Detroit’s Black Mafia Family, BMF, co-Founder Southwest T has been named as a witness in the upcoming Jam Master Jay murder trial.
Jam Master Jay was killed in 2002, and almost 20 years after his death, suspects Karl Jordan Jr. and Ronald Washington will go on trial for the producer’s murder. The men were charged with murder in 2020, and their trial has been set for February 2023.
As the prosecution and defense conduct disclosure ahead of the trial, court documents reveal that the prosecution believes that Jam Master Jay was a musician and a cocaine dealer, and his dealings are somehow tied to the BMF drug empire that ultimately led to his being killed.
The prosecution says that Jam Master Jay, whose real name is Jason Mizell, began experiencing financial problems in 1990 despite having a successful career. He became involved in large-scale cocaine distribution, which prosecutors say is linked to BMF.
As part of the upcoming trial, Terry ‘Southwest T’ Flenory has been subpoenaed as a star witness. Reports online claim that Jam Master Jay sold cocaine for BMF. Court reporter Frank Ocean reported that
However, according to reporter Frank Owen, Southwest T is not being called to speak on BMF but rather about his relationship with Jam Master Jay. Court filings seem to suggest that the prosecution wants to establish a connection between the Run DMC member and BMF.
Southwest T and Jam Master J were known friends and associated in the hip-hop world mainly through BMF’s hip-hop record label, BMF Entertainment which the DEA had revealed was created to launder drug money, but it remained a legitimate enterprise.
As to how this ties back to the two defendants, we’ll have to wait for the trial.
However, it seems that the prosecution thinks that the musical connection between the late hip-hop DJ and BMF will shed much light on the motive for his killing. Previous reports suggested that Jay may have been killed in a drug deal gone awry, but this new filing suggests he was, in fact, a middle-level dealer for the criminal enterprise.
In the meantime, Southwest T, who had a compassionate release in May 2020 due to the conditions in prison caused by the pandemic, is currently serving the remainder of his 30-year sentence at home. His brother Big Meech remains in jail and is set for release in 2028.
