Ronald Washington is dealing with a life sentence because the court docket once more refused to grant a brand new trial for his function in Jam Master Jay’s killing.

Ronald “Tinard” Washington misplaced his newest bid to undo his conviction within the 2002 killing of Run-DMC icon Jam Master Jay after a federal choose dominated the jury verdict was firmly supported by the proof and the regulation.

A choose in Brooklyn denied Washington’s motions for acquittal and a brand new trial, rejecting claims that prosecutors didn’t show an ongoing drug conspiracy or a drug-related motive for the homicide of Jam Master Jay inside his Hollis, Queens, recording studio.

The ruling retains intact Washington’s February 2024 convictions for homicide whereas engaged in narcotics trafficking and a firearm-related killing.

The court docket discovered ample proof that Jam Master Jay, whose music profession had slowed within the late Nineteen Nineties, was working as a cocaine intermediary on the time of his dying.

In 2003, AllHipHop’s Grouchy Greg Watkins uncovered the conspiracy and over 20 years later, trial testimony confirmed Jam Master Jay obtained cocaine on consignment from a supplier known as “Uncle,” then distributed it through associates, including Washington and Karl “Noid” Jordan Jr., his godson.

Federal filings and trial proof linked Jam Master Jay’s cocaine provide to the Black Mafia Family, with BMF co-founder Terry “Southwest T” Flenory recognized because the supply behind “Uncle,” the provider referenced at trial.

Investigators stated JMJ was transferring cocaine tied to the BMF pipeline, putting him squarely inside a high-stakes distribution community that prolonged past New York. Prosecutors argued JMJ’s killing stemmed from a drug dispute after Jam Master Jay didn’t safe a profitable Baltimore distribution association that Washington anticipated to hitch.

The judge agreed a reasonable jury could infer retaliation as at least one motive tied directly to the drug operation, which is all the law requires. That context undercut Washington’s argument that the conspiracy fizzled earlier than the homicide.

The choose pointed to proof that Jam Master Jay was nonetheless arranging conferences together with his provider’s associates days earlier than he was killed and had not paid for the cocaine he already acquired, reinforcing the discovering that the drug operation remained lively.

The ruling additionally revisited the violent scene contained in the studio on October 30, 2002. Witnesses testified that Jay Bryant, a person, permitted Washington and Jordan to enter his studio via a hearth escape door.

Jordan then approached Jam Master Jay as if for an embrace, then fired the deadly pictures, whereas Washington blocked exits at gunpoint.

The order leaves Washington dealing with obligatory life sentences tied to the narcotics-murder convictions, closing one other chapter in a case that took greater than 20 years to achieve trial.

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