Found Deceased IL - Jelani 'JJ' Day, 25, ISU grad student, missed class, Bloomington, 23 Aug 2021

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MntnHiker said:
New photo released of missing ISU student, police still looking for answers | CIProud.com

"This clothing was found in his vehicle days later, meaning he will not be wearing it now."

So the clothes from the dispensary photos was found in the car. So he had one outfit on in the student center pic, a different outfit on a couple hours later in the dispensary pic, and then THOSE clothes are not on him when the vehicle is abandoned.
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Trying to make sense of the clothes..

This is the scenario I've come up with.. after the student center he changed to go either to the gym on campus or for a run (I can't remember if I read that he was athletic or I just think this bc he looks fit). I think they would know if he was spotted at the gym though.

In sweaty clothes, goes to the dispensary. Maybe just sweaty or maybe planned to smoke what he got (would not want to remain in marijuana smelling clothes), either way changed back into original clothes (or was there a third set too?).
 
Peru is my current town (and I've lived in this town and the next one over my entire life) ...if you were from Peru, you wouldn't ditch a car in that spot, unless you wanted someone to find it or didn't know the area IMO there are woods within a mile or two in every direction and a state park with a lot of parking and woods the next town over (Starved Rock in Utica) which would make a more ideal dumping spot than in the literal middle of town.

We used to leave the high school and walk that way, then cut through the woods to get to the YMCA....and you wouldn't park there to do that, since you can park on side streets, at the Y itself, etc. You can pretty much park anywhere all over Lasalle and Peru.

There are 2 popular bars up the street (Jake's and 9th street pub) ...young crowd, good food, and live music a lot of the time. I hope they asked the owners, who are usually there, and patrons if they saw anything. Those are 2 of the most popular food and drink spots in this tiny area. They both have Lasalle addresses, but are only a few blocks away. 9th street Lasalle turns into 12th street Peru, so heading west towards Peru from that street (and those bars I mentioned), there is a small field and wooded area on the south side, other than that, it's mainly all residential and not heavily wooded, except around the YMCA.

I can't see him buying dispensary Marijuana and selling it in this area, unless it was to minors...the dispensary prices are super high and any adult would pay that before paying a surcharge to a dealer as well. We have one located in Ottawa, which is not that far away (same county).

Did he have ties to high schoolers here? (Cousins, friends, etc). There is very minor crime in the area, but a few months back there was an incident were a man from peoria threw a girl into a car in the middle of the night, turns out they were from Peoria and it was domestic, but very odd for this town.

LotusPawprint said:
Going off of the circumstances surrounding the vehicle... The location where it was left raises so many questions. Over an hour away. Somewhat concealed but not well enough. Whoever left the car there (Jelani or someone else) would've needed another person to pick them up, unless they lived close to that drop spot. That location seems like it should have significance to whomever left it there.

Sounds like whoever had the car did not ditch it on Tuesday, the day he went missing. Maybe the person who found it walks by there daily and didn't see it earlier. So someone may have had it for 48+ hours (?). Driving it? Cleaning it?
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StacyMarie83 said:
Peru is my current town (and I've lived in this town and the next one over my entire life) ...if you were from Peru, you wouldn't ditch a car in that spot, unless you wanted someone to find it or didn't know the area IMO there are woods within a mile or two in every direction and a state park with a lot of parking and woods the next town over (Starved Rock in Utica) which would make a more ideal dumping spot than in the literal middle of town.

We used to leave the high school and walk that way, then cut through the woods to get to the YMCA....and you wouldn't park there to do that, since you can park on side streets, at the Y itself, etc. You can pretty much park anywhere all over Lasalle and Peru.

There are 2 popular bars up the street (Jake's and 9th street pub) ...young crowd, good food, and live music a lot of the time. I hope they asked the owners, who are usually there, and patrons if they saw anything. Those are 2 of the most popular food and drink spots in this tiny area. They both have Lasalle addresses, but are only a few blocks away. 9th street Lasalle turns into 12th street Peru, so heading west towards Peru from that street (and those bars I mentioned), there is a small field and wooded area on the south side, other than that, it's mainly all residential and not heavily wooded, except around the YMCA.

I can't see him buying dispensary Marijuana and selling it in this area, unless it was to minors...the dispensary prices are super high and any adult would pay that before paying a surcharge to a dealer as well. We have one located in Ottawa, which is not that far away (same county).

Did he have ties to high schoolers here? (Cousins, friends, etc). There is very minor crime in the area, but a few months back there was an incident were a man from peoria threw a girl into a car in the middle of the night, turns out they were from Peoria and it was domestic, but very odd for this town.
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Thank you for the local perspectives. Very helpful.

