Cody Isaacson’s father David wasn’t surprised to learn his son died in a hail of bullets in his Chilliwack home early morning on Jan. 31.
Heartbroken at the loss, certainly. Angry at the devastating effects of illicit street drugs, indeed.
But most of all, David is frustrated at a perceived lack of investigative work done by the RCMP to solve crimes involving those in the drug underworld.
Photo-bulletholes1″I anticipated this happening,” David Isaacson told The Progress in an interview a day after his son was killed when at least a dozen bullets were fired at the known drug house Cody worked out of at the corner of Broadway and Cedar avenues.
• READ MORE: IHIT investigating fatal shooting in Chilliwack
“I was prepared for yesterday. I had gone through the motions of having my son die like this.”
Chilliwack’s first homicide of the year happened just after 6 a.m. at the house at 9291 Broadway Ave. Neighbours reported hearing between six and eight shots fired at the time, although as many as a dozen bullet holes were visible in the front door and wall of the bright yellow house. Each hole marked with a letter, “A” through to “L” labelled by RCMP forensics investigators.
Photo-bulletholes2At a press conference at the scene Wednesday afternoon, IHIT spokesperson Cpl. Frank Jang confirmed 28-year-old Cody Isaacson was the victim of the brazen killing, a person known to Chilliwack RCMP.
But as yet police have not yet confirmed that Cody was also the victim of a home invasion at a house on Second Avenue on Oct. 25, 2017. The Progress has learned he was indeed in that house along with his girlfriend when a number of individuals wearing masks stormed in with guns and hammers.
Reports are that three shots were fired, none striking anyone, although David Isaacson insists Cody suffered injuries to his face from hammer blows before he took a machete away from an attacker and fought back.
• READ MORE: Chilliwack RCMP investigating possible home invasion
Asked to connect the October home invasion with the Jan. 31 homicide, Cpl. Jang said IHIT investigators will be working with the local RCMP Serious Crimes Unit to make connections between other incidents.
A frustrated father, David insists police were aware of who was involved in the home invasion but did little to investigate it, something he thinks might have prevented Cody’s death on Jan. 31.
CodyIsaacson”I knew something bad was going to happen to Cody,” he said. “Let’s face it, when you are in that lifestyle you make a lot of enemies. But the police did no investigation from the earlier home invasion. They know who did it.”
Still, he says IHIT told him on Jan. 31 “they want to solve this,” and a friend told him Cody’s photo was posted on SkyTrain in Metro Vancouver with the RCMP looking for tips.
And while David speaks highly of his recently murdered son, he understands the “business” and insists that in the context of the underground drug world, Cody was one of the good guys.
“He took good care of his crew,” David said. “Nobody has anything bad to say about him. He was always the person to give something. I am kind compassionate to others, and Cody was the same way.”
Cody does not have any local criminal contacts according to Court Services Online, not surprising to his father who said he unfortunately only got into dealing last summer.
He does, however, have a history in the north. Upon his murder, the Prince George Citizen went with the headline: “Former Prince George drug dealer shot to death in Chilliwack,” pointing to his 2014 conviction for weapons and drug possession leading to a 442-day sentence in jail.
The Citizen reports he was arrested twice within three weeks at the same Jasper Street home.
“On both occasions, police found enough crack cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine to suggest it was used to supply drugs to lower-level drug houses around the city,” according to Citizen reporter Mark Nielsen.
Still, even here, father David comes to his son’s defence saying that Cody wasn’t at home when the drugs and weapons were found, his girlfriend was, so he could have walked away.
“He manned up because she was home, not because he had to, but he did,” David said. “Cody was a man when it came to doing the right thing, and that has made him some enemies.”
David hoped, though, that Cody would leave the world, something that nearly destroyed his own life. A recovering meth addict himself, David says he turned Cody on to his relatively new faith in Jesus and he thought Cody was doing well.
But meth is a stubborn foe.
“The crystal meth is a really, really bad drug. It destroys everything that gets in its path. It happened to us.”
In a wide-ranging interview on Feb. 1, David seemed remarkably calm about what happened, something he attributed to his faith, but he also was a little conflicted on what to do next, admitting he may have still been in shock.
Told by someone via text the night of the killing that the Red Scorpions gang were in town and he needed to flee, his defiant response: “I’m not going anywhere.”
Upon further reflection of his goals pursuing his woodworking, his religion and moving on with his life, now with the death of his son, David switched gears.
“Cody was a good kid,” he said, getting emotional for the first time, suggesting that maybe it was soon time for him to leave the Fraser Valley.
“There’s nothing for me here anymore.”
Cody Isaacson leaves behind three children.
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