Guilty Again: Jake Combs Retrial Ends as Prosecutors File Toddler Death Case and Sex Abuse Defendant Takes Plea, Inside Humboldt Courts

Compilation image of Jake Combs booking photo

Humboldt County Superior Court handles a steady flow of criminal cases each day, but most proceedings pass without much public notice unless they result in major developments.

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. 

THURSDAY’S ROUND-UP:

IN THE CASE OF: The Jake Combs Retrial — Still Guilty of Murder

A Humboldt County jury on Thursday found Jake Henry Combs guilty of first-degree murder for the second time — returning a verdict in the retrial of one of Southern Humboldt’s most closely watched homicide cases.

Combs, 34, was convicted in the January 6, 2022 shooting death of Trevor Earley, 25, at a rural home on 6th Street in Alderpoint. According to testimony and evidence presented at both trials, the fatal confrontation began after Combs’ dog bit Earley during a social gathering. Earley threatened the dog. Combs retrieved a loaded 9mm pistol from his backpack and shot Earley in the head as he stood talking on the front porch.

For Katrina Sutherland, Trevor Earley’s mother, the verdict brought relief that had been a long time coming. “Anything less than first degree would have felt like a loss,” she said Thursday.

Overlooking the Eel River from the “Trevor John Earley Memorial Bridge” (the Alderpoint bridge), the family of Trevor Earley (inset) has found meaningful ways to honor him after he was killed in 2022. [Composite image by Lisa Music, with photos provided.]

Combs was returned to Humboldt County custody in the summer of 2025. Jury selection in the retrial began April 27. Over twelve days of testimony before Judge Kaleb Cockrum in Courtroom One, the jury heard from multiple witnesses including Elias Antunez, the resident of the Alderpoint home, who was a direct witness to the murder, where the shooting occurred. Combs took the stand in his own defense. The prosecution, led by Senior Deputy DA Whitney Timm, asked the jury to find Combs guilty of first-degree murder. Defense attorneys Emery Welton and Ryan McClurg asked for the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter.

The jury — whose composition will be described in a follow-up entry once official minutes are available — began deliberating following closing arguments on Wednesday afternoon and returned their verdict Thursday, only 24 hours later.

Official court minutes from Thursday’s proceedings had not yet been produced at press time. Sentencing has been set for July 31st.

IN THE CASE OF: Nichole Thorpe — Accused of Toddler’s Death, Four Years Later

Nicole Ann Thorpe Image from the Redkey Police Department

A former Humboldt County woman has been charged with the murder of her toddler.

According to a felony complaint filed April 7, 2026 by the Humboldt County District Attorney’s office, Nichole Ann Thorpe is accused of the second-degree murder of a child born in 2020, on March 9, 2022 — when the child was approximately one and a half years old. Thorpe also faces a felony child abuse charge with a special allegation of great bodily injury on a child under five.

A third count alleges Thorpe committed welfare fraud — obtaining and retaining more than $18,000 in public assistance benefits on behalf of the child between May 2022 and May 2024. The fraud allegation, if accurate, means Thorpe was collecting benefits in the child’s name for more than two years after the child’s alleged death.

An arrest warrant was issued April 9, 2026. As of Thursday, Thorpe is not yet in Humboldt County custody. Currently, the homicide case has no assigned judge and no court dates scheduled. For details on this tragic case, read the full article at the following link:

• ‘Nobody Knew That Baby Was Gone’: Murder Charges Reveal Tragic Timeline in Death of Humboldt Toddler

IN THE CASE OF: Sebastion Hockett — Plea Deal Accepted by Sex Offender

Booking Photo, Sebastion Hockett

After more than three years behind bars without the possibility of bail, a Briceland man accused of repeatedly sexually abusing two children entered a plea Thursday in Humboldt County Superior Court. This does not mean the defendant is off the hook – but it does mean the public spectacle of a jury trial is off the table. 

Sebastion John Hockett, 32, appeared before Judge Steven Steward Thursday morning for a readiness conference. Court records show the hearing resulted in a plea, with a waiver and plea form filed by the Public Defender’s Office. A jury trial that had been scheduled for May 18 was vacated. 

By taking the DA’s plea deal, Hockett avoided what would have been one of the most serious child sex abuse trials this county has seen in recent memory.

Hockett has been held without bail since his arrest on March 30, 2023 — a stretch of jail time exceeding 1,100 days. He faced nine felony counts stemming from alleged offenses against two child victims, both born in 2010, spanning more than three years and two counties. The sex abuse charges included oral copulation and sexual penetration of a child ten years old or younger, lewd acts upon a child under 14, and possession of child pornography.

