Four men stood over Oscar Cruz in his own home, guns drawn, and delivered words no one should ever hear: Kiss your husband goodbye, because you’ll never see him alive again. That command, prosecutors say, marked the start of a nightmare that ended with Cruz gunned down 17 times after the group made off with $3,000 in cash and drugs. The 28-year-old father from Lawrenceville, Georgia, known to friends as “OZ,” lost his life on July 22 in what authorities describe as a botched drug deal turned deadly home invasion. Cruz had agreed to meet the suspects at a local Waffle House for what should have been a simple transaction.
Instead, he climbed into their car, only to end up back at his quiet neighborhood on Gin Blossom Circle, bound with duct tape alongside his terrified wife. According to court testimony from Gwinnett County detectives, the men ransacked the home, stuffing cash and narcotics into their pockets while keeping Cruz restrained. They forced his wife to watch, then issued the cruel ultimatum as they dragged him away. Hours later, early on July 23, passersby found Cruz’s body in the parking lot of Cannon United Methodist Church in nearby Snellville, his life snuffed out in an execution-style attack. Among the accused is Javon Wilson, a 26-year-old Chicago rapper who goes by OTF Boona and has ties to the Only The Family collective linked to hip-hop star Lil Durk.
Wilson, along with three others, faces charges of murder, kidnapping, and aggravated assault. Raymond Cooper, 34, another suspect, was arrested on September 4 and remains in Gwinnett County Jail without bond. Details emerged during a preliminary hearing this week, where a judge found probable cause on all counts against Cooper, sending the case to Superior Court. Police pieced together the plot from witness statements and vehicle tracking, linking a Dodge Charger to the crime scene.
The group, all from Chicago, had traveled south for the deal, which soured when Cruz allegedly fronted them drugs on credit. Neighbors in the tight-knit community still reel from the violence, with one resident calling it a stark reminder to lock doors even in safe suburbs. Cruz’s sister, Jessica, remembers him as a loving dad to his young son, far from the headlines now defining his story. She launched a GoFundMe to support the family, sharing photos of Cruz beaming with his child and urging the public to seek justice. The investigation into the OTF Boona murder charges continues.
