In the early morning hours of October 7, 2018, Frank Snyder, a 35-year-old male rapper from Brooklyn known by his stage name Hollywood Play, was fatally shot outside the Tavern Lounge in the Woodhaven neighborhood of Queens, New York. The incident occurred at approximately 3:15 a.m. as Snyder, a father of six, was hosting a birthday party at the venue.
He was a regular performer at the club, often hosting events on Saturdays.
According to reports and witness accounts, a black sedan approached the lounge, and a gunman inside the vehicle opened fire. Snyder was struck in the neck and leg. He was the only person injured in the shooting. Medics rushed him to Jamaica Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Investigators believed Snyder was the intended target of the attack. His mother suggested that jealousy within the music scene could have been a motive, although she maintained her son had no known enemies.
For years, the case remained unsolved, with no immediate arrests made, prompting Snyder's family to call for the police to intensify their investigation. A significant breakthrough came in September 2024, when the Queens District Attorney's office announced that a grand jury had indicted a suspect. Johnathan Rice, a 43-year-old man from Jamaica, Queens, was charged with second-degree murder in connection with Snyder's death.
The indictment was the result of a long-term investigation by the NYPD and the Queens District Attorney's office. Key evidence included surveillance footage from the night of the shooting, which captured a black sedan driving past the lounge and muzzle flashes from the front passenger window. Motor vehicle records linked a black Lexus matching the description to Rice, and cell phone data placed him in the vicinity of the Tavern Lounge at the time of the murder. If convicted, Rice faces up to 25 years to life in prison.
