RCMP identify murdered Maple Ridge man

A man connected to the drug trade in Maple Ridge has been identified as the person who was found dead in a Pitt Meadows field on Tuesday.

Brandon Howson, 26, was discovered by a passerby around 10:30 a.m., lying face down in a cranberry field at the end of 224th Street, by 144th Avenue.

Police believe he was murdered.

“Mr. Howson is known to police and it appears that this homicide was targeted. However, it is too early to speak to a motive or any gang affiliation,” said Sgt. Jennifer Pound, with the RCMP’s Integrated Homicide Investigation Team.

Howson was arrested by Ridge Meadows RCMP in 2009 during an undercover sting targeting street-level drug traffickers.

He and a co-accused, Rory William Hatley, were charged with trafficking a controlled substance and ordered to stand trial in New Westminster Supreme Court.

The trial is set to begin April 17.

Howson’s body was found in sparsely populated agricultural area, near Timberline Ranch, where Pitt Meadows meets Maple Ridge.

Police cordoned off the area where 224th Street turns into a gravel road and forensic investigators searched the area for evidence for more than  two days.

Police don’t know how long Howson’s body was in the field or whether the murder took place elsewhere.

An autopsy was done Wednesday. Investigators know the cause of death, but have not released it.

Investigators are contacting Howson’s friends and associates, and are also asking the public to contact them if they have any information.

“Sometimes people think the information they have is too small, so they don’t come forward, but in reality that may be the piece of information we need to move our investigation forward,” said Pound.

An car enthusiast, Howson owned the auto chop shop website bcgbody.com. In a post on the forum, his friends remember him as an "overall good guy" and posted a video in his memory to the song "Life Goes On" by rapper Tupac Shakur.

Shakur's sings: "How many brothers fell victim to the streets? Rest in peace y'all."

People who live at the end of 224th St., past the bridge over the Alouette River, claim the isolated, rural area is often frequented by prostitutes and drug users.

“It’s a hot spot for the underworld,” said Aaron Olson, who manages Maple Ridge Paintball, a business located near the field where Howson’s body was found.

There are always cars parked at the corner of 224th St. and 144th Ave. Olson has caught people having sex, smoking meth and shooting up. The paintball business has also been plagued by petty thefts.

“There’s pretty much someone doing something sketchy at that corner, all the time,” said Olson.

“I can’t even keep track of how many times the propane tank from our barbecue has been stolen.”

There has not been a murder in Pitt Meadows since 2008. Maple Ridge’s last homicide took place in 2010.

Unsolved murders

The murders of three men who were dumped in ditches in Pitt Meadows in 2008 remain unsolved.

Ian Bruce Richards, 23, was shot before his body was dumped in a ditch on McNeil Road in December 2008.

The Maple Ridge resident was discovered in a drainage ditch around 10:30 a.m. by two people who were training dogs in a nearby field.

On March 14, two men found the body of Jeff Gordon Cornell on McNeil Rd. at 196 C Avenue. Police said the 31-year-old had died from a gunshot and that all signs showed it was a targeted hit.

In January, Justin Aaron Yusko of Port Coquitlam died after being stabbed and dumped in a ditch on Ford Road near the Pitt Meadows airport.

Investigators at the time believe all three murders were linked to the drug-trade.

• If you have information, call the IHIT tip line at 1-877-543-9217 or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS to leave an anonymous tip.