Jam Master Jay murder: Witness reveals DJ ‘smiled’ and embraced his killer in final moments
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK: A woman who worked as business manager for hip hop music sensation Jam Master Jay's label at the time of his death gave emotional testimony in the Brooklyn trial for the two men indicted for killing him in 2002, reports Rolling Stone.
Jay, whose real name was Jason Mizell smiled and gave one of his killers an embrace in the final seconds before he was gunned down in his Queens studio in 2002, according to testimony in Brooklyn court on Monday, February 5.
Jam Master Jay 'smiled and he kind of gave the guy a pound'
In a sharp turn from the hip-hop group's declared anti-drug stance, the groundbreaking Run DMC DJ's involvement in the cocaine trade was also covered in depth for the first time and was described as a "way to make ends meet."
Witnesses told the jury during the trial of Jay's two suspected murders that Jay became involved in drug selling as a method "to make ends meet," and that's how he ended up dead in what the prosecution claimed was a revenge killing.
“Jason smiled. He smiled and he kind of gave the guy a pound,” lifelong friend Lydia High testified while crying on the stand. “And then he, and then he, and then he said, ‘Oh s**t!'” she added.
High testified before the jury that she had gone to the studio that evening to get Mizell to sign some papers following her success in getting a big record deal for one of his artists at Mizell's company, JMJ Records. Under tense interrogation from Assistant US Attorney Artie McConnell, High recounted that she managed to convince the hip-hop pioneer to approve the documents prior to the gunman, who is thought to be Mizell's godson, Karl Jordan Jr—entering the studio and firing bullets.
High shouted and leaped off a couch to make a swift getaway out of the studio's main door when she heard the pops of the gun, but another man, who appeared to be Ronald Washington, better known as Tinard, stopped her and told her to get on the ground.
Karl Jordan and Ronald Washington facing murder charges
During cross-examination, Susan Kellman, the lawyer for Washington, questioned High about whether Washington might have been asking her to get on the ground to protect her. However, the prosecution swiftly objected, and Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall ordered that the question be removed from the record.
High stated in her deposition that she attempted to stay away from the studio and was turned off when she saw Mizell's revolver leaning on the arm of the couch the night of the shooting. Earlier in the trial, Uriel 'Tony' Rincon, who was shot in the long-running unsolved homicide, testified that he knew Jordan—also known by his nickname, 'Little D', was the killer based on his neck tattoo, 'Golden Child.'
Jordan and Washington are facing charges of murder while engaged in narcotics trafficking conspiracy in the October 30, 2002 death of the iconic DJ.
Per NY Post prosecutors have said that the pair’s deadly ambush was fueled by “greed and revenge” after they were stiffed from a drug deal in Baltimore.
