Deschutes County DA warns of rising complex violent crime and strain on office as workload climbs

Deschutes County District Attorney Steve Gunnels told the budget committee the county has seen an unusual rise in homicides and complex criminal prosecutions over the last five years, and that trend is straining the DA’s office.

“It's a very big pressure cooker,” Gunnels said, adding that the county had two homicides already in 2025 and that “when you look at these cases, there is a very high incidence of drug use and mental illness.”

Nut graf: Gunnels and line prosecutors said the combination of increasingly complex digital evidence, lengthy trials and intensive witness and victim support is increasing workload per case and producing a staffing gap; they urged the county and state to back funding increases that would preserve work quality and prevent staff burnout.

Gunnels said the DA’s office handled several high-profile cases in the past year — including lengthy child-abuse and fatal-crash prosecutions — and that prosecuting those matters requires significantly more time and expert resources. He told the committee: “We spent over 6,000 hours in our office last year, reviewing body-worn camera and digital evidence.”

Stacy Neal, a supervising deputy district attorney, described how one child-abuse case has required years of work and multiple trials. “One case does not equal one case,” Neal said. “A child [abuse] offender case I’ve had open for five years ... we went to trial on the first three victims a few years ago… that’s one case and I only get credit for one.”

Andrew Doyle, lead deputy DA and a federal‑designated prosecutor, said specialization is now the norm. “Criminal law is now the era of specialization,” he said, noting that narcotics, digital evidence and child‑abuse prosecutions each require distinct skills and staff.

Gunnels said the office is seeking more prosecutors; he previously asked for one additional deputy district attorney and a PCE study recommended two more. He warned that without more staff the office risks losing experienced attorneys to burnout — a loss he said would be difficult and costly to replace.

The DA’s office outlined several innovations, including a victim portal to allow crime victims real‑time access to case status online and expanded partnerships with federal prosecutors and peer‑support providers. Gunnels said recovery and reentry work, including housing assistance through new grants, yielded some positive outcomes and helped reduce recidivism in diversion programs.

Ending: Gunnels asked the committee to factor prosecutorial workload and the rising complexity of cases into long‑range budgeting; he said the office will continue pressing for state funding adjustments and will return to the committee if additional resources are needed.