Sins & Survivors: A Las Vegas True Crime Podcast - Searching for Answers in the Murder of Justin "Jay" Smith

Episode Date: September 17, 2024

On March 5, 2024, Justin Smith (his loved ones called him “Jay”) was shot multiple times and crashed his car. He was taken to the University Medical Center and after several days, sadly, he did not make it, leaving behind so many people who loved and depended on him.We speak to three of those many loved ones, Jojo, his son’s mom, his brother Xavier, and his partner Sam. They knew him best so we’re going to go straight into that interview. We truly appreciate them being willing to tell us more about the amazing person Jay was. Here is our interview with them. Just a note: The apple transcription did a job on the links.. so as a reminder On YouTube, it will likely be muted because of copyright, but we’re going to include links in the show notes so you can find all of Jay’s music. You can find it on YouTube (JayGrindz702), Apple Music, or Spotify by searching for Jay Grindz, and pretty much all the standard platforms, and we recommend you giving him a listen. https://sinspod.co/episode44sourcesDomestic Violence Resourceshttp://sinspod.co/resourcesClick here to become a member of our Patreon!https://sinspod.co/patreonVisit and join our Patreon now and access our ad-free episodes and exclusive bonus content & schwag! Get ad-free access for only $1 a month or ad-free and bonus episodes for $3 a monthApple Podcast Subscriptionshttps://sinspod.co/appleWe're now offering premium membership benefits on Apple Podcast Subscriptions! On your mobile deviceLet us know what you think about the episodehttps://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2248640/open_sms Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/sins-survivors-a-las-vegas-true-crime-podcast--6173686/support.

To listen ad-free, visit Zinspod.co slash subscribe. Starting at $2.99 a month, you'll also get access to our exclusive bonus content episodes when you join through Patreon or Apple subscriptions. Thanks for supporting the show. What can I say? He was a great dad. My son loved him. He was a great example of if you want something, you can achieve it.

It doesn't matter where you start. Always keep moving forward. He was a very, very driven person. As of right now, I really feel like they're just kind of letting him be another one of the numbers of Black young men that have been murdered in our country. And I really don't like that because he wasn't just that. He was a business owner, a dad, a brother, a friend, inspiration. He was something in this world. Hi, and welcome to Sins and Survivors, a Las Vegas true crime podcast where we focus on cases that deal with domestic violence, as well as missing persons and unsolved cases. I'm your host, Sean. And with me, as always, is the one and only John. I am the only John in the room.

We've covered a few cases in our first season in which families of victims are not only grieving a lost loved one, but are trapped in a situation where they aren't getting the updates they deserve from the police and the rest of the Nevada legal system. Unfortunately, we have another tragic example of this for you. A loving dad to a sweet young son, a talented musician, a business owner, and a true leader in his community was lost on March 5, 2024, and his family deserves answers. On March 5, 2024, around 7 p.m. on Dreamy Hill Avenue, near Commerce Street and Tropical Parkway in North Las Vegas,

Justin Smith, his loved ones called him Jay, was shot multiple times and crashed his car. He was taken to the University Medical Center, and after several days, sadly, he did not make it, leaving behind so many people who loved and depended on him. We were able to speak with three of those many loved ones, Jojo, his son's mom, his brother Xavier, and his partner Sam. They knew him best, so we're going to go straight into that interview. We truly appreciate them being willing to tell us more about the amazing person Jay was. Here is our interview with them in its entirety. Xavier, will you start us off by telling us a little bit about Jay, what he was like as a as a

brother as a friend as a dad we absolutely will um obviously Jay was a lot a lot older than me I believe he's about eight or nine years so he was always you feel me like a big brother that I looked up to in the house uh kind of always aspired to be like he played basketball I was out playing basketball if he was skating I wanted I was out playing basketball. If he was skating, I wanted to go out skating. Pretty much everything he did in life, I tried to mirror and do in some type of way, shape, or form because I just always wanted to be like him. I knew he was always just a really good person, really caring, always really hardworking. That's why we always called him Jay Grimes because that boy didn't know how to quit.

