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WEBER COUNTY -- Capital murder cases could end up costing Weber County more than a quarter of a million dollars in the coming year.
The money will be spent providing legal counsel for Jeremy Valdes and Jacob Ethridge, who are awaiting trial, and for Riqo Perea.
Perea was convicted of homicide and sentenced to life in prison without parole for a 2007 gang double homicide. His case still awaits appeal.
Ethridge could face the death penalty for killing two prostitutes in Ogden in July 2009. Valdes faces the same for killing two people after an argument over prescription drugs in November 2009.
The Ogden Standard-Examiner reports the county is in negotiations with attorneys to represent the three men.
The money to pay the lawyers will likely come out of the general budget. The paper reports the legal teams for Valdes and Ethridge have not been paid for work this year on the cases. The county's system for paying public defenders changed Jan. 1, with no apparent appropriation for capital defense.
