MORGAN PARK — A 42-year-old man was found shot to death Thursday morning near the same grassy lot where he hung out with friends, neighbors and family in Morgan Park.
His girlfriend, Deeanna Bradley, confirmed Jermaine Jones was found dead around 4:30 a.m. in the parkway in the 11100 block of South Ashland Avenue. Police tape was set up around the scene Thursday morning — just a block away from the campus of Morgan Park High School.
According to Chicago police, the victim was shot in his torso multiple times and was pronounced dead at the scene. A detective canvassing the area said the body was found between a couch and a garbage on the east side of Ashland Avenue.
Jones, of the same block where he was found, was pronounced dead at 7:03 a.m., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.
Friends and family gathered to console Bradley Thursday morning outside of the home she has shared with Jones at 11149 S. Ashland Avenue since 2005. Tears welled up as she described her boyfriend as someone who was quick with a joke and slow to anger.
"All he did was try to help people," said Bradley, describing her boyfriend who was frequently seen wearing a Cleveland Cavaliers hat.
Ronald Cashaw is Jones' cousin and said he spoke with him at 6:25 p.m. Wednesday. Cashaw said Jones was in a dispute over money he was owned — about $1,000 — for work he had done. And Cashaw believes the shooting may have stemmed from the unpaid debt.
"You really had to push his buttons to get him to fight you," his cousin said.
A man who said he was the victim's brother-in-law speculated Jones' body might have been dumped in the parkway because the brother-in-law and others living nearby didn't hear gunshots. They also didn't see any blood or shell casings on the scene.
Of his brother-in-law, the man said: "He's a cool guy. He liked to play basketball."
The detective on the scene also said he's hoping a security camera from a nearby Stop & Go Food & Liquor at 1622 W Monterey Ave. may have captured what happened. The body was found near a busy on- and off-ramps to Interstate 57.
No one was in custody.
The body was found between this couch and garbage can. [DNAinfo/Howard Ludwig]
