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."