Two boys will be charged as adults in slaying

EPHRATA – Two boys charged in the death of a 13-year-old will be tried as adults, the state Court of Appeals ruled, making them possibly the youngest murder defendants to stand trial in recent state history.

The court Tuesday declined to intervene in the prosecution of Jake Lee Eakin and Evan Drake Savoie.

In a two-page ruling, Appeals Commissioner Joyce McCown held that a Grant County judge had not erred in ordering the boys to be tried as adults.

Savoie and Eakin, both 13, are accused in the Feb. 15, 2003, slaying of 13-year-old Craig Sorger, a special education student who was beaten and stabbed repeatedly.

The boys, who were 12 when they were first accused, have been charged with first-degree murder.

McCown wrote that Superior Court Judge John Antosz’s order applied the appropriate case law to the facts and was too thorough to be considered an “abuse of discretion.”

County Deputy Prosecutor Ed Owens said Tuesday’s ruling clears the way for a trial in September.

If convicted, the boys could face at least 20 years in prison.

C.E. “Monty” Hormel, one of Savoie’s attorneys, said Tuesday that he plans to appeal the decision and ask the full court to hear the case.

Eakin’s attorney, Alan White, also said Wednesday he would appeal.

The attorneys have 30 days to file for the appeal, White said.

“Based on their age and being normal children, there wasn’t any reason to treat them as adults,” he said.

Eakin and Savoie are believed to be the youngest children ever charged as adults with murder in the state.

Antosz said in his ruling that the killing was too vicious to prosecute in juvenile court.

He also found there were no adequate juvenile-treatment programs.