Soldier from St. Marys sentenced in stabbing death of fellow soldier

Mar. 22—Soldier from St. Marys sentenced in stabbing death of fellow soldier

A former U.S. Army soldier from St. Mary's will spend the next 20 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to his role in the stabbing death of a fellow soldier at Fort Stewart.

Jordan Brown, 23, of St. Marys, was sentenced to 240 months in prison after previously pleading guilty to assault upon a U.S. servicemember involving bodily injury or a deadly weapon, and retaliation against a witness involving bodily injury, said Jill E. Steinberg, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. U.S. District Court Judge R. Stan Baker also ordered Brown to serve three years of supervised release upon completion of his prison term.

Brown admitted to discussing "silencing" fellow soldier Austin J. Hawk, 21, at Fort Stewart with co-defendant Byron Booker, 29, of Ludowici, who was sentenced Feb. 2 life in prison after pleading guilty to Hawk's murder. Booker later snuck into Hawk's barracks and stabbed him more than 40 times in retaliation for Hawk reporting Brown's marijuana use to leadership, a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

— The Brunswick News