'I was in shock': Alleged murderer Jacob Steele retakes the stand UPDATE to 2010(2012) murder case

Update 6/28/2019

◼ Will the handling of convicted murderer Jacob Steele's jury trial work in his favor today?

This afternoon, there is a Franklin hearing/resentencing scheduled for Jacob Charles Steele. He was convicted of second degree murder of Jerry George in 2012. As of today, Steele is not eligible for parole until 2034....

◼ 'I was in shock': Alleged murderer Jacob Steele retakes the stand - TS - 2/2/12

Jacob Charles Steele testified Thursday that he didn't look at his friend Jerry George's body after shooting him in January 2010 and didn't know where the bullet struck but that he instantly assumed George was dead.

Taking the stand for the third consecutive day in his murder trial, Steele again testified that he feared for his life when he shot George in self-defense as the 29-year-old Louisiana native violently rushed at him on the night of Jan. 21, 2010. Steele said he raised his gun as George quickly approached and it went off -- possibly accidentally -- before he saw George fall to the ground.

◼ Richard: 'It was a stressful moment'; Jacob Steele's cousin offers gory rebuttal testimony in murder case - TS - 2/4/12

Richard Steele also testified Friday that when he and his cousin returned to the apartment later that night to move George's body, the wound was more than apparent. He said while he and Jacob Steele were wrapping George in the tarp, he was initially wrapping George's upper body -- with Jacob Steele wrapping his legs -- when George's head flopped over to the right.

”When you went to wrap him up in the tarp, what happened?” Gallegos asked.

”For real?” Richard Steele asked in response, seeming unsure whether to answer.

”Yes,” Gallegos answered.

”His brains spilled out all over my hands,” Richard Steele testified, prompting George's sister to stand up and leave the courtroom.

”What did you do then?” Gallegos asked.

”I kind of freaked out and said, 'Jake, you got to take the head,'” Richard Steele testified.

Eureka man who pleaded guilty to helping his son dispose of a murder victim's body was released from jail Friday and given probation.

Update 6/28/2019

◼ Will the handling of convicted murderer Jacob Steele's jury trial work in his favor today?

This afternoon, there is a Franklin hearing/resentencing scheduled for Jacob Charles Steele. He was convicted of second degree murder of Jerry George in 2012. As of today, Steele is not eligible for parole until 2034....

◼ Father receives probation for helping son cover up murder; Donald Steele released from custody, given suspended sentence - Thadeus Greenson/The Times-Standard

Fifty-two-year-old Donald Steele was given a suspended sentence and three years probation Friday for his role in helping his son, 23-year-old Jacob Steele, dig Jerry George's body up from a shallow grave in Fieldbrook to toss him into the waters at the mouth of the Eel River.

Donald Steele pleaded guilty to a charge of being an accessory to a crime after the fact just days after seeing a jury convict his son of second degree murder for George's killing. He faced up to one year in jail under the deal and was free on his own recognizance pending sentencing.

...While the other people who helped Jacob Steele cover up the murder all reached plea agreements with law enforcement last year -- under which they received probation in exchange for testifying against Jacob Steele -- Donald Steele reportedly refused to cooperate or take a deal.
Ultimately, after his son was convicted of murder, Donald Steele pleaded guilty as charged in his case to avoid trial.
_________________
Is there anyone who ISN'T getting plea deals these days?

McKinleyville man held to answer for death of Jerry George

Update 6/28/2019

◼ Will the handling of convicted murderer Jacob Steele's jury trial work in his favor today?

This afternoon, there is a Franklin hearing/resentencing scheduled for Jacob Charles Steele. He was convicted of second degree murder of Jerry George in 2012. As of today, Steele is not eligible for parole until 2034....

◼ McKinleyville man held to answer for death of Jerry George - TS

A Humboldt County Superior Court judge ruled that Jacob Charles Steele will be held to answer to a charge of murder.

After a three-day preliminary hearing that ended Monday, Judge Christopher Wilson ruled there is sufficient evidence to hold Jacob Steele, 23, of McKinleyville, to stand trial on charges of first degree murder for the death of Jerry George, who went missing over a year ago and is believed dead.

