Jake Eakin escapes from work release center

YAKIMA — Jake Eakin, who was convicted of taking part in the murder of an Ephrata boy over 10 years ago, reportedly escaped a work release center in Yakima over the weekend.

Eakin, who is now 25, was scheduled to return to the Ahtanum View Work Release Center on Sunday after his work duties, but did not return to the work release center, according to KOMO News.

Eakin was 12 when he, along with 12-year-old Evan Savoie, stabbed and beat Craig Sorger, 13, to death on Feb. 15, 2003 in Ephrata. On the day of the murder, Savoie and Eakin were dropped off at Oasis Park in Ephrata and went to Sorger’s house and invited him to come outside and play, according to a previous Columbia Basin Herald report.

Sorger’s mother became concerned when her son did not return home that evening. The boy’s body was later located at Oasis Park. Savoie was accused of dropping a rock on Sorger’s head and pressuring Eakin to take part in the murder. The boys were both tried as adults, with Eakin pleading guilty to second-degree murder in April 2005 and receiving a 14-year prison sentence. Savoie was convicted of first-degree murder by a Grant County jury and sentenced to more than 26 years in prison, according to the Herald.

Savoie’s conviction was overturned by the state Court of Appeals in 2011, as the appeals court ruled that Grant County Superior Court violated Savoie’s right as a minor to a public trial when now-retired Judge Ken Jorgenson closed a hearing. The Grant County Prosecutor’s Office refiled murder charges against Savoie in December 2011. He was re-sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2014.