Friend shares story of Cambridge man who was abducted from a home and died in Guelph

CTV’s Jeff Pickel speaks to a person who said they are mourning the loss of a friend as police investigate an abduction and death.

Friends are mourning the loss of a Cambridge man who was abducted from a home on Fife Road and died later that same day in Guelph.

On May 14, first responders were called to a two-vehicle crash on the Hanlon Parkway around 6 p.m.

A 40-year-old man from Cambridge was found with life-threatening injuries. He was taken to hospital but was later pronounced dead.

Friends of the victim have now identified him as Jason Richardson.

“Jason was lively,” Lindsay Alexander, a friend of Richardson, told CTV News. “He could light up a room instantly with his jokes and his character. He had an immense amount of love.”

Alexander revealed Richarson had lived a difficult life before his death.

“Jason struggled with the criminal court system. He was in and out of jail and he became homeless due to jail,” Alexander said.

Alexander believes Richardson needed more help than what was offered to him.

“Especially getting a job when you have a criminal record – that is insanely difficult,” Alexander explained. “So for him, he’s stuck. What do you do? How do you do anything? You’re literally on survival mode.”

But she hopes people remember Richardson for more than just his struggles with the law or the way that he died.

“Just because we are homeless, because we don’t have a job, and that we have a criminal record and that we are on the streets doesn’t mean that we are not people,” she said. “We are people. We have families. “

Alexander said Richardson leaves behind his parents, two kids and many friends.

The investigation so far

As of Wednesday, Ontario Provincial Police had made four arrests as part of the investigation into Richardson’s abduction and death.

Police said after suspects forcibly removed Richardson from a home on Fife Road, they drove away in two vehicles.

“Investigators believe, while traveling southbound on the Hanlon Parkway, the victim was outside the first vehicle, a Toyota Venza SUV, when he was struck by the second vehicle, a Dodge RAM pickup truck, that was following closely behind,” an OPP media release said.

Following the collision, police shared photos of those vehicles and their licence plates.

Jacob Schafer, a 20-year-old from Guelph, was taken into police custody on June 29.

Griffin Kerfoot, a 19-year-old from Elora, and an unnamed 16-year-old from Guelph were both arrested on July 2.

All three were charged with kidnapping and assault with a weapon.

An arrest warrant was issued for Ian Brown, a 51-year-old man from Guelph, on Tuesday. He was arrested later that same day and charged with assault with a weapon and kidnapping.

Police are still looking for a fifth person involved in the case.