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COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- It has been a record-breaking year for homicides in Colorado Springs.

Last Friday, 20-year-old Zechariah Gardner of Colorado Springs was shot and killed near the intersection of South Chelton Road and Fountain Boulevard.

The next day, 18-year-old Danny Fields Jr. of Peyton was arrested and charged with first degree murder.

Gardner's death is the city's 29th homicide this year, breaking a record for the area.

"Record for us is a very small amount compared to other cities our size, but it is something we are very concerned about," 4th Judicial District Attorney Dan May said.

May said his team has been working non-stop, including overnights and weekends, to keep up with their case load.

He said he already has five murder trials scheduled for January, which is extremely rare.

"I actually have another six major cases in addition set that month bringing us to 11, so we are already starting to prepare for that," May said. "It is going to stretch my resources to the extreme, and the logistics of that will be incredible."

That preparation includes a follow-up investigation, gathering witnesses and organizing evidence, among other things.

May said all of that prep work takes time and money, which is running out quickly.

"When I have this many cases, I am coming in on a fine line with my budget at the end of the year," May said. "We are even starting to postpone some of bills into the next year."

Out of all the homicides in 2011, May said the number of gang-related deaths dropped, while unfortunately another group rose.

"The most disturbing is we had to many child victims, we had a number of homicides or child deaths in 2011, and we need to really work at preventing that," May said. "We are reaching out to law enforcement agencies and the community."

May said there was a instance recently where the courts ran out of jurors because they were so busy, forcing them to reschedule a trial for the next day.