Man once suspected in slaying of officer guilty on drug charges

A reputed gang member who was once implicated in the killing of a Chicago police officer, only to have those charges later dropped,  was found guilty today by a federal jury on drug charges.

Prosecutors said Jason “J-Rock” Austin was overseeing a 24-hour heroin and crack market at Kedzie Avenue and Ohio Street known as “KO.”
Austin was charged by Cook County prosecutors in 2008 for killing off-duty Chicago police Officer Robert Soto and Soto’s companion.
Prosecutors dropped the case a month later due to lack of evidence and problems with statements from witnesses.
Austin’s alleged involvement in Soto’s murder was never a part of the federal charges against him.
But when Austin was indicted on the drug charges, law enforcement sources said Soto’s shooting launched the federal probe into his drug-trafficking operation