Just a great father, a man that showed me how to be a dad to my kid, showed me how to be a man in my life. Just like I said, an outstanding person. There's only one person I could ever be like that and that would only be my brother. Thank you. Jojo, do you want to add to that? Yes, I can speak for us. I mean, obviously he was a great person and I can speak as a father. We have a seven-year-old boy. What can I say? He was a great dad.

My son loved him. And all he ever wanted to do is to be a great dad to my child due to what he had growing up as for him which also was not the greatest or he didn't have a father figure so all he wanted to do was to be a great dad to my son um besides that he was a great person he was like his brother said a person that a lot of people looked up to and followed steps and everything. So we're really trying to just continue his legacy and what he was and make sure that my son knows who always going to know who his dad was. Awesome. Thank you.

Sam, what would you like to say? Man. Okay. Yeah. Um, yeah, Jay was outgoing, um, brave. He wasn't scared of much. He took me parasailing. He liked anything adventurous. It was made for Jay. He wanted to go skydiving. He just was full of energy. And like they both said, a lot of people looked up to him. He's, you know, he's a part of so many communities, the sneaker community, the bike

community, like he rode motorcycles. He knew a lot of people. And it's like anywhere you go, obviously Las Vegas is small, but it's like the world is so small. Everyone knows Jay in some way, shape, or form. He was a great dad. He was very hardworking, like Xavier said. He was a business owner. And, you know, looking back, it's like he is the one who kept us all together. Like, after all of this, I feel like we all kind of

realized how much he had on his plate and he made it look so easy and did not break a sweat. And you said he was a business owner. Tell us a little bit about his business. Yeah, so I want to say maybe like the past four years, he has a junk removal business, which is named after himself and his son. So their names both start with a J. It's called JJ's Junk Removal. Yeah, he had really built that from the ground up and was doing very well for himself. And not only for himself, he was able to give others the ability to provide for their families because that's just the type of person he was. Like if he had something, he would make sure anyone around him is having the same and never going without. How old was Jay when he passed away? 28.

I read in the news that he was a rapper. Yes. Do you want to talk about that, JoJo? Yes. He's been, he was a local Vegas rapper, very known. He started doing this years ago. I remember in 2016, 2015, he would sit there and just start making his own beats, his own lyrics, everything. I really seen him start from the bottom when he first started rapping and making music. To the person that he was right before he passed away.

But his music was like a part of him. Like he loved to write. He loved to do his own everything. And I feel like him, you know how people have like their ways, like this is who you are. I feel like him, for him, it was rapping have like their ways like this is who you are I feel like him for him it was rapping like making music he will be in the studio for hours just sit in there and yeah I'm trying not to think about it but um I'll maybe try to help Jojo finish her thought um music was his way of expressing himself because like i said he he was pretty much the the top of the pyramid and we all just fell underneath him like he he just was such a great leader and he was a very strong person he wasn't not that he wasn't

emotional but he always appeared as strong as he could so that everyone around him felt safe felt secure and so I feel like with the music that was his way of kind of opening up to anyone, anyone who would listen. And I feel like a lot of us in the end, we all kind of had like this realization, like we weren't listening close enough to the music because like Jojo said he had a rough you know upbringing and yeah do any of you want to share how if someone was listening to our episode and they wanted to check out any of his music is there a way to do that is that something you're comfortable with also Jojo yes of course. Yeah, absolutely.

So I believe you can look up his music on YouTube. He is on all platforms, I believe. But I know YouTube has pretty much every collection of his songs, besides a couple unreleased. I believe the name would be under Jgrinds. 702. Yeah, Jgrinds 702, that would be under Jay Grimes. 702. Yeah, Jay Grimes, 702. That would be the YouTube.