I was thinking along the same lines as what you talked about when it comes to dumping the car in that particular spot.

There are clearly more ideal areas to leave it if one wanted to truly conceal it, and not too far away. Like you suggested, did someone want it found? Who would want it found?-- not a criminal who has done Jelani harm. So Jelani himself. Then what would be happening with him? Why else would the car be left there.. Whoever had it may have panicked and had to abandon it rushed and sloppily.

As for the marijuana... I feel like as a graduate student going to school to help people, and going to buy marijuana legally at a dispensary, it seems unlikely that he would do anything but use it for himself.

Also, someone else mentioned upthread that dispensaries, having large amounts of cash on hand, can be targets for robbery. I agree and so I think it would be an odd choice for someone to target a customer as opposed to hitting the dispensary itself.

Maybe someone wanted a car and that's why he was targeted, if he was?


I am really hoping that he walked away for some reason, even though it is completely out of character according to those who know him. Maybe the stress of school or some other issue has him overwhelmed. I like that scenario best because it has him safe somewhere.
 
I've thought about him abandoning his own car ...so let's say he was in a sound state of mind and just needed to get away. Locally- (although he wouldn't have known these places, unless; he had ties here, friends here, or was just on his phone googling transportation about a place he just randomly ended up in) - there is a company called 'green river lines' bus company, which is barely running due to Covid, lack of passengers, and places to go- in Peru- not a local bus per se, but a bus that brings people from here to cubs games/concerts/etc; an Amtrak in Mendota (same county, but miles north of Peru), and we are at the crossroads of interstate 80 (which has 2 Peru exits and a LaSalle one, a few miles north of where his car was found) and interstate 39 (runs north/south)....which is the next exit on 80/west after the LaSalle exit. There are no uber's available and just 2 local "taxi" companies that only run certain hours and have 1-2 drivers, if that. There are no truck stops in Peru, but there is a Shell station off of 80 where diesel drivers can fuel up and there is a flying J off of the LaSalle exit.

I just don't understand why his car was found where it was. I can't see him dumping it there...because why? And I can't see a perp dropping it there....because why? I amost think he had to have ties to this area for either scenario...internet friends, family, etc. There has got to be a reason he came around this area. Whether it was to see friends/family, party, escape, etc.

If someone wanted it found, why there? You could have left it parked almost anywhere, so why partially conceal it?

Also, why the quote about the car possibly not having plates when it was in the area? "Jelani is depicted in the attached photos and the vehicle is a white 2010 Chrysler 300 4 door. It may have had license plates of CH74067 on the vehicle when travelling in the Illinois Valley. It is also possible there were no plates on the vehicle." <iframe src="Facebook" width="500" height="522" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share"></iframe>

Sorry if it sounds like rambling, it's just very surreal to have something like this happen locally and nothing to go on. I wish this case had more info. I'm also not trying to lean one way or another. He maybe went to a dispensary to get something to relax, because he was meeting with someone he met online, etc., but there's no evidence to support anything, ugh.

LotusPawprint said:
Thank you for the local perspectives. Very helpful.

I was thinking along the same lines as what you talked about when it comes to dumping the car in that particular spot.

There are clearly more ideal areas to leave it if one wanted to truly conceal it, and not too far away. Like you suggested, did someone want it found? Who would want it found?-- not a criminal who has done Jelani harm. So Jelani himself. Then what would be happening with him? Why else would the car be left there.. Whoever had it may have panicked and had to abandon it rushed and sloppily.

As for the marijuana... I feel like as a graduate student going to school to help people, and going to buy marijuana legally at a dispensary, it seems unlikely that he would do anything but use it for himself.

Also, someone else mentioned upthread that dispensaries, having large amounts of cash on hand, can be targets for robbery. I agree and so I think it would be an odd choice for someone to target a customer as opposed to hitting the dispensary itself.

Maybe someone wanted a car and that's why he was targeted, if he was?


I am really hoping that he walked away for some reason, even though it is completely out of character according to those who know him. Maybe the stress of school or some other issue has him overwhelmed. I like that scenario best because it has him safe somewhere.
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I wish we could narrow down the time last seen or when the car went into the woods. There are two days between when he was seen on video and when the car was found. For all we know, the car may have been put there on Thurs.

No luggage found in the car? It almost seems like he planned to take a trip somewhere, even locally. But if he changed out of his clothes and just threw them in the car, that would make it seem like no luggage or he just had a quick change of clothes somewhere like a gas station and figured he'd organize them later. Hopefully most of the gas stations nearby are being checked for cameras on the off chance he stopped at one.
 
