Jason Kenneth Lee
On March 7, prison guard Jason Kenneth Lee was sentenced to five years in prison for taking bribes and helping smuggle drugs into Kent Institution, a maximum security federal prison in Agassiz between Feb. 11, 2023, and Sept. 21, 2023,
Lee, 38, pleaded guilty to conspiring to obstruct justice by smuggling contraband into Kent Institution, accepting a bribe as a peace officer to facilitate smuggling contraband into Kent Institution, and possession of meth, cocaine, buprenorphine, and MDMA for trafficking.
“Mr. Lee, your time in custody is likely not going to be easy given your previous status as a peace officer; however, as you must recognize by now, breaching the significant trust bestowed upon you by the public and our legal institutions has significant consequences for you and, unfortunately, also for your family,” said Chilliwack, B.C. Provincial Court Judge M. A. Fortino in his written decision.
Court heard Lee conspired with Mark Majcher, Lucas Thiessen, Jeffrey Tkatchuk, Shannon Den Admirant and his wife Summer Lee.
Throughout the offending period, Lee was employed as a correctional officer with the Correctional Service of Canada at Kent Institution and had been so since May 2022. His co-accused Mark Majcher was a drug trafficker who served as the scheme’s “man on the outside” and as Lee’s primary point of contact, delivering payment to Lee, along with creating packages for smuggling and supplying him with various controlled substances and other prison contraband.
Lucas Thiessen of Chilliwack, B.C., and Jeffrey Tkatchuk, of Saskatoon, Sask., were each in custody serving prison sentences during some or all of that time period for drug-trafficking offences and were responsible for the distribution of contraband within the institution.
RCMP tipped off after arrested man ‘brags’
Court heard on Jan. 29, 2023, Lee went to the Chilliwack RCMP with a friend, Shannon Den Admirant, to pick up Adam Burt, who was Den Admirant’s boyfriend at the time. Burt was believed to have ties to criminal activity in Chilliwack and was in custody for an impaired-driving investigation. Burt had told police that his “buddy” who attended the detachment to pick him up was an off-duty correctional officer at Kent.
After Burt was released from police custody, the RCMP alerted Kent Institution of this information and the prison authorities confirmed Lee was, in fact, a correctional officer there. The institutional warden later spoke to Lee about his relationship with Burt.
On April 19, 2023, Den Admirant was arrested as part of a separate police investigation into the ongoing drug-trafficking activities of Thiessen. Thiessen was serving a federal sentence inside Kent Institution at the time for drug trafficking, and police believed he was continuing his drug-trafficking operation in the Lower Mainland and Northern British Columbia from within the prison. Police seized Den Admirant’s phone and obtained a search warrant for it. That search revealed a message from Thiessen on Signal, an encrypted messaging application, indicating that he required a new phone and instructing Den Admirant to tell Lee that he – Lee – would get a large amount of money for it. Further Signal messages revealed that Thiessen and Den Admirant discussed getting additional phones in exchange for a payment of $10,000.
As a result of this information, the Chilliwack RCMP commenced an investigation into Lee. That investigation uncovered several communications amongst the co- conspirators that implicated Lee in their scheme to smuggle controlled substances and contraband into the institution, a scheme that was well underway by May 2023.
Lee’s wife, Summer Lee, was also implicated in those conversations to the extent that meetings with her were planned and that she was aware of the substantial profit Lee was deriving from it. The communications covered topics including institutional intelligence and security information, how Lee would deliver items to Thiessen and Tkatchuk’s prison units, as well as requests for specific items. The co-conspirators also discussed concerns about attracting attention to Lee, and his requests for payment.
Guard uses knowledge of prison security protocol to smuggle
The evidence establishes that Lee used his knowledge of the prison’s security protocols to devise plans with his co-accused on how to best smuggle in and deliver the contraband in a manner that would not arouse suspicion.
The police investigation further revealed that on August 24, 2023, Lee, through Majcher, warned Thiessen and Tkatchuk of searches that had already occurred within the institution along with what was discovered, and warned them of an impending search of Tkatchuk’s unit. The following day, Tkatchuk’s prison cell was searched and correctional officers seized saw blades, syringes, steroids, electronics cords, and a small amount of methamphetamine – items that were smuggled in by Lee.