And that would have pretty much the collection of all of his music and pretty much every song he ever created. And just a side note, I feel like there actually is more music on either Spotify or Apple Music than there is on YouTube. But YouTube has videos and the others do not. And I think if there's any two albums that express him the best, it's Masterpiece is the one album and the other one is called Sincere. My next question was going to be,

Jojo, if you want to go first, do you have a fondest memory of Jay that you want to share? Honestly, there's a lot. I've known this man for plus 10 years, but I could say when my son was born, that's when I seen Jay really change as a better person for him and for his son and for the people around him. Xavier, do you want to share something about your brother? Well, yeah, pretty much. Obviously, like they were mentioning, my brother did have a little bit of a harder upbringing, him being a lot older. He did age out of the household before I

did. But I guess I could probably say the memory about when we were reconnecting, again, with Sam saying Vegas is such a small place. I'd always had my older brother on social media, us being not the closest at that time. We'd always just check in on each other, but it would never be nothing too much. He was building his life. I was still in the house with my parents. But there was one day we were walking Fremont Street and it just so happened that the whole family was together for once. And out of the blue, I just noticed Justin walking with one of his friends. It just so happened to be that we had both started to hit Fremont Street at the same exact time.

And I kind of just noticed them. I was a little bit too nervous to go talk to him because I hadn't seen him in a couple of years. So my older brother Tyson did. He ended up kind of seeing us all coming over and I don't know, like first impression, I just assumed like I hadn't seen him in a couple of years. I didn't know how he was going to react. And that boy didn't have a doubt in his mind. He just was all love, just came, gave me the biggest hug. Pretty much told me like now that he's back in our life, he got us and he meant it because not a lot of people know that I was also brought up in a weekly from like the sixth grade to pretty much I graduated high school.

And right about that time is when Justin was building his business and starting to become something for himself. So he pulled me and my family out of the weekly gave us an apartment got me my own room and let me started working with him for his junk removal and so he just started to literally help everyone around him and this is probably after two days of us reconnecting i hadn't seen this nigga since i was probably seven years old and yeah it's just crazy that boy was nothing but love he had no bad intentions for us for anyone he didn't hold any grudges and he wanted nothing but the best for everyone around him i think one of my fondest memories would be our well he had been already but the first time i went to hawaii was with him with him. And he loved the water.

Xavier showed me some pictures of him as a child, a baby. And he basically was that exact same child, but in a grown man's body. He was swimming like crazy in the ocean. And he took me on a like forbidden bamboo, like forest hike that had like a waterfall and all this crazy stuff. He just was always looking to make memories. And yeah, I'm very grateful for that. Can you walk us through what you know about the events that led up to what happened on March 5th? Yeah, so I was the last person to see him physically on that day. It was a normal day for us. He was, you know, out running errands. I was working. Um, and yeah, it got the message through a mutual friend on Instagram, basically just kind of saying, hey, there's something up with Jay.

Like, we got a crash detection from his phone and the person that received the crash detection went to, you know, where it alerted him to and they you know everyone was just very confused because it just you know obviously caught us all off guard it I felt like we all in the beginning kind of thought maybe like oh it's a car crash but it quickly very quickly like within minutes of being at the scene went left and um yeah it's like i mentioned, you know, obviously people were gathering in the streets cause you know, people like to be nosy and it with, you know, with our own eyes and ears, we're hearing the police say to, you know, one couple that basically someone's doa or you know whatever so it was just very confusing because i mean obviously we got the alert to be there so we knew that it was him that was you know involved in what whatever was going. But the police didn't seem to care about our concern,

even though we were making it very clear, like, this is our family member. And like, we're pretty sure this is our family member. All we were trying to do is get clarification. And for whatever reason, they didn't want to give us any information, but random people that were just passing by were getting answers before us. So it was just all very strange from the beginning. And it happened seven minutes from where him and I live. And Xavier lives about seven minutes from the location as well. Jojo, do you want to share about what happened on March 5th? And it's my understanding that Jay was shot, but he didn't pass away for several days later.

