CLARK COUNTY, Wash. — Two people convicted in the 2021 murder of Clark County Sheriff's Sgt. Jeremy Brown were sentenced Thursday morning.
A judge sentenced Guillermo Raya Leon to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He was convicted of first-degree murder in late September.
“This human took these moments from him, from all of us,” Jeremy Brown's son, Gabe Brown, said of Leon.
Leon's sister-in-law, Misty Raya, made a plea deal with the state and was sentenced to 25 years for second-degree murder.
On July 23, 2021, Sgt. Brown was conducting surveillance in a gun trafficking case at a Vancouver apartment complex. Prosecutors said Guillermo Raya Leon snuck up on Sgt. Brown and shot him while he sat in an unmarked vehicle. Sgt. Brown, a 15-year veteran with the Clark County Sheriff's Office (CCSO), later died at the hospital.
During his time at CCSO, the 46-year-old Brown worked as a corrections deputy and a patrol deputy and had been assigned to work as a detective.
Prosecutors said Misty Raya was the one who initiated a large gun theft and resale scheme. CCSO had a warrant to arrest Raya in connection to a string of burglaries in June 2021 at a public storage unit. Court documents also identified Guillermo Raya Leon as an accomplice in the break-in and theft of dozens of firearms and thousands of ammunition rounds.
In late August, getaway driver Abran Raya Leon, Misty Raya's husband, was found guilty of second-degree murder in the shooting and sentenced to 350 months in prison.
Jeremy Brown's family said they are grateful justice was served, but nothing will replace a father and husband.
“We had built a beautiful life together," said Jill Brown, his wife. "But today not one piece of it remains the same.”
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