Jake Henry Combs (Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office), Trevor Earley (obit via Redheaded Blackbelt)
A 31-year-old Californian convicted of murder in the 2022 shooting death of a man bitten on the nose by the gunman’s Italian mastiff puppy was sentenced last Friday to spend 100 years to life in prison.
On Jan. 6, 2022, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office announced that Jake Henry Combs pulled out a Glock 9mm pistol and fatally shot a man at an Alderpoint residence under circumstances that were not immediately clear at the time. That man was soon identified as Trevor John Earley, 25, and authorities determined that he was the victim of a murder.
Sheriff’s investigators learned that Combs had driven away from the shooting scene after California Highway Patrol contacted them about a highway crash.
“While investigating, the Sheriff’s Office received information that a vehicle possibly associated with the incident had been involved in a traffic collision on Highway 36 near Buck Mountain, and California Highway Patrol Officers had located and detained two individuals associated with the vehicle,” authorities said.
After Combs was booked in Humboldt County, he stood trial instead of taking a plea deal and ended up being convicted of first-degree murder.
At trial, Humboldt County prosecutors said that Earley, Combs, and others had been socializing for hours at the suspect’s home when Combs’ Cane Corso (Italian mastiff) puppy severely bit Earley’s nose.
“Earley became upset and threatened the dog. Sometime later, while Earley chatted on the front porch with a friend, Combs retrieved his loaded 9mm pistol from his backpack, walked up to Earley from the side, and, without warning, Combs shot Earley in the head,” prosecutors said.
After his arrest, Combs did not deny that he shot Earley, but he did attempt to justify the shooting by telling a detective he feared the victim would have killed his dog, Lalo.
“You’re not leaving here with that dog alive,” Trevor Earley had said, according to Jake Combs’ version of events.
Combs reportedly described Earley to authorities as “this dude who came into my house like we were friends.”
“My dog bit this person,” Combs matter of factly said. “That person said they were going to have to kill my dog so I went up and shot that person in the head.”
The defendant would later testify at trial that he “snapped” and shot Earley fearing that the victim would have followed through on threats to kill his dog.
More Law&Crime coverage: Mother pleads guilty to involuntary manslaughter for accidentally killing her teenage daughter while trying to shoot a stray dog that was attacking kittens
Read Related Also: The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, October 29, 2023
Earley was legally drunk at the time he was shot, but a jury of Jake Combs’ peers was clear that the gunman was entirely culpable for the senseless murder of an unarmed man who was shot from behind.
“I am grateful for the excellent investigative work of the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, California Highway Patrol, and the California Department of Justice – Bureau of Forensics. I extend my deepest condolences to Trevor Earley’s family,” Humboldt County Deputy District Attorney Whitney Timm said in a statement after Combs’ conviction in late August.
Humboldt County Superior Court Judge Kaleb Cockrum reportedly threw the book at Combs late last week after remarking that the murder was “cruel and callous.”
Cockrum reportedly called the sentence of 100 years to life “just.”
Tragically, Trevor Earley was killed one day before his whole family was set to attend his sister Sierra’s wedding, the Times-Standard reported.
Sierra Earley reportedly said at sentencing that her brother “dies multiple times a day.”
“He dies when I wake up in the morning and remember he’s gone. He dies when I get off work and pick up the phone to call him,” she said, according to the Times-Standard.
While Earley’s family reportedly disregarded Combs’ apology as insincere, Combs tried to call attention to a remorseful jailhouse letter that he said he wrote.
“I know the family will probably never read the letter and I know it doesn’t change anything,” the convicted murderer reportedly said in court, before adding: “[B]ut I am sorry.”
Trevor Earley was remembered by his loved ones and the community as a man with a “heart of gold” who “loved his people fiercely” — and as “a soft-hearted” and “gentle soul” who once took in an abandoned puppy.
Earley was also remembered as a “dedicated athlete” and standout wrestler.
“As a dedicated athlete for the majority of his life, he began participating in little league, basketball, football, and youth wrestling while living in Southern Humboldt,” said the obituary published by the Redheaded Blackbelt. “Notably, he was undefeated locally throughout the duration of his wrestling career and competed in the California State Final Wrestling Tournament three years in a row, earning 2nd, 5th, and 8th places.”
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