Is that correct? Yes. He was shot on March 5th, and he was pronounced brain dead March 10th, and then he got unplugged on March 11th. He was in UMC trauma for a couple days, and that's where, between those days, that's where all his family and friends came to say what they had to say to him. But he didn't wake up after the shooting no he didn't do you want to talk about how you heard the news yeah um march 1st was just honestly like sam say it was just another regular day for us i remember it's crazy i have that day stuck in my head forever so it's like i i remember perfectly what happened like in the morning in in the morning it was a Tuesday and um it was a regular day for us I was he had came to my house early in that morning to um my son had twin day at school that day he had came over that

in the morning to my house Justin had did and had brought him a shirt that he was going to wear with his friend at school. He got him ready for school. I was getting ready to go to work, just like on a regular day. He's getting my son ready for school, and I believe he took him to school that day. He leaves with them. He takes them him to school i go to work um he calls me like two three times throughout throughout the day um he had a scheduled flight the next morning um so he was gonna leave out of town so he was supposed to come before he left my house that morning before i left to work he had told me he was gonna stop by at my house that morning before I left to work he had told me he was going to stop by at my house around six seven to drop off some things for my son that I needed and to say bye to him because he was going to be gone I believe for a week um and then throughout the day I was at work I get

off work around five I go pick him up um from my mom's house because she had picked him up from school. And then Jay had called me like around 3 or 4 saying that to let him know when I was on my way to my house because he was going to be on his way there. It's around 6, 30, 7. I pick up my son. We go to my house. I didn't really think much of it. I was just like, you know what?

I didn't seem to call him because he was already going to come over anyways. So that kind of the regular day I get home, my son's getting ready, doing homework, showering. I'm making dinner. It's around 8 p.m. He hasn't called me yet, but I didn't't think like again like I didn't think nothing of it I sit here and think to myself why I didn't call him but I didn't call him because I'm like either way he had to drop by stop by um it's around 9 p.m. still no call I think around 9 30 I said to myself if he doesn't call me around 10, I'm going to call him. I put my son down to bed around 9, and I think around 9.30 is when his brother, his brother Xavier, starts calling me. He calls me like two, three times, but I thought it was because

Xavier rents for me. He rents my apartment, so i first i thought it was something to do with that when he calls me and he tells me everything my heart dropped literally after that it was like a blur um he tells me briefly tells me what happens i'm screaming i'm crying my son wakes up he's crying tells me he's going to drop the location to where he's at because I guess Xavier was already at the crime scene. I don't even, like, after that, I'm telling you, it was a blur. Like, I don't even know how I drove there. I was shaking.

I didn't even know how I drove to the crime scene. I grabbed my son. We left. We went, we drove to where Xavier was at. And we couldn't confirm at first that it was Justin because the whole street was blocked off, and we couldn't see his car. So when I get there, we couldn't really confirm if it was Justin or not. And that's where Sam was already there, Xavier was there, and everything happened just so quick. They tell us that he was taken to UMC.

We go to UMC. They couldn't confirm that it was him. Just so much happened in between that, and then we end up going back to the crime scene, and that's where Xavier had confirmed that that was his car that was crashed in the corner. And that's when I'm just like, what? Before we left UMC, though, they had told, we gave them our information to call us, and now there's not anything.

After UMC, we go back to the car scene. That's where, you know, me and Xavier noticed that that was his car, and we confirmed that pretty much that it was him. And I believe we just ended up going home, but we couldn't really, we didn't even sleep, honestly. We all just went home and pretty much waiting on a call to let us know what was going on. And then his, I guess UMC called his aunt that was on file. I said, family emergency. And the aunt's the one that calls me and tells me that it is just this minute that we have to go say our goodbyes to him. So I called Xavier. And again, I'm crying. I grab my son.

We go. And then I relieved. I called Xavier. And he flew to, we all just drove so fast to UMC, and then that's when they tell, like, that, you know, that it was him, and they allowed us to see him one by one, and that's after that it was just a freaking blur after that it was we have so many questions on what happened why we still do we have no answers police is i guess doing hard, but it's about to be six months next month.

