It’s the first week of September in the year 2013. A time of celebration for it’s the Labor Day weekend in the city of Chicago. However, violence decided to run amuck instead, resulting in multiple deaths and injuries, making it one of the bloodiest weekends in the city’s history. Among those who lost their lives that day, was a man by the name of Jerome Wood.
Known to his peers as J Money, he was not only affiliated with gang members in the neighborhood, but was known to be a ruthless one himself. Some words friends used to describe him were bully, aggressive, and enforcer, so it appears J Money was someone whose name was not only respected, but feared. As for his gang affiliation, he was said to be from the notorious O Block region in Chicago with ties to persons like Lil Durk,
Chief Keef,
Lil Reese,
and the late King Von,
A member of the Black Disciples gang fraction, J Money was no stranger to the death surrounding him. In fact, he was seen declaring war on his enemies wearing clothes that threatened their existence. On one jersey, the letters GDK could be seen in bold black lettering.
This translated to having the meaning Gangster Disciple Killer, which meant that all Gangster Disciple members were liable to lose their lives if J Money crossed their path.
Little did J Money know, his own life was soon approaching its end. On September 2nd 2023, a female companion redacted in reports, contacted J Money for transportation. Listed in documents as Jerome Howard, it states he picked her up at approximately 10:05 a.m. in a 2007 white, 4-door, Hyundai Sonata. According to reports, another male was also in the vehicle.
J Money had no idea someone was plotting on his life as they drove to retrieve the female companion’s laundry. It appears that the intention of requesting transport from J Money was that she could pick up her clothes to wash.
Everything seemed fine. The female companion called J Money once more so he could return and pick her up in the 6600 block of South Rhodes Avenue in the West Woodlawn neighborhood. That’s exactly what he did, however, someone was close by waiting for the right opportunity to strike. J Money would go to the trunk to assist the female companion with placing the laundry in the trunk. At this point, reports state that she returned into her home to retrieve her purse.
While this was happening, the male affiliate who was in the vehicle with J Money, picked up on something that looked suspicious. According to court documents, he recalled seeing a silver, primed color Chevy Impala with two persons inside while they were in traffic earlier. He happened to look into the Impala and observe a male of African ethnicity wearing long dreads and a baseball cap. The passenger however was tucked away hiding from view.
Fast forward back to J Money placing the laundry in the trunk, the male companion inside the vehicle notices the same Chevy Impala at the end of the street, near the corner of 67th and Rhodes.
At this point, it was clear that they might have been trailing them, but the question was, for what reason?
The time is around 2 p.m. Inside the apartment, the female companion is retrieving her purse and later tells investigators she heard several gunshots and when she came outside, the white Hyundai was gone. As she walked to the side of the building,
she observed J Money lying on the ground bleeding – he’s been shot. In a rush to save his life, she allegedly began performing CPR.
The male companion claims to also hear the gunshots and at that moment he jumped into the front seat and drove away, leaving J Money to fend for himself. He claimed to have witnessed J Money fall to the ground then attempt to get up and run, but was chased by the shooter to a parking lot and shot.
J Money’s affiliate then stated he left to pick up someone to return to help, but when he returned the cops had already created a blockade around the scene. https://youtu.be/_eMxjm81ywk?si=UhhAhvFvbpqNs0hN (0:20-1:00).
J Money was pronounced dead at the scene with a gunshot wound to the head.
Official reports list his cause of death was recorded as multiple gunshot wounds.
Witnesses began sharing with investigators their accounts of what happened, and the one thing present within each of them is how quickly things went from a normal day to one filled with bullets around their home.
One witness named David Westin, who lives across the street said he was inside his apartment building when he heard gunfire. He then heard a female voice screaming that a friend was just shot. Another stated that the violence from gangs was a deciding factor in moving from the neighborhood.
