Two people have pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in the death of a Kitchener man.
Jason John Brown was abducted from a cemetery in Harriston, Ont. on March 12, 2019. He had allegedly gone there with a friend to pick something up. However, his body was found the following day at the side of Stevenson Road in Oshawa, almost 200 kilometres away.
Five people have been accused of playing a role in Brown’s death.
Mathew Drummond of London was charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence. Joshua Alexander Drumond of London and Steven Jon Walsom-Gerigs of Brantford were both charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping. Travis Willard Wand of Wellington North was charged with first-degree murder, two counts of assault with a weapon, kidnapping and other offences.
Jessica Martin, a 35-year-old from North Perth, was also charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence.
Joshua Drummond pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter and was given and eight-year sentence.
Martin also previously pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of being an accessory after the fact to manslaughter.
An agreed statement of facts said Brown had a “significant” drug habit and was a former prospect of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club. The four men charged in his murder were members or associates of the gang.
The court has heard Brown was beaten with a baseball bat, tied up with duct tape and put in a vehicle before his death. He was taken to a gang clubhouse in Toronto and died either while he was enroute or after he arrived at the location.
Walsom-Gerigs and Wand pleaded guilty to charges related to the aggravated assault of Jason John Brown and to assault causing bodily harm in relation to the other person who had gone to the cemetery with Brown. The Crown said that person can no longer testify about what happened as they have since died.
It’s another upsetting development for Brown’s family, as they are still trying to come to terms with his death.
“Now somebody else, [the friend’s] family, has to go through what we’re going through for something that had nothing to do with him,” Brown’s sister Nancy told CTV News on Monday. “He was just a ride for my brother to get somewhere.”
Walsom-Gerigs has been in custody since his arrest in 2023. He was sentenced to five additional days on top of the time he has already served.
Wand was arrested in 2024 and was sentenced to 11 months in addition to the time he already served.
“I think their sentences definitely do not reflect what they have done,” another sister of Brown, Tara, said.
Walsom-Gerigs and Wand were both asked if they wanted to address the court. Walsom-Gerigs declined, but Wand spoke briefly.
“I apologize for my actions,” he said.
The apology meant little to Nancy. In her victim impact statement she said, “Them pleading guilty means absolutely nothing to me and my family. Now what? We still have our lives to go on with.”
The judge in the case, Justice Conlan, accepted a request to have Wand serve the remainder of his sentence at the Algoma Treatment and Remand Centre so Wand could access rehabilitation programs offered at the facility.
“It is not a finality that provides much comfort to the family of Mr. Brown,” Justice Conlan said. “I appreciate that. But it is some finality in this case.”
As the Brown family prepares for another Christmas without Jason, they said the support around them matters, but they are still searching for a sense of closure.
“Justice has not been served. They have no remorse,” Tara said.
Matthew Drummond’s fate remains in the court’s hands as the case continues.