Despite this search, the scheme continued to operate uninterrupted and on Sept. 2, 2023, Lee was captured on the prison’s CCTV meeting with Tkatchuk, and then entering an off-camera janitorial closet with him, contrary to prison policy. The two departed the room 15 seconds later. Lee admitted he made a delivery to Tkatchuk at that time. A photograph of the delivered items was later taken by Tkatchuk when he returned to his cell. The photograph depicts at least three cell phones, charging cords and cables, several pill bottles and what appears to be packaged drugs and tobacco. Tkatchuk’s cell was searched the following day, Sept. 4, 2023, and he was found in possession of over 95 grams of methamphetamine, 65 grams of cannabis and other contraband items.
Also on Sept. 4, 2023, Lee sent his wife a text message asking her to meet with Thiessen’s girlfriend to collect $15,000. The communication reveals that Thiessen had also called Mrs. Lee that day to advise her that payment was available. Mrs. Lee asked her husband if Mr. Thiessen and his girlfriend should come to their home, or if she should meet them at a Starbucks. Mr. Lee told her to meet them at the Starbucks.
The following day, Jason Lee discussed recent institutional searches with Majcher and Tkatchuk over Signal and suggested strategies to avoid getting caught in the future, along with plans for Lee’s next delivery. Lee also told Majcher and Tkatchuk that the packages he was delivering were large, more difficult to deliver, and “looked funny” in his vest.
Guard makes huge sums smuggling
On Sept. 15, 2023, Lee had communications with his wife about breast augmentation surgery. The relevance of this communication is that it established how much money Lee was earning from his corruption and participation in the criminal enterprise. In that conversation, the couple discussed the $9,500 it would cost to have the surgery and Lee’s preference to pay cash for it so that they did not have payments. He told his wife he was making $8,500 for the next delivery, had $40,000 more coming and the couple had $62,000 in their possession. The following day he told his wife that he sealed most of the “envelope things” [money] on “top of the safe.”
On Sept. 20, 2023, Lee went to a London Drugs store and purchased eight cell phone SIM cards at the direction of Majcher. While there, he messaged with Majcher who confirmed what SIM cards he was to purchase. Later that day, Lee sent Majcher a message advising that he re-packaged the items destined for the institution and advised him of the contents. He then advised Majcher of when he believed would be the best date to smuggle the packages in and avoid detection.
On Sept. 21, 2023, Majcher was to start work at 6:30 a.m. While at a Tim Horton’s restaurant near Kent Institution, he was arrested. Following a search incident to his arrest, police located and seized his iPhone, a vacuum-sealed package containing four cellphones, two charging blocks, two iPhone cords, and eight Chatr SIM cards with a London Drugs receipt from the previous day. Signal messages between Majcher and Tkatchuk that were recovered from Lee’s phone reveal that Lee was to be paid at least $5,000 for the delivery of the cellphones.
Following his arrest, a search warrant was executed at Lee’s home where police discovered two vacuum-sealed plastic-wrapped packages in his bedroom closet. One package had 55 grams of methamphetamine, 53 grams of a cocaine/MDMA mixture, 712 grams of tobacco, two cell phones; and various charging cables and blocks. Another package contained 514 grams of cannabis shatter, 9.46 grams of cannabis in a smell-proof Ziploc bag, Schedule IV anabolic steroids that included 50 mathasterone pills, 148 anadrol pills and 13 vials of testosterone, buprenorphine/naloxone pills (Schedule I opioid), prescription substances including 52 letrozole pills (testosterone boost), 50 clomin (muscle mass builder), 253 grams of tobacco, 80 needles of differing gauges, 15 syringes, 8 charging cords, SIM cards, a mini cellphone, and three vials of wall putty.
In addition to the two packages and their contents, 15 envelopes containing money totalling $60,225 was located inside a safe contained in Lee’s bedroom. Each envelope had an amount written on it, ranging from $1,800 to $10,000.
