05/20/2026
HE WAS DRIVING IN BROAD DAYLIGHT WHEN ANOTHER CAR PULLED UP AND OPENED FIRE
THE UNSOLVED MURDER OF JO’VON “DEDE” PORTER
Toledo, Ohio — March 2, 2021
It was the middle of the afternoon.
Cars moving through traffic.
People going about their day near one of Toledo’s busiest areas.
Then gunfire erupted beside a moving SUV.
And within seconds, 29-year-old Jo’Von “DeDe” Porter was dying behind the wheel.
On March 2, 2021, around 2:16 p.m., Porter was driving a Chevy Tahoe in the 2100 block of West Central Avenue near ProMedica Toledo Hospital.
According to investigators, another vehicle pulled alongside the SUV and opened fire.
Bullets tore into the vehicle.
Jo’Von Porter was struck in the head.
The gunshot caused him to lose control of the Tahoe before crashing into a brick wall.
Inside the SUV was another passenger who survived the attack.
But for Jo’Von, the damage was catastrophic.
Emergency crews rushed him to nearby Toledo Hospital, but he did not survive.
The Lucas County Coroner officially ruled his death a homicide.
To many in Toledo, Jo’Von was known as “DeDe.”
A local rapper.
A familiar face in the community.
A man whose life ended in a hail of bullets in the middle of the day while surrounded by traffic and witnesses.
And yet, four years later, no one has been arrested.
No public motive has been released.
No justice for the man shot to death while driving through Toledo traffic.
Investigators have faced what they describe as a wall of silence.
Somebody saw that vehicle pull up beside him.
Somebody saw who fired those shots.
Somebody knows exactly why Jo’Von Porter was targeted that afternoon.
But the silence continues.
Now his family is left with memories, unanswered questions, and a homicide case that remains open years later.
The Toledo Police Department and Toledo Crime Stoppers continue asking for information in the case.
A reward of up to $5,000 remains available for anonymous tips leading to an arrest.
Anyone with information regarding the murder of Jo’Von “DeDe” Porter is urged to call or text Crime Stoppers at 419-255-1111.
A man driving through Toledo in broad daylight should have made it home.
Instead, his SUV crashed into a wall while his killer disappeared into traffic.
© The Vivid Faces of the Vanished.
