Former Fort Stewart U.S. Army soldier admits involvement in plot to kill fellow soldier

A former U.S. Army soldier has admitted his involvement in a plot that led to the stabbing death of another soldier whose body was found in his Fort Stewart barracks room in June 2020.

Jordan Brown, 21, of St. Marys, Ga., awaits sentencing after entering a plea of guilty to assault upon a U.S. Service member involving bodily injury or a deadly weapon, and retaliation against a witness involving bodily injury.

The Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division and the FBI are investigating the case.

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Brown’s co-defendant, Byron Booker, 29, of Ludowici, Ga., awaits sentencing. In late October, Booker pled guilty to premeditated murder of a member of the United States Uniformed Services. His plea agreement dictates that Booker faces a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison.

In his prior guilty plea, Booker, a former U.S. Army sergeant, admitted he and Brown, a former U.S. Army specialist, discussed “silencing” Specialist Austin J. Hawk, 21, at Fort Stewart Military Reservation. Hawk’s subsequent murder was in retaliation for Hawk reporting Brown to U.S. Army leadership for marijuana use that resulted in a preliminary inquiry for a court martial proceeding against Brown.

After conspiring with Brown, Booker admitted that he gained entry to Hawk’s barracks room shortly after midnight on June 17, 2020, where he “slashed and stabbed Hawk repeatedly with a sharp-edged weapon.” Hawk’s body was found in his Fort Stewart barracks room the next day.

U.S. District Court Judge R. Stan Baker will decide whether to accept or deny the plea. If accepted, the plea agreement would subject Brown to a sentence between 198 months to 240 months in prison, along with potential fines and restitution, followed by three years of supervised release upon completion of his prison term.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Former Fort Stewart soldier admits plotting to kill fellow soldier