State Champ Radio murder trial
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Testimony in the trial of two men alleged to have murdered Jam Master Jay was punctuated by a former drug dealer confirming that the icon sold cocaine.
On Monday (Feb. 5), a jury in Brooklyn Federal Court heard tense and emotional testimony from three witnesses in the trial of Karl Jordan Jr. and Ronald Washington, accused of murdering Hip-Hop icon Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC. The first of those witnesses, Ralph Mullgrav, was a friend of the DJ and a former Baltimore drug dealer who confirmed that Jam Master Jay did sell cocaine. “Jay wasn’t a drug dealer. I’m a drug dealer.” Mullgrav said on the stand.
Mullgrav testified that the DJ approached him to sell cocaine that he had obtained – “maybe 1 or 2 kilos, here or there.” He also stated that Jam Master Jay “just used it to make ends meet.” Mullgrav’s testimony comes after he spent seven days in jail after being arrested on a material witness warrant, which is used to coerce uncooperative witnesses to testify. Mullgrav also stated that Mizell had approached him in August 2002 about having him sell 10 to 20 kilograms of cocaine in Baltimore. Mizell wanted to include Washington, but Mullgrav declined.
“I told him no,” Mullgrav said, citing a history of bad blood with Washington. “Yes, he [Washington] was a problem.” The deal was scuttled when Washington (also known as Tigard) showed up to a meeting instead of Mizell. “I went to the tire to get my gun,” he said, detailing how he stashed a weapon in the tire of a parked car. When the prosecutor asked what his next move was, he replied, “Shoot Tinard.” The prosecution has maintained that a core reason that Jordan and Washington allegedly murdered Jam Master Jay, also known as Jason Mizell, in a Jamaica, Queens, recording studio on October 30, 2002, was due to Mizell cutting Washington out of that deal.
The revelation opened up a full day of testimony wrought with emotion as Lydia High, Jam Master Jay’s former business manager, took the stand afterward. High did state that Jordan and Washington were in the studio, struggling to recount the details but confirming “Jason smiled, he smiled. He kind of gave the person a pound and that’s when he said ‘Oh (expletive)!’ I heard the gun. I screamed and jumped up and I ran, I ran for the door.” Derrick Parker, the “Hip-Hop Cop”, also testified to close out the day.
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The trial of two men accused of murdering Hip-Hop icon and Run-DMC member Jam Master Jay over a drug deal began in a federal court in Brooklyn.
On Monday (Jan. 29), the anticipated trial of two men accused of the murder of former Run-DMC member Jam Master Jay began at the U.S. Federal Courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, with opening statements from the prosecution and the defense. Ronald Washington, 59, and Karl Jordan Jr., 40, are alleged to have killed Jam Master Jay aka Jason Mizell inside of a recording studio in Queens, New York, on Oct. 30, 2002. In opening statements, Assistant U.S. Attorney Miranda Gonzalez stated that the two men did so after being cut out of a drug deal that Jam Master Jay was involved in.
“They were left with nothing,” Gonzalez said, according to Reuters. The deal was estimated to pull in $200,000 after Jam Master Jay had met with a cocaine distributor from the Midwest with the narcotics slated to be sold in Baltimore, with Washington and Jordan set to take part – until they were told they were out. “It was an ambush. An execution. And you will learn that it was motivated by greed and by revenge,” Gonzalez continued, promising jurors they would hear from witnesses who claimed that the men bragged about the shooting as well as Tony Rincon and Lydia High who were also in the studio that night.
“Why bite the hand that feeds you?” argued Ezra Spilke, the attorney for Washington in his opening remarks, citing “aging memories” as the reason for his client being in that position. If convicted of the charges, both men face a maximum life sentence in prison with a mandatory minimum of 20 years. The courtroom audience was filled with Jam Master Jay’s loved ones, including DJ Hurricane. The trial is expected to last four weeks.
The murder of Jam Master Jay had been unsolved until authorities in 2020 arrested Washington and Jordan with a 10-count federal indictment. Both men pleaded not guilty. A third man, Jay Bryant, was arrested last year after DNA evidence collected from the scene and surveillance video captured him entering the studio at the time. His trial will take place in 2026.
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Keefe D’s opportunity to defend his name has been set. His murder trial has been scheduled for next summer.
KTNV Las Vegas is reporting that the Compton, California native will get his day in court. On Tuesday, November 7 Clark County Judge Carli Kearney hosted a hearing and scheduled the murder trial to commence on June 3, 2024. The man born Keith Duane Davis faces charges relating to the murder of Tupac Shakur. On Thursday, November 2 Davis pled not guilty to the crime even though he has conducted several interviews where he admitted to being in the vehicle that fatally shot the “All Eyez On Me” rapper.
During an 2018 interview with BET he gave further details behind that tragic evening. “When we pulled up, I was in the front seat,” Davis said. When asked by the interviewer “Who shot Tupac?” he responded “Going to keep it for the code of the streets,” Davis said. “It just came from the backseat, bro.” He also spoke about the incident in his memoir Compton Street Legend. “Tupac made an erratic move and began to reach down beneath his seat,” Keefe wrote in the book. “It was the first and only time in my life that I could relate to the police command, ‘Keep your hands where I can see them.’ Instead, Pac pulled out a strap, and that’s when the fireworks started. One of my guys from the back seat grabbed the Glock and started bustin’ back.”
Keefe D will not face the death penalty if convicted.
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Hurricane Chris was charged with second-degree murder in 2020 after shooting a man he believed was attempting to steal his vehicle. This past Wednesday (March 15), the artist born Christopher Dooley was formally acquitted on all counts during his murder trial.
Local outlet WBRZ reports that Hurricane Chris, 32, was initially indicted on second-degree murder charges for the shooting death of Danzeria Farris Jr. Farris was shot multiple times at a gas station in Shreveport, La., succumbing to his wounds. Hurricane Chris was also charged with illegal possession of a stolen vehicle.
According to the attorney for the “Ay Bay Bay” artist, Chris was acting in self-defense.
“He was simply trying not to be killed,” Dooley’s attorney, Alex J. Washington, told local outlet KTBS. “What we later learned is that this individual had concrete slabs in his pocket and it was a bulge in his pocket, so when Mr. Dooley faced off with him he believed that to be a weapon. When the guy put his hand in his pocket he was faced with a decision, ‘should I leave my life in this guys hands? Or, should I make a decision?’ And he made a decision to save his own life and he pulled the trigger.”
Washington added in his statement that Hurricane Chris was acquitted of the stolen car charge as well as he purchased the vehicle from an ex-girlfriend who later reported the car stolen.
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