Combs was sentenced to 50 years to life for the murder of Trevor Earley.

A sentence of 50 years to life after a jury conviction is the court's judgment. It is not a new trial, and a denied new-trial motion is not an acquittal. On Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026, Judge Kaleb Cockrum sentenced Jake Henry Combs, about 33 to 34, to 50 years to life for the first-degree murder of Trevor John Earley: 25 years to life on the murder and 25 years to life on a firearm enhancement, plus 10 years for in-custody crimes. A jury convicted him again of first-degree murder at a 2026 retrial after a 2023 conviction was overturned on appeal.

The shooting was Jan. 6, 2022. After Combs's dog bit Earley, Earley told Combs to remove the dog. Combs retrieved a loaded, unregistered 9mm and shot Earley at close range on a porch. Combs fled, crashed, and was later arrested. Earley was 25 and from Alderpoint. Lost Coast Outpost and KRCR reported those facts of the killing. They are the record behind the retrial conviction. Wednesday's hearing imposed the sentence.

The first conviction, from 2023, was overturned on appeal because inmate-assault evidence was used improperly. An overturned conviction sent the murder count back. It did not erase the Jan. 6 shooting. The 2026 jury convicted Combs again of first-degree murder. At sentencing, the court denied a new-trial motion based on alleged juror misconduct. Humboldt County District Attorney Stacey Eads issued a statement about justice for Earley's family. Reporting put an additional 10 years on in-custody crimes: an inmate assault and sneaking drugs into the Humboldt County jail. That 10-year term is part of Wednesday's sentence. The murder judgment is 50 years to life.