INSIDE HUMBOLDT COURTS: Combs Retrial Continues; Cal Poly Peeping Tom Back in Court; Elder Abuse Alleged at Arcata Drug House

[Composite image by Kym Kemp.]

In this column, Redheaded Blackbelt provides a regular look at what’s moving through the local courts—tracking hearings, trials, and filings in cases that are either well known or warrant closer public attention. As always, any individuals described should be presumed innocent until proven guilty. 

IN THE CASE OF: Jake Combs

Booking Photo, Jake Combs.

A missing juror briefly threatened to derail proceedings Wednesday morning in the retrial of Jake Henry Combs before Judge Kaleb Cockrum in Courtroom One.

When court convened at 9:16 a.m. yesterday for the second full day of witness testimony in the 2022 Alderpoint murder case, one juror had failed to appear. After a recess and consultation between counsel and the court, the juror eventually arrived and was questioned by Judge Cockrum before being retained on the panel. By shortly after 10 a.m., all 12 jurors and three alternates were seated and testimony resumed, according to court minutes.

Jake Henry Combs was originally convicted in August 2023, but the First District Court of Appeal reversed that conviction in May 2025, finding that a jail surveillance video showing Combs attacking a wheelchair-bound inmate had been improperly admitted at trial. The retrial is being prosecuted by Senior Deputy DA Whitney Timm; Combs is represented by Deputy Public Defenders Emery Welton and co-counsel Ryan McClurg.

Tuesday, May 5 marked the first day of testimony. Tuesday morning is covered in depth in yesterday’s Inside Humboldt Courts.  

The Tuesday afternoon session continued with a parade of law enforcement witnesses. HCSO Sergeant Colton Ross took the stand, followed by Natasha Carrico, during whose testimony the People played silent surveillance footage and introduced more than a dozen crime scene photographs including images of the victim and the recovered firearm. Lindsey Esh and HCSO Sergeant Travis Rogers each testified briefly before CHP Officer Michael Griffin took the stand. HCSO Lieutenant Brandon Head was called at 3:35 p.m. and was still on direct examination when court adjourned at 4:23 p.m., with jurors directed to return the following morning. 

Court Minutes from Day 2 of witness testimony in the murder retrial of Jake Combs, alleged to have shot and killed Trevor Earley in 2022.

DAY 2 of Testimony:

Yesterday, Wednesday, May 6 was the second day of actual trial proceedings. Lieutenant Head resumed the stand and was subjected to extensive cross-examination by Attorney McClurg, then re-direct by the DA’s office, and re-cross examined again by the defense, and further redirect questioning before stepping down at 10:46 a.m.. Like the previous witnesses, Head remains subject to recall. Two jurors submitted written questions for the witness. 

Witness Chase Rocha testified briefly and was excused. CHP Officer Travis Sarvinski followed, with a thumb drive admitted into evidence. Sacramento County DA Forensic Lab criminalist Karen Buckman then appeared remotely, was designated as an expert in glass analysis for her testimony, and was excused after a focused direct examination.

Photo of the Ford Explorer crashed by Jake Combs. [Photo provided by Wes Robelen] 

Then Zeb Humphrey, the son of witness Sam Humphrey took the stand at 1:54 p.m.  As a friend of the victim, he was present the night of the shooting. He  was the first to discover Treavor Earley deceased on the front porch of Elias Antunez’s Alderpoint home.  He is one of the most anticipated witnesses in the case. Zeb Humphrey’s testimony stretched across the afternoon, drawing cross-examination from Attorney Welton, redirect from Timm, sidebars, and no fewer than four written juror questions. He stepped down subject to recall.

The final witness of the day was HCSO Correctional Deputy Hopper Ellis, called at 3:23 p.m. and examined by both sides before being excused at 3:33 p.m. One question was submitted from the jury for Deputy Ellis as well.

Court adjourned at 3:42 p.m. Jury Trial Day 9 is scheduled for Thursday, May 7 at 9:15 a.m. in Courtroom One.

The Jury Trial continues today with the third day of witness testimony. The above reporting is based on court records, not courtroom reporting.

NOTE: We believe local courts matter and that the community deserves to know what happens inside them. But independent courtroom reporting is expensive and time-consuming work. Until we can consistently fund a reporter in court every day, some of these updates rely on official court records and minutes rather than full live courtroom coverage. Reader donations help us move toward more firsthand reporting. Please consider clicking here to give us the resources to provide more details to our readers.  

IN THE CASE OF: Victor Phetsomphou

Victor Phetcomphou, a 24-year-old Arcata man who allegedly exposed himself on the Cal Poly Humboldt campus last December appeared in Humboldt County Superior Court Wednesday. Judge Steven Steward removed himself from the case, leaving Phetsomphou facing three separate criminal matters before a yet-to-be-assigned replacement. All three cases are now set for May 22.

According to a University Police Department press release, the December 4, 2025 incident occurred at approximately 6:05 a.m. in the forest along Granite Avenue Extension on campus. Officers were unable to locate the suspect at the time. Phetsomphou, who is not a student at Cal Poly Humboldt, was identified as a suspect and arrested a week later when university police and Arcata officers served a search warrant at his Arcata home.

