Suspect Named in JMJ slaying

[Angel Amor]

Suspect Named in Jam Master Jay Slaying

by Natalie Finn

It's never too late to tie up loose ends—when murder is involved, at least.

Federal prosecutors in New York have named a suspect in the four-year-old slaying of Run-D.M.C. spinner Jam Master Jay, who was gunned down Oct. 30, 2002 at 24/7, his Queens recording studio.

According to court documents filed earlier this month, Ronald "Tinard" Washington has been identified ad the armed accomplice of the still-unidentified gunman who shot Jay, whose real name was Jason Mizell.

Washington has also been tagged as a suspect in the 1995 shooting death of Randy "Stretch" Walker, a close pal of the late Tupac Shakur.

Washington was publicly linked to Mizell's death earlier this month while he was on trial for armed robbery, of which he was convicted Apr. 5, in Brooklyn Federal Court. When the felon was deciding whether to testify on his own behalf or not, the prosecution was required to disclose any other open crimes they had linked the suspect to that might be brought up during cross-examination.

In a letter to Judge Nina Gershon, prosecutors Sean Haran and Adam Abensohn said that they were looking at Washington for the Mizell slaying, the New York Daily News reported Monday.

In their filing, Haran and Abensohn allege that Washington, 39, and the shooter arrived at 24/7 at about 7:30 p.m. on the night of Mizell's death. Then, Washington "pointed his gun at those present in the studio, ordered them on the ground and provided cover for his associate to shoot and kill Jason Mizell."

The hip-hop pioneer was shot point-blank in the head with a .40-caliber pistol. Another person with him at the time was injured.

The prosecutors also say that Washington, who told New York police back in 2003 that he saw aspiring rapper Karl Darren Jordan and Jordan's father enter the studio minutes before gunshots rang out, confessed his role in the Mizell crime to his girlfriend Daynia McDonald.

He also copped to the Walker slaying in McDonald's presence, as well, court documents state.

Washington, however, denies any involvement in either death, saying in a sworn statement that investigators have been hounding him about the killing of his "childhood friend" (Mizell).

Either way, the suspect has been convicted of six counts of armed robbery for crimes committed in November 2002, just weeks after Mizell's death, and is facing life in prison.

Washington also told the Boston Herald that he's expecting to be charged as an accessory in the Mizell case.

"They want to blame me for all the blood in rap," he said. "They are trying to pen me up for these murders…It's all lies. [McDonald] is telling them that I was mad at Jay because he was doing better than I am, that I killed Stretch because he owed me something and I wanted it. She is making up lies because they threatened to deport her."

Washington told police in 2003 that he was on his way to see Mizell because the "Walk This Way" purveyor had given him $200 and asked him to go out and buy bullets, the Daily News reported at the time.

Police also confirmed that Jordan was a suspect in Mizell's death, as well as in the attempted murder of the deejay's nephew, Rodney Jones, in May 2003. Jones reportedly fingered Jordan as the triggerman.

Theories abounded as to why Mizell was killed, ranging from drug deal gone bad to a financial dustup to creative differences. His death also received the Law & Order ripped-from-the-headlines treatment in 2005, in which the famed turntable master's protégée and his loser pal were suspects.

Copyright 2007 E! Entertainment Television, Inc. All rights reserved.

Edited April 18, 2007 by Angel Amor

[JumpinJack AJ]

I actually just swung by the board 2 post the article i just came across. I really hope the killer pays 4 what he did. I don't mean 2 sound cheezy...but life hasn't been the same since Run-DMC retired. Here's the article i found thru' AOL.

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Suspect Named in Jam Master Jay Mystery

By TOM HAYS, AP

NEW YORK (April 17) - 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?

Unsolved Rap Mystery

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.