May 2, 2020, United States Army Specialist Austin Hawk chose wisely but ultimately to carry out his task while stationed at the Fort Stewart Military Reservation in Georgia. He informed his immediate commander that he thought Jordan Brown and Byron Booker, two other troops, had engaged in marijuana use, which is prohibited by the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). In the end, one individual was killed, and two other people admitted to being responsible for his crime. The descriptions that follow were taken directly from Booker’s plea agreement and are not to be regarded as accusations but rather as facts.
Before any investigations could get going, Booker finished his tour of duty on May 8 and was discharged with honors at the rank of sergeant. However, Brown continued to serve in the military despite being required to take a drug test that revealed a positive result for THC. On June 2, the unit’s commanding officer informed Brown that he was being dismissed from the Army.
Brown was upset that he was losing his job, his income, and his housing. However, unlike many others who have been caught in the act, he chose to pin the blame on Hawk rather than accepting responsibility for his own actions. Hawk was unaware that the timer on his life had begun to run because his friend Booker had left Georgia to accept a new job, lost his job soon after, and then returned.
Brown and Booker started preparing a physical attack on Hawk and the vandalization of either his automobile or his barracks room as forms of retaliation. Nevertheless, Booker believed it was insufficient for the “snitch” and started advocating for a more long-lasting solution.
As time went on, Brown’s girlfriend broke their connection after he called to inform her that he was being discharged from the Army. Naturally, he pointed the finger at Hawk.The autopsy revealed at least 40 separate stab/slash wounds, several of which would have been fatal in and of themselves, when Booker sneaked onto the base just after midnight on June 17, 2020, convinced Hawk to let him into his room, and then attacked him “with a sharp-edged weapon.”
In April 2021, Booker and Brown were both initially charged with a plethora of offenses, including multiple murder-related accusations that had the potential for the death penalty. However, they will both escape that outcome by admitting guilt and accepting plea agreements.
Booker entered a guilty plea to “Premeditated Murder of a Member of the United States Uniformed Services”
In April 2021, Booker and Brown were both initially charged with a plethora of offenses, including multiple murder-related accusations that had the potential for the death penalty. However, they will both escape that outcome by admitting guilt and accepting plea agreements.
Booker entered a guilty plea to “Premeditated Murder of a Member of the United States Uniformed Services” and was given a federal life sentence without the possibility of parole. Brown is expecting the judge’s approval of his plea agreement and a possible 20-year prison sentence.
