On a cold February evening in Gary, Indiana, the life of Julius James IV, a 24-year-old Black male, was tragically cut short. On February 11, 2019, police responded to a call of shots fired in the 2300 block of Clark Road. Upon their arrival, they discovered James unresponsive on the sidewalk, having sustained a fatal gunshot wound to his back. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
James was the great-grandson of the Reverend Julius James, a noted pastor and civil rights activist with a
friendship with Martin Luther King Jr. This lineage cast a spotlight on the young man's untimely death, a stark contrast to his family's legacy of peace and social justice. His funeral was held at St. John Baptist Church, the same church where his great-grandfather had once preached.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, investigators learned of a male suspect who was seen running from the area. This individual was described as being between 5 feet 9 inches and 5 feet 11 inches tall, wearing a hoodie and black pants with a white stripe. He was observed getting into a vehicle and fleeing the scene. Despite this description, no arrests have been announced in the murder of Julius James IV, and the case officially remains unsolved. The Gary Metro Homicide Unit has continued to appeal to the public for any information that might lead to a breakthrough in the investigation.
Years after his death, the name of Julius James IV, also known as 'Chop,' resurfaced in connection with another homicide. In February 2023, 13-year-old Orie Dodson was shot and killed in Gary. During the trial of Kriston Barbee, one of the individuals charged with Dodson's murder, prosecutors alleged that the motive was retaliation for Dodson disrespecting James on an Instagram Live video. Court records described James as a 'revered' and 'untouchable' figure within the 49th Avenue Boys gang. This revelation provided a different perspective on James's life, suggesting a potential involvement in gang culture that was not widely known at the time of his death. While Barbee was convicted in Dodson's murder, the case did not yield any new leads or suspects in the still-open investigation into who killed Julius James IV.
