Ridgway defense may tap public till
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Public defenders are discussing ways to beef up resources to match King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng's multi-attorney prosecution team, which will be doing its best to convict Gary Ridgway of four counts of aggravated murder.
Yesterday, as Maleng's staff planned how many deputies should join Senior Deputy Prosecutor Jeff Baird in the case, the King County Office of Public Defense and the Associated Counsel for the Accused continued looking for ways to level the playing field.
To date, Ridgway has one attorney, longtime private defense attorney Tony Savage.
On Monday, Maleng told the Metropolitan King County Council he expects to assign three or four prosecutors to the case.
Although Ridgway has assets — a home and long-term employment — he could qualify for public defense or public financing for private attorneys, said Jim Crane, administrator for the Office of Public Defense. It depends on whether Ridgway's money runs out during what is expected to be a lengthy trial and investigation.
If he can establish at some point he is indigent, he could qualify for public assistance to defend against charges he killed four young woman whose deaths have long been attributed to the Green River serial killer.
When Ridgway was arrested Nov. 30, he was represented by public defender Mark Prothero, as is customary in first court appearances unless the defendant has made arrangements to have a private attorney there. Ridgway, a 52-year-old truck painter from Auburn, did not have one and Prothero stepped in.
Prothero said Ridgway's relatives then made inquiries to hire a private attorney and were referred to Savage, 71, who has been a familiar figure in King County Superior Courts for years.
With the announcement by Maleng and Sheriff Dave Reichert to spend whatever it takes to convict Ridgway and the fact that the defense will have to pore through thousands of pages of documents collected over the years by police, Ridgway could run out of money early in the case. Should that happen, one or more public defenders could again be part of the case.
"I'd say there's a high likelihood that we'll be back on board," Prothero said yesterday.
And it's possible Savage's $200-an-hour fees might be paid through the Office of Public Defense. Before that happens, however, a judge would have to declare Ridgway indigent, Crane said.
That happened in the case of Kevin Cruz, who faces two counts of aggravated murder in the Northlake Shipyard slayings of two men and the wounding of two others in 1999.
Cruz, who also has Savage as his attorney, now has another private attorney, Eric Lindell, and public defender Jim Conroy of the Society of Counsel Representing Accused Persons, on his defense team.
When Cruz ran out of money early in the case, Savage and Lindell asked the court to declare him indigent and assign them to the case at public expense, Crane said. Conroy was assigned to the case later.
Nancy Bartley can be reached at 206-464-8522 or nbartley@seattletimes.com.