Jobina “JB” Brown, a 41-year-old Black woman known as the devoted aunt and manager of her nephew, Detroit rapper Tee Grizzley, was killed on the evening of August 20, 2019. Brown was a constant presence in her nephew’s life and career. “Since I was 12 we been going everywhere together how you gone go to heaven without me????” he later wrote in a tribute. “Idek what to say JB I just wanted to show the world yo smile I love you so much.”
The shooting happened around 9 p.m.
in Detroit, Michigan, as Brown sat in a parked black Chrysler 300 on Three Mile Drive. She was in the rear seat of the vehicle with Tee Grizzley and at least one other man. After the car stopped and one of the men exited, an unknown person approached and opened fire. Brown was struck multiple times on her left side. She was rushed to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The Wayne County Medical Examiner later ruled her death a homicide caused by multiple gunshot wounds. Tee Grizzley and the other man in the car were not physically injured.
For two years, the Detroit Police Department’s Homicide Unit investigated the case, which was considered unsolved. A significant breakthrough came after a .40 caliber Glock 23 was recovered in Chicago two months after the murder. Ballistics testing confirmed it was the same weapon used to kill Brown. The investigation eventually focused on Jermaine Weeden, also known as “Woo,” an alleged affiliate of a Chicago-based crew. Prosecutors stated that cell phone records placed Weeden near the scene of the shooting on the night Brown was killed.
In October 2021, Weeden was arrested and arraigned in Detroit. He was charged with first-degree premeditated murder and several weapons offenses in connection with Jobina Brown’s death. Weeden stood mute to the charges, and the court entered not guilty pleas on his behalf.
Jermaine Weeden’s case proceeded to a jury trial. Jury selection began on July 15, and by July 24, the trial was in its ninth day with testimony ongoing. As of July of that year, the case remained in active litigation.