So the most direct route from Bloomington to Peru would be I-39. Of course, I have no idea if that's how the vehicle traveled there, but it would make the most sense. I have driven 39 countless times. There are only two rest areas on 39 and they are north of this area: Interstate I-39 Illinois Rest Area Stops | Illinois Rest Areas

Initially in a case like this, I would wonder if the person encountered foul play at a rest stop, someone made them drive them somewhere, etc., but he would not have passed any rest areas between these two cities.
 
I’m not sure if I’m doing this right as it’s my first time trying to post a picture but this is a photo of the area his car was found. It was north of the pin but south of the YMCA.
 

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In the surveillance shot of him walking into the dispensary, his car is visible in the parking lot.

This suggests to me that when he returned to his car, he likely wasn't approached or ambushed there. I am trying to rule out possibilities and in this case the possibility that a perp was looking to rob someone who just left the dispensary.

I suppose someone could have followed his car, but that all seems a lot of work to target a guy who I'm thinking bought a small amount.

Also I don't think we can be sure that he was alone in the car.


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flower_girl said:
Weed is way more expensive at dispensaries than it is on the street. There's no way he would buy overpriced weed at a store and then sell it.
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Yeah, exactly, that whole angle seems so unlikely to me.
He was buying legally, and has too much going for him and too much to loose for something like selling weed.
 
Just wondering, from what I’ve read his professor reported him missing? How long had he been gone when she called campus police? It just seems odd to me that she reported him missing first and not a family member? I’m probably way off and not looking at things clearly due to lack of sleep. Will have to reread things again soon.
 
GuyfromCanada said:
Press Release

Public Assistance Requested

Peru Police Department

For Immediate Release Friday August 27, 2021 8:05 am

Media Contacts:

Chief Douglas P. Bernabei or Deputy Chief Robert Pyszka

Case Detectives:

Detective Commander Dennis Hocking 223-2151 extension 2804

Detective Brad Jones 223-2151 extension 2816

At 4:20pm Thursday August 26, 2021, officers of the Peru Police Department responded to a report of a vehicle in the wooded area south of the Illinois Valley YMCA and due north of the intersection of 12th Street and Westclox Avenue. When officers arrived, a vehicle was located concealed in the wooded area. Upon a search of law enforcement computerized files, it was determined the vehicle was a vehicle of interest in a missing person case out of Bloomington, Illinois.

The vehicle was one belonging to Mr. Jelani J. Day, age 25 of Bloomington, Illinois. According to Bloomington Police Mr. Day is a graduate student at Illinois State University with family from Danville, Illinois. Jelani has been missing for several days in unexplained suspicious circumstances. Jelani is described as a male black, 25 year of age, 6 feet, two inches tall, 180 pounds with short black hair, brown eyes, and some facial hair.

Based on the findings by PPD officers when recovering the vehicle, a command post was established and an extensive K-9 search by Illinois State Police, drone aerial searches by Peru Fire and Utica Fire drones as well as a ground search by teams from Peru, Utica, and Oglesby Fire Departments. Peru Police were also assisted by detectives from Bloomington Police and State’s Attorney Todd Martin.

Early this morning the vehicle was removed and transported to a secure facility pending further processing.

Bloomington and Peru detectives are asking the assistance from Illinois Valley residents that may have seen the vehicle or Jelani or any else operating the vehicle in the area since sometime this past Monday.

Jelani is depicted in the attached photos and the vehicle is a white 2010 Chrysler 300 4 door. It may have had license plates of CH74067 on the vehicle when travelling in the Illinois Valley. It is also possible there were no plates on the vehicle.

Anyone with information can call Peru Police Detective Commander Dennis Hocking 223-2151 extension 2804 or Detective Brad Jones 223-2151 extension 2816.

Chief Douglas Bernabei.

Log into Facebook
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I'm very worried for this young man. "concealed" sounds ominous to me

JMO
 
GuyfromCanada said:
I wonder if Jelani was buying weed for personal use or if he wanted to sell it to make a quick buck? If the latter, maybe something happened during the sale?
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Illinois taxes it at SUCH high rates that it is unlikely that one would purchase large amounts from a dispensary with the intent to sell to make an extra buck because the profit margin is so terrible.

Illinois' recreational cannabis tax rates are among the highest in the country. It includes a 7% wholesale tax, a retail excise tax of 15%, 20% or 25% depending on the product's THC level, the state's 6.25% sales tax and the local sales tax rate paid by all retailers.
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Watch now: Recreational pot made $175 million in Illinois tax revenue. But some aren't happy with the rollout. | Govt-and-politics | pantagraph.com

<modsnip>
 
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