ENGLEWOOD — Even before you saw Jordan Rashad Dawson, his pungent cologne wafted into the room, his family said.
“He was stylish, always wearing that cologne,” said his sister Jazmine.
Dawson, 19, of the 5900 block of South Fairfield Avenue, was gunned down March 25 in the 5900 block of South Halsted Street, according to the Cook County Medical Examiners Office. He was on his way home from a party, his family said.
Even though violence was common in nearby Englewood, Dawson’s sister Jalisha said her brother knew to steer clear of what they called “the no-love zone.” He was a homebody, she said, who seldom left the neighborhood. Dawson was arrested twice for marijuana possession in 2011, but both cases against him were ultimately dropped, according to court records.
But his family noticed Dawson had drifted from his “real friends,” falling in with the wrong crowd, according to his uncle and legal guardian Elvin Dawson. Jordan Dawson’s parents were not in his life, and his grandmother died when Dawson was six. Elvin Dawson and his brother Jimmie raised their nephew.
Jordab Dawson, who was nicknamed “Foofoo,” wanted to be a mechanic, and liked to fix his family’s electronics. He installed surround sound stereo systems in both his and his brother Jovan’s bedrooms, his family said.
Though he was shy to admit it, Dawson also sang beautifully.
His uncle, a singer at his church, smiled as he recalled discovering his 17-year-old nephew’s talent. Jordan Dawson had recently taken an interest in church, visiting nearby First Baptist Church and even considering getting baptized, his uncle said.
Jazmine, one of Dawson’s seven sisters and brothers, said she still has dreams about her brother. His nieces and nephews still wake up crying sometimes, she said.
Like her uncle, Jazmine said she won’t feel at ease until her brother’s case is closed, but she knows it’s not just up to authorities to find the killer.
“There’s only so much the police can do,” Elvin Dawson said. “The community has to step up.”
