Source: Al Pereira / Getty
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.