We still don't know. If I could just add something to what JoJo said, one of the most significant parts of all of this that happened in the beginning was we left the crime scene, and they had told us at the crime scene, because I'm the only one who talked to detectives, like had an actual in-depth conversation, which I mentioned to you, Sean. Yeah. I recorded. So from jump at the crime scene, they were basically just treating him like this was

his fault, basically. You know, they're asking me like, well, why would he be here? I'm like, I don't know. We live seven minutes from here. I don't know this neighborhood. Like, I have no idea why he's here. And the most significant part of it all or whatever was we leave the crime scene. And I'm not sure if it was a detective there that told us I'm pretty sure it was a detective there on the scene they didn't say yeah it's Justin Smith and he's at the hospital but they basically without saying were like yes it is him and this is where he's at so when we went to the hospital we're you know we all rushed from the crime scene to

the trauma center. And I'm, I'm not sure about, you know, everyone else, but I feel like we were all kind of thinking like, okay, he's been shot, but he's okay. Like, we're going to be able to go see him at the hospital right now. And when we get there, we know we tell them who we're looking for. And they with no like, like, they just blatantly were like, yes, he is here. Nobody can see him. And you guys aren't even supposed to know that the word would be, would basically like block. Put a protection hold on the location of pretty much the victim or the one that was hurt. So basically, we weren't supposed to know that he was there but he was so that's when they turned us away because i guess we weren't even supposed to know he was there

and like jojo said we all you know obviously couldn't sleep but we went home thinking okay well you know at least he's here at the hospital. He's probably fine. They did an emergency surgery on him, they said. So I feel like in our minds, we were kind of all very hopeful. But like Jojo said, you know, a few hours later or the morning, the following morning, his aunt, you know, called and they made it seem like we had to get right, we had to get there right then and there because they were going to like pull the plug, but that was not the case.

It was very disorganized and just, you know, I know the hospital only knows so much and the police can only, you know, give so much information, but it was very just all over the place. I just want to ask a couple of questions. These are mostly for me, because now I'm curious. I'm assuming Jay was the only person in the car. No, that's one of the biggest mysteries for us all is we did not know that Jay was out with anybody. But the thing is, when the incident happened, everybody was like going on their ring apps and stuff.

Because, you know, obviously that's what people do when something happens, you know, nearby. You can go on ring and say, hey, did anybody hear that noise or whatever? So in the neighborhood, you know, there was a bunch of people commenting saying, Hey, there was a car crash. Someone's, you know, passed away. But there was one specific comment that said, cause I'm, these are the people that actually came out and helped Jay. Like they heard of the crash and they were the first responders. They are the ones who got him help. They, it was a husband and wife and I guess their kid saw somebody jump out of the car, a passenger, front passenger and start running. So that was like our number one fixation when all of this happened, because this was, I saw it with my own eyes, a comment on the Ring app saying, my kid saw someone jump out of the passenger and start running. So that to us was all very shocking because we were like, who would do that? Who was in the car and why did they run?

And none of us can figure it out because Jay was the father. He had his business. This man worked like crazy. If he wasn't working or with his kid, he was making music. And if he wasn't making music or working, he was traveling. He had just got his passport. He had just turned 28. His business was finally, you know, like doing well. And things were looking up for him. And he didn't associate with people who, you know, had negative energy or who just were trouble. That just wasn't him. He has a child. And like Jojo said, he was a great father. He would never put anyone in a situation like this. Like, that's how we all kind of feel that this just was not supposed to happen. Like, he was a protector, a provider, and he had a lot of people relying and counting on him. And he would never put himself in a situation with, you know, his own knowledge that would end up in this result so that it's a mystery and this was like on a residential street i'm guessing because you're saying ring cameras yeah it was in a neighborhood um okay

almost like on a cul-de-sac okay i got you okay and then do any of you have a copy of the police report? No, they didn't give us anything. Interesting. Okay. Yeah, they literally... We never got a police report. I left my number with multiple detectives and officers. They've never personally contacted me, although they did contact sam one day after and that was the end of that yeah like i was saying they interviewed interviewed me at the scene i think it was like maybe like a 14 minute conversation and then they called me the next day basically just asking me i wouldn't even say asking almost like pressing me for more info if I knew anything.

And they were very adamant in saying, you know, if you have any questions or concerns, please call us. And, you know, we were very vigilant and quick with trying to get any answer as to how this happened. So we, you know, had family members go back to the neighborhood and knock on doors, ask to see ring cameras from different, you know, people. And we tried to, you know, communicate that to them and nothing. Not a word since March 6th. Yeah, I wasn't the one who received the crash detection. That would be one of his closer musician friends. But immediately after he arrived to the scene,

he saw it was police taped up and couldn't get any information. So he had called me right as I was clocking out for my 12-hour shift. Pretty much told me, hey, your brother set off a crash detection to my phone. This is the location. I have no clue what's going on, and they won't tell me anything. Maybe you can get some answers. So I rushed down to the scene.