The sex offense case is only the latest in a string of criminal matters for Phetsomphou.

KRCR reported following his arrest, that “during the investigation, UPD discovered that the same man had been peering into multiple windows of a residence hall on campus.” Two older felony cases — both stemming from incidents in May 2021 — accuse him of breaking into or attempting to break into occupied homes in Arcata, with two separate victims. 

He also faces petty theft, prowling, and drug possession charges tied to those incidents. He spent years as a fugitive before being arrested earlier this year and entering not guilty pleas.

A conviction on the indecent exposure charge would require Phetsomphou to register as a sex offender. A public defender represents him across all three cases.

IN THE CASE OF: Casey Nagy 

Casey Tyler Nagy cycled through four separate criminal matters in a single Wednesday morning sentencing hearing before Judge Steven M. Steward in Courtroom Three — resolving probation and supervision violations tied to cases ranging from an axe attack to theft allegations and weapons charges.

Nagy, 39, of Blue Lake, appeared to address violations stemming from three earlier convictions while also resolving a newer concealed weapons case that had been moving through the Humboldt County courts since February.

In Nagy’s original felony case, he was convicted by guilty plea in February 2024 of assault with a deadly weapon and attempted vehicle theft, reduced to a misdemeanor, stemming from a November 2023 attack with an axe and an attempted theft of the victim’s 1999 Isuzu Rodeo. Nagy had been placed on mandatory supervision following sentencing. An amended violation of mandatory supervision was filed April 10, 2026. Today, Judge Steward sentenced him, reinstating probation and mandatory supervision with modifications. 

In a separate felony conspiracy case filed November 2024, Nagy and co-defendant Kayli Sue Stevens were accused of conspiring to commit petty theft at AutoZone on West Harris Street in Eureka. The felony conspiracy count was dismissed, and Nagy pleaded guilty to petty theft  in July 2025 and was placed on one year of conditional probation. A violation of probation in that case was filed in January 2026. Today, Judge Steward reinstated probation on original terms. A stay-away order from the AutoZone location remains in effect.

Then, in a December 2025 felony case out of Arcata, Nagy was originally charged with assault with a deadly weapon (motor vehicle) and unlawful possession of ammunition as a prohibited person. He pleaded guilty in December 2025 to the ammunition possession count (reduced to misdemeanor) and battery, and was sentenced to 28 days in county jail, 24 hours of community service, and one year of conditional probation. A resulting violation of probation was filed February 4, 2026 and was resolved before Judge Steward, along with the others.

Nagy also resolved a weapons case Wednesday that had been working its way through the courts since February — a charge that he was carrying a concealed dirk or dagger. That felony charge was reduced to a misdemeanor, and Judge Steward sentenced him to formal probation. Among his probation conditions: he is not allowed to own or possess a dirk or dagger.

A separate felony, a property case filed against Nagy in January 2026 remains pending. A pre-sentence report was ordered in that matter in April, and a court order clarified that the report applies only to that case. Deputy Public Defender Russo represents Nagy across the cases. Nagy’s bail bond was set at $45,000 and was not posted.

IN THE CASE OF: CECIL ELIOTT JR. 

Cecil Elsworth Eliott Jr. was one of a dozen people arrested at a suspected drug house last week where an elderly and dependent adult was allegedly being endangered, and he remained behind bars Wednesday after a judge denied his release in two separate cases.

Eliott, 48, was among 12 people taken into custody April 30 at a residence on Baldwin Street in Arcata near an elementary school, where prosecutors allege fentanyl and methamphetamine were being openly used and sold. Two of his co-defendants (identified in court records as Wendy Emerson and Thomas Jordan) face the most serious charges in that case, including felony elder abuse of a victim, who was described in charging documents as an elder and dependent adult. Eliott is charged in connection with simply being present at the location while drugs were being used, but the case puts him squarely in the middle of what prosecutors describe as an active drug house with a vulnerable victim inside.

That arrest is only the latest in a long line of legal troubles for Eliott. He also faces a felony theft charge out of Arcata stemming from a Safeway shoplifting incident last October, which was elevated to a felony because of at least three prior theft convictions dating back to 2016. A separate drug case charges him with fentanyl possession from a May 2025 incident.

Judge John T. Feeney denied release motions in two of the three cases Wednesday. Eliott has been in the Humboldt County Jail since April 30. All three cases are set to converge at a hearing May 14. Private attorney Gregory Kreis represents him.

Humboldt County Correctional Facility. [Composite image by Ryan Hutson]

If you know of a case that has significant public interest that you would like followed, email us at [email protected] 

EARLIER:

• Inside Humboldt Courts: Murder Retrial Opens in Jake Combs Case as Jury Hears Graphic Testimony; Judge Denies New Trial in Child Abuse Conviction
• Inside Humboldt Courts: Murder Retrial Advances, Nordic Case Nears Settlement, and Double Homicide Defendants Sentencing Set
• Inside Humboldt Courts: Trials Pending, Healthcare Scrutinized, Alleged Pedophilia & More
• Inside Humboldt Courts: Courthouse Arsonist Deemed Incompetent, Disbarred Attorney No-Show, and a WinCo Robbery Trial Heads to June 
• Inside Humboldt Courts: Trials Move Forward in Several