The murder was done, but who was the one who pulled the trigger? Being a gang member, death is part of the job. If you’re lucky, you spend the rest of your life behind bars instead. Rumors began circulating about what happened to J Money. It’s alleged that the female companion who was rumored to be his child’s mother, set him up for his rivals to murder him.
Former O Block gang member, J Hood speaks on the homicide in a Cam Capone interview.
According to him, given that his rivals knew exactly where J Money was and when he’d be there, it had to be that the female companion was the one who got him in the right location for them to attack.
That theory quickly spread, but what’s more, the theory included how J Money was allegedly ended. Rumor states that after chasing him, the shooter stood over him and fired multiple times into his face. If it were to be true, it sounds like something personal, which many speculated to be retaliation for something J Money did in the past. Being that was the lifestyle he lived, it wouldn’t be farfetched to arrive at that conclusion.
It didn’t take long for someone to imply that they had a part to play in the murder. Her name was Gakirah Barnes, also known as the female assassin KI.
Known to be a ruthless killer affiliated with the STL/EBT set that are enemies to J Money’s affiliates, what she said meant a lot in the public eye.
KI took to her Twitter account with disrespectful words that insinuated she was the one responsible for ending the life of J Money.
The more time prolonged, the more speculations began to take root. KI’s name also found its way into those speculations that imply she along with a shooter by the name of Lil B were the ones who targeted J Money.
![Rest in peace Lil B🕊️ [EBT]. He was killed 8 years ago today. : r/Chiraqology](https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/7jA88UpfZuJOtdUTaYU7n23kfag4ObAOP45aoGlD70epiBTE3rAbuyEMfGzxgrVnRxdwGeXDmgWLMNij5LrePQHflRcYTys4EHhSPicU6Ds7ZcDblW9EL74Jo7xo0lCOiUasfq0ReaTvUQUFgCJb)
![Rest in peace Lil B🕊️ [EBT]. He was killed 8 years ago today. : r/Chiraqology](https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/PbRsnAlJ9wzz1SgvCmQffGwiHcb_qVLjrwOET7dFvnxqPsHqiuEISVoC_dg5CX2is4tgarJ4P3b7HfQHlwzyqfNijdC89ab5dPz9D5uq44C_zaxlvUtJKRcNrLazsxnLDWFcLdRmaZ_EQg3J1Y5y)
Despite the allegations and theories on who the assailants were, his murder remains unsolved to this day. For his rivals, however, that didn’t matter because to them, it was time to celebrate another illusion of victory. A ritual that makes them feel as if they’d won, but in reality, everyone playing by the rule of gang culture loses.
J Money’s name has become the target of many jokes and disrespect by rivals as they continually rap lyrics that paint the gruesome details of his murder, adding even more credibility to the rumors. https://youtu.be/vOploW6Gk7I?si=r3RUBwVsCIgHUbbh (0:34-0:37) https://youtu.be/xbC9Mb1NUa8?si=xgWOnbVUCycaY34K (1:15-1:28) https://youtu.be/lg5y3agdALA?si=NOUZKqreAv8wPDj0 (0:57-1:03) https://youtu.be/zf5EJNcKzYc?si=eOssApXE8BxIYFwT (2:01-2:07)
The sad thing about all of this, is that the two persons who were speculated to be involved In J Money’s murder also lost their lives. First Lil B in March 2014 was gunned down by law enforcement leaving his friend KI to mourn.
https://abc7chicago.com/archive/9484525
https://socialistworker.org/2014/04/14/police-justify-another-killing
Not long after in April 2014, KI was targeted by her rivals and also eliminated, bringing the cycle of violence full circle as always.
J Money is remembered by his peers, but also by the carnage he himself left behind. According to affiliates like Lil Durk who reminisced on his friend’s passing, he calls the families that J Money made mourn by taking their loved one.
I guess the saying is true, what goes around, comes around. Maybe one day, the loss of lives will be a lesson to the next generation, so lives can be saved and the violence will end. Rest in peace J Money.