Jam Master Jay Suspect Named

[mrtonguetwista]

Federal prosecutors have alleged that a low-level career bandit may hold the key to one of the more high-profile mysteries of the hip-hop world: Who killed rap pioneer Jam Master Jay?

In court papers, the prosecutors identify Ronald "Tenad" Washington as the armed accomplice of a second unidentified gunman who shot Jay, whose real name was Jason Mizell, inside his New York recording studio in 2002. They say Washington also is a suspect in the 1995 fatal shooting of Randy Walker, a close associate of the late rapper Tupac Shakur.

The papers were filed earlier this month in the federal trial of Washington, who was convicted in a string of armed robberies that occurred just after Jay was killed. Prosecutors declined on Tuesday to discuss the unsolved slayings.

A Mizell family spokeswoman welcomed news that authorities had for the first time publicly identified a suspect.

"We're relieved there's some information coming out, although we understand that it's not the full story," said the spokeswoman, Fern Yates.

Washington, 45, has denied any connection to either the Mizell or Walker cases. In a sworn statement, he claimed hostile detectives had hounded him about the slaying of his "childhood friend" Mizell and other crimes.

Washington's criminal record dates to 1982, and includes convictions for assault, drugs and grand larceny, authorities said.

During the 1980s, Mizell made rap music history working the turntables as Joe "Run" Simmons and Darryl "DMC" McDaniels rapped on hits like "King of Rock," "It's Tricky" and a top-40 remake of Aerosmith's "Walk This Way."

Mizell was gunned down Oct. 30, 2002, at his 24/7 recording studio. According to a performer there, a man wearing a black sweat suit appeared, embraced Mizell, pulled out a .40-caliber pistol and opened fire.

A first round missed Mizell and injured another person. A second bullet, this one fired from point-blank range, entered the left side of Mizell's head. The shooter vanished.

For his part, Washington "pointed his gun at those present in the studio, ordered them to get on the ground and provided cover for his associate to shoot and kill Jason Mizell," prosecutors said in court papers.

While being sought for questioning in the Mizell case, Washington fled and lived in various motels, authorities said. He held up several fast-food restaurants and other businesses with a pellet gun before his arrest in December 2002.

Prosecutors claim Washington was among three men involved in a fatal car chase with another hip-hop figure — Walker — on Nov. 30, 1995. The suspect allegedly fired a gun out a car window, killing Walker and causing his minivan to crash.

Walker had performed with the group Live Squad under the name Stretch. He also was known for producing several songs for Shakur, victim of an unsolved murder in 1996 in Las Vegas.

[jeromechickenbone]

Well at least they're actually trying to find the killer. 

[Tha Psycho Hustla]

good 2 know.

[Tanjential]

if jam master jay was a gangsta rapper, the authorities would not be doing all this.

-T

[MontrealCity's Most]

if jam master jay was a gangsta rapper, the authorities would not be doing all this.

-T

maybe not but maybe he actualy was g if he got guned down, just a theory

[Tanjential]

if jam master jay was a gangsta rapper, the authorities would not be doing all this.

-T

maybe not but maybe he actualy was g if he got guned down, just a theory

i would imagine alot of the early/old school rappers were gs and did not talk about it, but they still ain't gangsta rappers if they ain't gangsta rappin', but I feel you

-T

[Black Capone]

I hope they find the real killer

[Don Jacob]

i believe he was in the streets but not in a negative way, i don't know jay never seemed that type of person.

[XaNdEr]

if jam master jay was a gangsta rapper, the authorities would not be doing all this.

-T

maybe not but maybe he actualy was g if he got guned down, just a theory

i would imagine alot of the early/old school rappers were gs and did not talk about it, but they still ain't gangsta rappers if they ain't gangsta rappin', but I feel you

-T

Yeah it's like Dr. Dre is a gangsta rapper but not in "real life", i don't see Dre as a "gangsta" and i doubt he sees himself like this. It's just the role they play in their music, people take that for who the rappers really are. Back in the days i can definately see a lot of "gangsta's" but nobody really boasted about that, nowadays you have to bang and be hard and have proof of all the dirt you did in order to be "cool". For example, Game, Spider Loc, even the likes of Young Hootie to a certain degree. Dogg Pound and Snoop set the standards for that imo.

But back on-topic, it is interesting to see one case is related to many other caes (Stretch, 2Pac). Let's hope they find the real killer.

[Elevz]

I hope they find the real killer

^^ lol, that just looked perfectly odd to me

[Samoan Enforcer]

I'm actually proud of Curtis for snitching this time