Jason Before Arrest
Jason was born in Evanston, Illinois, and raised in Tacoma, Washington. He is the oldest of three, and his two younger sisters still live in Seattle. He graduated from Henry Foss High School in 1995. Jason grew up playing tennis and soccer and was heavily involved in music, waking up the house with his drums. Although Jason’s upbringing was similar to any typical American family, his interest in different cultures was sparked at birth. Since his mom is from Singapore and his dad from Malaysia, Jason’s parents wanted the family to learn about their own culture as well as many other cultures from around the world.
After graduating high school, Jason went to the University of Washington. He lived in the U-District in Seattle and shared an apartment with his sisters during his last year of college. He graduated from UW with a dual degree in Economics and Zoology. Jason dreamt of going to vet school so he worked at local vet clinics learning about exotic pets throughout college in order gain more experience. He even helped care for a tiger at one point. When Jason graduated from UW, to further his real world knowledge he decided to serve in the Peace Corps and work with animals. He had hoped for an assignment with the animal husbandry division in Africa to work with big cats. He was, instead, offered a position in Nicaragua. Although unfamiliar with Nicaragua, Jason decided to take advantage of the opportunity to learn about another culture.
Jason moved to Nicaragua in 2002 with the Peace Corps and was assigned a post in Esteli, a small town in northern Nicaragua. He lived with a Nicaraguan family in a small shack with no electricity and no running water, and he loved it! He described the house with wood slats for walls and how the wind would come in at night. He spent his days working in the community farms and teaching the women how to can and preserve food. Although his focus was not on animals, he was able to help care for the farm animals.
After Jason left the Peace Corps in 2004, he decided to stay in Nicaragua. He loved the country and the sense of community the Nicaraguan people shared. He came back to the US to see his family for six months and then moved back to Nicaragua. Jason recognized the potential in Nicaragua and wanted a chance to show the country off to the rest of the world. He went to the small surf town of San Juan del Sur to find a job in real estate. He had no experience, but walked into the local RE/MAX office and asked for a job anyways. The owner of the brokerage, Charlie Southwell, saw what we all see in Jason—his excitement and easy-going charm. Charlie told Jason he couldn’t afford to pay him a salary, but he would train Jason as an agent and pay him on commission.
Jason lived on ketchup and crackers for his first six months in San Juan. He learned everything he could about the business and worked for Charlie for nearly three years, becoming one of Charlie’s top sales agents. Jason gave everything to his job and the community. He became close friends with Charlie’s son, Jesse, who ran the RE/MAX office in San Juan del Sur. After Jesse died in a car accident in 2005, Jason was crushed. He took over Jesse’s role in the agency and, when Charlie decided to leave the country, he was given the opportunity to buy out the franchise. Jason couldn’t afford the franchise on his own, so he partnered up with three other Americans living in Nicaragua. Sam, Dana, Tom, and Jason bought the agency and started operating as RE/MAX Horizons.
In 2006, Jason met, and later married, a local Nicaraguan girl, Scarleth, who had been working at an auto parts store in Managua. Scarleth didn’t speak any English, but Jason knew enough Spanish to at least get a first date! The two eventually had a son. Jabu was born on March 31, 2007. After he was born, the doctors saw there was something wrong and started testing. Jabu was diagnosed as having Downs Syndrome. We asked Jason if he was saddened by the news and Jason said, “No way! I’m a dad!”
Jason has spent the last four years devoted to his family. He takes Jabu for walks on the beach in the morning, picks him up from school in the afternoon, and spends evenings reading to him and playing in the pool. Jason also takes Jabu to work with him while Scarleth attends law school classes. Every weekend, Jason and Jabu have a “Skype-date” with Jason’s sisters and mom in Washington. They get to hear Jabu’s new words and watch him dance “Jabu-style” (shaking his butt and swinging his hair in circles).
In 2008, Jason and his sisters lost their father. Although this was completely unexpected and devastated all of them, Jason, Janis, and Jaime have always been close and were able to lean on each other. They celebrate their father’s birthday, anniversary of his death, and Father’s Day together, even if just via Skype. This tragic event also helped strengthen Jason’s resolve to spend as much time with his family as possible and model himself after his own father.
Since his arrest and imprisonment, Jason’s life and the lives of his family have been put on hold. Scarleth has missed weeks of classes. Jason’s mother and sisters in the US spend most of their time working on getting Jason out of prison while balancing their own full time jobs. And worst of all, Jabu’s development has fallen behind. With Jason’s accounts frozen by the prosecution, Jabu has not been able to attend behavioral therapy for his Downs Syndrome. He has also been angry and confused by not being able to see his dad.
All Jason wants is to be released so he can come back home to his family.