I was there for probably maybe an hour by myself before I started to call anyone, because like Sam was saying, I was walking around hearing oh someone was shot this and this and pretty much as every time I would go to ask officer like hey my brother set off a crash detection here I was the one that got it here's my ID like I gave him all my information they took all my information down and then pretty much told me oh I can't tell you anything it's confidential but I was like Sam saying, I was hearing multiple civilians just walk up, ask them about stuff. Hey, what's going on? And they would flat out say like, oh, there was a crash, yada, yada, this, we can't say too much, but they were getting more pieces of stuff that we would

get. Being the one big incident where there was the couple that walked up and the officer told him that pretty much someone was shot in the head and that's what kind of really turned the whole situation from it being just a potential car crash to me really being worried about my brother and then eventually the detective did maybe come and speak i was there probably at like 805 and the detectives finally came to talk to us i want to say like maybe close to 10 or 11 they spoke with sam rather than me uh it was a short little conversation after i'd asked to spoke with them they kind of like shooed me away they told her the little piece of information about um oh he's at umc so we rushed down there like she was saying obviously a little hopeful thinking that we can see him and stuff like this not knowing that they had already placed a protection hold on him

and we weren't even supposed to know where they were going so it's just like someone saying the biggest thing about all this is the way that they were handling it it seems very very not i don't know not very up to date not on procedure i don't think they're following the right protocol or anything. And then, obviously, like they said, the fact that we haven't heard from them since March 6th is kind of crazy. Like, someone was killed. It's not like just something to be taken lightly. It's like somebody's life was taken in a community where plenty of families and kids are in pretty much broad daylight. It was not even dark out yet. So it's just they the way they have

gone about it from jump just seems like they don't care. And like I mentioned, I'm the one who, you know, talked to the detectives at the crime scene. And the sad reality is a lot of times people of color get a blind eye because whatever reason. And I feel like it's Las Vegas. They don't want people to be scared to come here. They don't, you know, want to make themselves look bad. So they just kind of play it out to be not as scary as what it really is. What do you believe needs to happen for justice to be served in this case? I feel like the first step would be for them to at least give us an update. We're all grieving. And I mean, I get it. They have to do their investigation. A lot of things they can't share with us for the safety of others.

I feel like they at least owe it to us to sit us down and say something. The only way we will get justice is if they you know start communicating with us we all feel like he wouldn't have just went to that random neighborhood i mean obviously you can't rush these types of things but it's just like it's six months with the ring footage that we have everything we've gathered in the eyewitness statement we have. This guy saw it. It happened right in front of his house. He saw everything. How have you guys not said a word? I think they need to start communicating with us. Obviously,

I know things can't be rushed and you have to do it a certain way but to leave his family and his loved ones completely dry and with no information through this grieving process I feel like is very cold I personally asked to speak with them I've left my number with them and all their officers I would just like some type of answers would give us a lot of I feel like sense of like clarity in the thing give us a little bit of a step forward with the grieving process and stuff, because as of right now, I really feel like they're just kind of letting him be another one of the numbers of Black young men that have been murdered in our country, and I really don't like that, because he wasn't just that. He was a business owner, a dad, a brother, a friend,

inspiration. He was something in this world. In Nevada, we have the Nevada Victims' Bill of Rights, which outlines what crime victims are legally entitled to from the justice system. Some of the things are to know the status of the case in which you're involved, to know when impounded property may be released. Yeah, see, that's another big question that's been on our mind, obviously. Physical, I mean, material things aren't the biggest thing. But like Sam was saying, we know that his phone would have things. Obviously, he was going out of town, so we know he has his luggage and stuff with him, just personal items that we know his son would love as memorabilia or something like that. Are there any specific challenges that you're facing right now like are you calling and they're not responding what yeah so we we were trying to contact them and pretty much the we wouldn't get through to anything that's why i know i don't know if sam

