Trial scheduled for men charged in Vedder River angler assault caught on video

Jason Burgener, Micheal Irwin face five-day trial in August 2026 for alleged violent assault on man on gravel bar in 2022

The two men charged in connection with a violent assault on an angler on a Vedder River gravel bar in 2022 may not see justice until four years after the incident.

Jason Allen Burgener and Micheal Anthony Irwin are each charged with assault causing bodily harm for the attack caught on video on July 24, 2022. The two men were allegedly those on a jet boat on the river seen to land on the gravel bar, get off the boat, and severely beat a man on the rocks.

It took nearly two years for charges to be laid, then a trial was scheduled to start on Sept. 2, 2025. That trial was cancelled and Crown counsel filed an indictment in October moving the case to BC Supreme Court. On Oct. 6, 2025, Crown lawyer Susan Gill told the court the parties were in discussion to resolve the case.

However, court records show that now a pre-trial conference is scheduled for June 17, 2026 with a five-day trial set for August 17, 2026, more than four years after the incident widely seen and shared on social media, seen here.

While Section 11(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms addresses the right of an accused to trial in a reasonable time, with the Supreme Court of Canada putting the ceiling for provincial court matters at 18 months and Supreme court matters at 30 months, that is from the time of being charged to the end of a trial, and the two were not charged until spring 2024.

The incident

On July 24, 2022, someone on the north side of the Vedder River west of the train bridge filmed a jet boat speeding eastbound past anglers on the gravel bar. About 15 minutes later, the boat returned and the driver beached it on the gravel bar where half a dozen men were fishing. 

Two men got off the boat, allegedly Burgener and Irwin. The two men are seen beating and kicking a man on the ground. The whole attack lasted less than 20 seconds. A witness said the boat was speeding and the men were drinking. The witness complained that the boat shouldn't even have been on the river while salmon were spawning.

“This can’t be tolerated in our society,” said the witness, who asked not to be named. “People need to be charged, if not having their boat confiscated.”

Another witness claimed that someone on the shore threw a rock at the boat prior to the assault, but two other witnesses did not report that.

Days after the assault, a Chilliwack RCMP spokesperson said they were looking for witnesses to come forward. They also asked for those on the boat to contact police. 

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Paul J. Henderson
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