A special allegation tied to five of the nine counts carried a mandatory sentence of 25 years to life upon conviction.

Under California’s “One Strike” law, certain felony sex offenses against children carry a mandatory sentence of 25 years to life upon conviction once the allegation is proven or admitted. If Hockett admitted the special allegation as part of the deal, California’s One Strike law would require the sentencing judge to impose a mandatory minimum of 25 years to life on those counts, leaving little to no judicial discretion to modify that sentence. If the allegation was dismissed as part of the negotiated resolution, Hockett could face a substantially lighter sentence.

The exact terms of Thursday’s plea deal, including which charges he “admitted” to and whether the special allegation was preserved or dismissed, were not available in court records at press time. That information will become clear at sentencing, scheduled for June 26.

Hockett was represented by Deputy Public Defender Luke Brownfield. Assistant District Attorney Carolyn Schaffer prosecuted for the People.

IN THE CASE OF: David Olivarez & Wyatt Mello — Alleged Gang Shooting in Eureka

A screengrab from the September 2025 press release describes the charges filed against Olivarez. 

A Eureka man with a lengthy criminal history and his alleged co-conspirator are each facing attempted murder charges stemming from a late-night shooting on Garland Street — and court records show the case is still working its way toward a preliminary examination more than a year after the incident. 

Both defendants appeared before Judge Kelly Neel this week for preliminary examination settings — with all matters continued. The appearances mark the latest in a series of court dates that have kept both men cycling through Humboldt County Superior Court as the case works its way toward a June 30 preliminary examination.

On March 24, 2025, just after 11 p.m., Eureka Police officers were dispatched to the 2600 block of Garland Street following reports of a shooting. A male victim had been shot and transported to the hospital for treatment. Detectives identified David Anthony Olivarez, 35, of Eureka, as a suspect. 

Police obtained an arrest warrant in September 2025 and took him into custody on September 19 during a traffic stop near Buhne and K Streets.

Olivarez faces attempted murder with gang, great bodily injury, and firearms discharge special allegations, along with charges of shooting at an inhabited dwelling, criminal gang activity, and conspiracy. He is represented by attorney Joanne Carter and has been held at Humboldt County Jail since his arrest — now more than 230 days — on $750,000 bail he has not posted.

Wyatt Morgan Mello, also of Eureka, faces an identical set of charges as Olivarez’s alleged co-conspirator in the shooting. But the Garland Street case is only the most serious entry in a sprawling court record — Mello now has six separate matters pending or recently resolved in Humboldt County Superior Court, including felony drug sales, burglary, felony assault with great bodily injury, and multiple probation violations accumulated across 2024 and 2025. A prior case resulted in a guilty plea in February 2025 and remains open pending a violation of probation intervention hearing on June 30. Mello has been in custody since mid-2025.

Both Mello and Olivarez are represented by attorney Paul V. Gallegos — the former Humboldt County District Attorney, now in private practice in Eureka — on the attempted murder and related charges.

All open cases for both defendants are calendared for a preliminary examination on June 30, 2026.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​NOTE: Because independent courtroom reporting is expensive and time-intensive work, portions of this update are based on official court minutes and records rather than full in-person courtroom coverage. Reader support helps fund more firsthand reporting from inside Humboldt County courtrooms.  

Humboldt County Correctional Facility. [Composite image for Inside Humboldt Courts 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: Trials Move Forward in Several High-Profile Cases
• Inside Humboldt Courts: Courthouse Arsonist Deemed Incompetent, Disbarred Attorney No-Show, and a WinCo Robbery Trial Heads to June 
• Inside Humboldt Courts: Trials Pending, Healthcare Scrutinized, Alleged Pedophilia & More
• Inside Humboldt Courts: Murder Retrial Advances, Nordic Case Nears Settlement, and Double Homicide Defendants Sentencing Set
• 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: Combs Retrial Continues; Cal Poly Peeping Tom Back in Court; Elder Abuse Alleged at Arcata Drug House
• Chop Shop Felon Heads to Prison, Alleged Would-Be Cop Killer Awaits Trial, Combs Murder Retrial Continues: Inside Humboldt Courts 
• Mercer-Fraser Allegedly Violates Conservation Terms, Defendant Takes Stand in Combs Murder Retrial, and More Inside Humboldt Courts
•  Alleged Murder in Defense of Dog, Possible Plea Deal for Repeat Sex Crimes, and Wrongful Death at the Lamplighter Inside Humboldt Courts
• Retrial on The Same Facts, the Same Photographs, the Same Dead 25-Year-Old: Combs Jury Deliberates, and Separate Eureka Felony Case Progresses Inside Humboldt Courts