has told you anything about it we are planning on maybe setting up a protest going to do something like that similar to try and urge them to get back to us but yeah no i personally have called um i know we've done several news interviews yeah like at least three in english and spanish yeah we we've tried to press the issue on them it's really seeming like they're just taking a laxie daisy approach to it all and kind of just kicking back which is why we're gonna let them know that we're not stopping because like i said this isn't just another number that's going to go down in a book this is a loved one to a lot of people out here does anyone want to talk about just other members of the community how maybe they've supported you during this time yeah definitely like I was saying the community that in which the neighborhood

it all happened in was obviously very helpful they were very compliant very understanding that like sam was saying just this has happened to our loved one and at any moment this could happen to any one of them because obviously these people are still out there um so they were more than willing to help us they took us in with open arms let us in their household sat down and talked with us although they did want to remain anonymous, and I can definitely respect that. They still did, you know, put themselves in some type of danger to tell us what happened from their point of view, from their eyes, just to try and give us and our family some type of clarity. So we really do appreciate that, as well as, I know, going forward, if anyone else sees anything, that would be, you know, obviously a big help. I know going forward, if anyone else sees anything, that would be, you know, obviously a big help.

I know it can be scary to come forward and speak, but obviously if we can get the answers and get them off the street, there's no reason to be scared. We need, I don't know, we need some type of vibe updates from them. Like, we haven't heard nothing, like nothing. It's about to be six months and we haven't heard nothing. I don't even think we can be okay. I don't think we'll be in peace or okay until we fight anything, like any type of justice for him because it wasn't fair to him. It wasn't fair to none of us.

It wasn't fair to his son that it took his life. I don't know. These past months has been so much and just Xavier has called him, Sam has called him, and not even a single update and I don't think that's fair for none of us I feel like the one thing that we definitely could ask for from the community is some support with the upgoing protest if we can you know make it a big enough matter to where the police can't ignore us can't ignore families like us that have similar cases Sam do you want to say any anything about where the plans are with this and how folks can

help support you? Yeah. Protest, march, not really sure. We just want to make sure that we're getting the message across peacefully, but we want to make it clear. And like Xavier said, there are plenty of other families that are going through the same thing that haven't gotten a single answer. We just need the community to come together. It's bigger than us. And, you know, although this is our loved one and to us, he is, you know, the most important thing,

but it's bigger than, it's bigger than Jay. It's, you know, for the safety of the whole community. Like, what do you want people to remember most about Jay? He was a great example of if you want something, you can achieve it. It doesn't matter where you start. Always keep moving forward. He was a very, very driven person, and he had been through a lot. He lost his best friend to gun violence,, he knows our pain. And he always kept going. So, yeah, I just want people to remember him for the, you know, bright person that he was.

He wasn't the tallest, but he would walk into a room and command it he just had that type of presence he was one of a kind person for sure i done seen jay come out of a lot of things and we were i known him since we were 19 years old so it's like we went through a lot a lot of good things a lot of bad things but it was more good things and we did obviously we weren't perfect with each other and the best thing that I the best thing that he loved me was our son because I just look at him and he just reminds me so much of him and it's hard trying to explain to a child but he was like I said he was one of a kind person he he for sure was there to he helped out a lot he was always handing out his hand to help out no matter what even he tried to

even with people that he had bad past with, he would try to forget, pass that on. I see him grow a lot as a person. And I feel like what I'm always going to remember him is as a person that he was with me and our son. And just the person that he was with everybody honestly he had a lot of people that loved him so pretty much like sam was saying just the type of person that he was he's a courageous loving outgoing person um really couldn't do even his worst enemy any harm because all he had was love in his heart. Even though he grew up a little bit bad than everyone else, he held his shoulder high.

