CANYON CITY County officials are bracing for substantial bills to house the Baker City teen accused in Octobers hunt-cabin shootings near Granite.

Dean Hoodenpyl, the Grant County Community Corrections Director, recently briefed the County Court on the costs, noting that the first monthly bill for the detention of Dillan Dakota Easley came in at $3,100.

Easley, 14, is being housed at the Northeast Oregon Regional Corrections facility in The Dalles, facing two counts of juvenile aggravated murder. He is accused in the shooting deaths of his foster father, Michael Piete, 43, and Kenneth C. Gilliland, 64, at the hunt camp in remote northeastern Grant County.

Hoodenpyl told the Court the costs could mount to more than $37,000 for lodging alone in a year. He said he was able to get a reduced rate for the NORCOR bed, at $115 per day, down from the standard $150.

The county also expects to see charges for medication the teen must take, but those costs havent come in yet. Hoodenpyl said the manager of the detention center is trying to get a medical evaluation that may help cut those costs with less expensive medication.

Commissioner Boyd Britton questioned why the state wouldnt have some responsibility for the cost of detention, since the teen is a foster child and a ward of the Department of Human Services.

We just happen to be where the crimes were committed, Britton said.

Hoodenpyl said he was told the jurisdiction that arrests and detains the person is responsible for the cost. He said when he questioned that arrangement, he was told it stems from practice, not statute.

He said the Court needed to be aware of the possible impacts on the budget.

The expenses would grow if the case is shifted to adult court, where it would be a contested matter and possibly go to trial.

Hoodenpyl acknowledged the shift to adult system may be the right thing in this case, but said the Court needs to be aware of the costs looming for the general fund.

This could potentially be a year-long case, he said.

Treasurer Kathy Smith said the last time the county had a capital murder case was in the 1980s, and the expenses related to the case ran to $250,000.

It pretty much wiped the county out, she said.

That case also was tied to Granite, arising from the shooting death of Edward Bud Morrow, the towns mayor and a deputy sheriff who was embroiled in a years-long feud with two women who lived across the street.

Costs in the Easley case must be paid out of the countys general fund, which currently has a contingency fund balance of $142,000. The county also has some reserve funds that could be tapped for unexpected expenses. For example, the Courthouse Reserve fund had $433,000 at the end of November; however, the Court plans to use some of that money for window upgrades and other long-delayed improvements in the building.

She urged the Court to be mindful of the looming juvenile detention costs as it makes spending decisions.

The next hearing in the shooting case is Monday, Jan. 16.