Pubdate: Tue, 29 Mar 2011 Source: Wall Street Journal (US) Copyright: 2011 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Contact: http://www.wsj.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/487 Author: Tamer El-Ghobashy DETAILS EMERGE IN HIP-HOP DJ'S SLAYING A hip-hop disc jockey fatally shot on Staten Island early Sunday was out buying marijuana in the moments before he was slain, a law-enforcement official with knowledge of the case said. That account came from a friend of Corey McGriff who said he had been chatting on a cellphone call with the victim minutes before Mr. McGriff was shot once in the torso a few doors down from Mr. McGriff's home, the official said. During the conversation, which took place just before 2 a.m., the victim, who was known as DJ Megatron, told his friend he was out trying to buy "weed," the official said. The friend told police Mr. McGriff then began speaking to two men on the street about the music industry before the phone went silent. According to the official, the friend didn't hear any threats or a gunshot. Despite the development, investigators are still unclear what motivated the slaying on Osgood Avenue in the Clifton section. Police haven't ruled out that Mr. McGriff, 32 years old, may have been shot during a botched robbery or that he may have been targeted. Mr. McGriff had a minor criminal record with two arrests for possession of marijuana. Mr. McGriff's cellphone was recovered from the scene and it didn't appear that any property had been taken from him, police said. Interviews with associates and friends didn't uncover any ongoing disputes related to the victim's work, the official said. In addition to working as a disc jockey, Mr. McGriff made frequent appearances on Black Entertainment Television's program "106 & Park." However, investigators are looking into several threatening comments left on videos of Mr. McGriff posted on YouTube in which a person using the moniker "MegaPayup" speaks of the victim dodging them over an unpaid debt, the official said. In recent months, Mr. McGriff had been telling his family and his manager that he intended to join the Army Reserves after his birthday in August. He was a father to three children ranging in age from 11 years old to 10 months old. Besides his role as a hype-man and on-the-street correspondent for the BET program, Mr. McGriff had landed several roles in independent films that featured other hip-hop stars. On the program's official Twitter page, "106 & Park" offered a rest-in-peace message: "We lost a member of our family...who kept our audience live and a smile on all our faces. Gone too soon." - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D