Jacob Steele, who faces an additional count of making a criminal threat, remains in the Humboldt County jail with his bail set at $1 million.

Investigators from the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office and members of Eureka's Problem Oriented Policing Unit arrested Jacob Steele in March 2010 after discovering evidence that George had been a victim of homicide.

While investigators have not yet found George's body, court records show that they did find evidence of the alleged crime. Declarations in support of arrest warrants filed by the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office and the District Attorney's Office state that a confidential informant first told the sheriff's office that George was shot and killed at Jacob Steele's apartment.

According to court documents, witnesses said that George was at the apartment on Jan. 21, 2010, with Jacob Steele, his girlfriend Lindsay Devore, his cousin Richard Steele and another friend, Shawn Hof. Hof told investigators that Jacob Steele and George got into an argument, and then Jacob Steele told everyone but George to leave the apartment. Court documents state that Jacob Steele then shot George.

Have you seen her?

Update 6/28/2019

◼ Will the handling of convicted murderer Jacob Steele's jury trial work in his favor today?

This afternoon, there is a Franklin hearing/resentencing scheduled for Jacob Charles Steele. He was convicted of second degree murder of Jerry George in 2012. As of today, Steele is not eligible for parole until 2034....


◼ More suspects sought in case of missing McKinleyville man
Humboldt County Sheriff's Office detectives are looking for two additional suspects in connection to the apparent killing of Jerry George, who has been missing since January.

Detectives sought and obtained $500,000 arrest warrants for Kenneth Loren Johnson, 44 of Eureka, and Jan Marie David-Devore, 47 of Arcata.

Both are wanted on suspicion of conspiracy, accessory, and destruction of evidence.

Johnson is a white male adult, standing 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighing about 240 pounds. He has short, receding brown hair and brown eyes and usually wears a mustache, according to a press release. He also has a tattoo of a parrot on his left shoulder.

David-Devore (AKA Devore) is a white female adult, about 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighing about 130 pounds. She has brown hair and blue eyes.

Both suspects are known to frequent Eureka, Arcata, and McKinleyville.

Authorities have already arrested 21-year-old Jacob Charles Steele of McKinleyville on suspicion of murder.

Anyone with information about the case should call Detective Cheryl Franco at 268-3644 or Sgt. Wayne Hanson at 268-3639.

40◼ Third suspect arrested in missing McKinleyville man case

Jerry George, missing Update: Arrest made in case

Update 6/28/2019

◼ Will the handling of convicted murderer Jacob Steele's jury trial work in his favor today?

This afternoon, there is a Franklin hearing/resentencing scheduled for Jacob Charles Steele. He was convicted of second degree murder of Jerry George in 2012. As of today, Steele is not eligible for parole until 2034....


◼ McKinleyville man missing since Thursday

◼ Murder arrest made in case missing McKinleyville man Jerry George
A resident of the home where missing McKinleyville man Jerry George was last seen was arrested Monday on suspicion of murder.

The Humboldt County Sheriff's Office said investigators and members of the Eureka Police Department's Problem Oriented Policing Unit arrested Jacob Charles Steele, 21, at his father's Union Street home in Eureka after obtaining a $1 million warrant for his arrest.

”They were friends who spent time together,” said Humboldt County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Brenda Godsey. “They knew each other a couple of years.”

George, 29, was last seen at Steele's Reasor Road home in McKinleyville on Jan. 21. George's girlfriend reported him missing the next day.

”During the nearly two-month investigation, Sheriff's detectives discovered evidence that led them to believe Mr. George was the victim of a homicide,” stated a Sheriff's Office press release. “Detectives conducted dozens of interviews and served several search warrants.”

One of the warrants was served on Steele's residence. Officials said Steele told deputies that George left his Reasor Road apartment the night of his disappearance and he hadn't seen George since.

Investigators also searched private property near Fieldbrook in February.

Officials said at the time they were following up on a tip when they used all-terrain vehicles to access a wooded private property off Murray Road, about a mile from the Murray Road and Central Avenue intersection.

Steele was booked in to the Humboldt County jail on suspicion of murder. He's expected to be arraigned Wednesday.
When asked if any more arrests were expected, Godsey said, “The investigation is ongoing.”

George's body has not been found.