up Mueller Park Canyon. Prosecutors have suggested there was a suicide pact between the two.
Benjamin Gully, 21, was recently found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity. Police said Gully shot and killed his father on a hunting trip near the Great Salt Lake in 2004.
"We have had eight full-time prosecutors handling that number of cases with only one investigator," Rawlings said.
By comparison, he said some surrounding prosecutors' offices have as many as four investigators. In the past, Davis County prosecutors have relied on police departments to do follow-up work on investigations and serve subpoenas.
"Law enforcement has done what they can, but it's also been a source of frustration that our office hasn't had the ability to do in-house preparation for trials," he said. "We've had to rely on outside agencies more than we should."
E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com