And going through the same pain that we're going through now, he never let any of us see it on his face. He carried himself so well. All I can say is I just want people to know my brother for who he truly was, the loving, giving man, the father, the business owner, the hardworking person. And like Sam said, literally the manifestation, if you want it, you just have to go get it. Jay's friends and family are planning a peaceful march to ask that the North Las Vegas police provide an update on Jay's case, which of course is their right under the Nevada Victims Bill of Rights. We'll keep you informed of the date and location of the march when we have the details. If you have information that can help locate the person or persons responsible for Jay's murder, please contact the North Las Vegas Police

Investigative Bureau at 702-633-1773. Or if you want to remain anonymous, you can contact Crime Stoppers of Nevada at crimestoppersofnv.com or call 702-385-5555. We're going to finish by playing a clip of one of Jay's songs that his family agreed to let us play here. On YouTube, it'll probably be muted because of copyright, but we're going to include links in the show notes so you can find all of Jay's music. You can find it on YouTube. His user ID is jgrinds, that's with a Z, grinds, 702, jgrinds, 702.

You can find it on Apple Music or Spotify just by searching for jgrinds. And pretty much all the standard platforms, you can find it there too. And we recommend you giving it a listen. Thank you as always, and remember that what happens here happens everywhere. It's Jay It's crazy knowing that you changed But I just wish you stayed the same I've been going through some things And it ain't fucking with my brain Call me up some drank

That's how I'm dealing with the pain She's still trying to find herself Just take your time and throw it It's crazy knowing that you changed But I just wish you stayed the same I've been going through some things And it ain't fucking with my brain Call me up some drank

That's how I'm dealing with the pain She's still trying to find herself, just take your time and don't shake Ask me how I did it, it took patience I ain't going back and forth with these bitches cause I pace it Baby, call my phone, she got some funny shit, I'll take it I don't understand the way that I've been living, so they hate it I don't even understand this shit myself, so I can't blame her Probably know once I apply that pressure, you can't shake it I'm just trying to build a bond that's extra strong, so I can't even understand this shit myself, so I can't blame em Probably know once I apply that pressure, you can't shake it

I'm just tryna build a bond that's extra strong so I can't break it Told y'all I've been running from my problems, time to face em I just hope that you gon' really hold me down How you say you got me, you don't never come around Saddy on the block, but we don't ever see you out I keep running through this money, I'm just tryna make it count Tell me what you doing, first time to risk it all When it come to the streets, you can tell who got it bought

If they get to ask questions, I ain't talking out at all You gon' see who really snapping when it's time to set it off I just lock my nigga up, I try to answer every call All these bitches hit me up, but who gon' be there when I fall? I go to the facts, All these bitches hit me up But who gon' be there when I fall? I go to the facts But I swear this shit never change I'm tryna touch another track Go and drop it on the chain

If you ever say you love me Please don't say that shit in vain And I know I'm acting different Probably said I'd never change I've been going through the motions How I'm supposed to say the same? I mean, I really copped it for you This is sliding in the rain

Couple bitches, I done fucked them They don't even know my name A couple things that we done did But I'maped it for him, this is sliding in the rain Couple bitches, I done fucked them, they don't even know my name A couple things I wouldn't do, but I'ma take it to the grave I ain't never check up on me, I ain't trippin' doggy straight And I ain't never robbed, no stabbing, paid to lower your closet guys Chopper in the trunk, but this finna blow my wife Had to kick the parties, I can't hear him, I die fake All the money in the world is still on site in front of paint

Gotta calculate the risk You try to go against the grain Thanks for listening. Visit sinspod.co slash subscribe for exclusive bonus content and to listen ad-free. Remember to like and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Threads at Sins and Survivors. If you're enjoying the podcast, please leave us a review on your podcast platform of choice. You can contact us at questions at sinsandsurvivors.com. If you or someone you know is affected by domestic violence or needs support, please reach out to local resources or the National Domestic Violence Hotline. A list of resources is available on our website, sinsandsurvivors.com. Sins and Survivors, a Las Vegas true crime podcast, is research written and

produced by your hosts, Sean and John. The information shared in this podcast is accurate at the time of recording. If you have questions, concerns, or corrections, please email us. Links to source material for this episode can be found on our website, sinsandsurvivors.com. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the podcast creators, hosts, and their guests. All individuals are innocent until proven guilty. This content does not constitute legal advice. Listeners are encouraged to consult with legal professionals for guidance.