Guard denies involvement when arrested
Following his arrest, Lee provided a warned statement to police where he denied having any involvement in the offence. He denied knowing Majcher, denied going inside a room with Tkatchuk, lied about the reason he purchased the SIM cards, told police he never saw the packages found inside his home, and that the money they seized was from a legitimate source.
Despite efforts to detect and prevent contraband items such as drugs, weapons, and cellphones from entering into the institutions, these items still end up inside prisons and fuel an illicit underground economy.
Court heard to avoid detection, prisoners intent on subverting protocols employ various efforts to conceal the illicit products, including creating cavities in walls to store the items and concealing them with sandpaper and wall putty. Payment is often coordinated through online email transfers and prisoners often rely on contraband cellphones to make payment.
The scarcity of such contraband items leads to inflated pricing and debts owed to those who control the flow and distribution of goods. These debts often result in the infliction of violence amongst prisoners for repayment, with inmates who struggle with drug addictions being particularly vulnerable to having violence inflicted upon them. The smuggling of weapons into the prison puts staff and other inmates at considerable risk of harm.
In total, the drugs and contraband discovered on Lee’s person or inside his home was valued at approximately $322,700 to $351,400.
Court
A significant profit was set to be made by the criminal enterprise at the time of Lee’s arrest. The methamphetamine in Lee’s possession had an approximate institutional value of $27,500 to $38,500. The cocaine/MDMA mixture, if sold as cocaine, would have netted approximately $10,600 to $26,500. The cannabis shatter found in one package was valued at approximately $257,000. The tobacco was valued at approximately $7,600 to $9,400 and the cellphone values ranged between $5,000 for each smart phone and $3,000 for each basic cell phone. In total, the drugs and contraband discovered on Lee’s person or inside his home was valued at approximately $322,700 to $351,400.
Guard fired by Correctional Service of Canada after arrest
Prior to working as a correctional officer, Lee worked in the heavy-duty machine industry, an area he returned to after his employment with the Correctional Service of Canada was terminated. He has been in a long-term marriage with his wife and the couple share three children together aged 15, 12 and 8.
Since being charged, Lee has taken steps to address the circumstances that lead to his offending along with his desire to engage in further rehabilitative efforts.
Judge Fortino said these efforts are significantly mitigating as they demonstrate that Lee is capable of meaningful rehabilitation and that he does not pose a significant risk to the community.
“I am told, and I accept, that the circumstances that lead to the offending were triggered by financial difficulties and Mr. Lee permitted himself to fall prey to greed. As demonstrated by this case, when the seeds of greed take root in a person, they have a considerable corrupting effect and even the most upstanding individual can be overcome by such greed if they permit the seeds to grow. Mr. Lee’s rehabilitative efforts and potential will hopefully address how he can guard against any similar risk scenarios in the future.”
Taking bribes and enabling the corruption of the penal system amounts to a profound breach of public trust that guts the very foundation of our penal law, said Judge Fortino, adding it undermines public confidence in the work of those other officials who diligently and ethically uphold their public duty.
“It renders the threat of the law’s most serious sanction meaningless, and demonstrates that even decisions of the courts and the rule of law are vulnerable to being undermined by what is, simply put, an incorrigible way of offending.”
When sentencing Lee, Judge Fortino told him, “I want you to know that I accept you are not a bad person and that you have many positive qualities. I accept that you made a terrible choice that you deeply regret and will live with for the rest of your life. I accept that you have demonstrated genuine remorse for your actions, not just to me, but to all who know you. While this may be a watershed moment in your life, I agree with your brother where he tells me in his letter that this is not a moment that must define who you are as a person. While it most definitely will remain a part of who you are, you remain in control – through your actions – to redeem yourself, repair the harm you caused, and demonstrate that you truly are a person of otherwise good character. I hope you use your time in custody productively so that when you are released, you can provide for your family and serve your community in a positive and pro-social way that also helps to repair the significant harm done.
Lee was also ordered to provide his DNA and prohibited from possessing firearms for 10 years after his release.
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