[ad_1]
A jury found two men guilty of killing hip-hop icon Jam Master Jay in a New York City recording studio in 2002, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York said.
Karl Jordan Jr. and Ronald Washington were accused of killing Jam Master Jay, born Jason Mizell, co-founder of Run-DMC in the early 1980s, in a drug deal.
Jordan and Washington face at least 20 years behind bars and a maximum of life in prison. Prosecutors refused to seek the death penalty against them.
Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York have said Mizell became involved in cocaine trafficking in the mid-1990s, as Run DMC’s notoriety was fading.
Authorities have said Mizell had acquired 22 pounds of cocaine that Washington, Jordan and others were going to distribute in Maryland.
Prosecutors have alleged that when Mizell informed Washington that he would not be part of the distribution, the defendant hatched a “murder conspiracy” against the music star.
At 7:30 p.m. on October 30, 2002, Washington and Jordan entered a 24-hour recording studio in Queens where Mizell was and ordered him to lie on the floor, prosecutors said.
Jordan allegedly fired two shots at point-blank range, one of which fatally hit Mizell in the head, prosecutors said. Jordan was 36 years old when the charges were announced in 2020; Washington was 56 years old.
“He was murdered in cold blood,” Seth DuCharme, then acting federal prosecutor, said when the charges were announced.
In 2007, when Washington was on trial for a series of armed robberies, he was first mentioned as a possible suspect in Mizell’s murder. He has maintained that he had no involvement.
DuCharme in 2020 credited a new team of prosecutors and investigators for solving the nearly two-decade-old case.
Jordan, who was 18 at the time of the attack, said he was at his girlfriend’s house that night, and witnesses can corroborate that claim, his lawyers said in court documents, according to The Associated Press. His defense also reportedly said in court documents that Mizell and Jordan’s father were lifelong friends.
He also faced weapons and cocaine possession charges and pleaded not guilty to those accusations.
In May 2023, a third defendant, Jay Bryant, 49, was charged with murder after prosecutors said they had evidence that he also was in the recording studio on the night of the murder.
It was later determined that he would be tried separately.
Bryant’s lawyer, César de Castro, told the AP theyest year that the charge was the result of “a low burden of proof” and suggested prosecutors would have an uphill battle.
Offered the opportunity Tuesday night to weigh in on his client’s case, de Castro sent information about a ruling in favor of a separate trial and the scheduling of the case. He said the trial was scheduled for January 2026.
Mizell was Run-DMC’s DJ, but also contributed to its crisp, heavy sound, lending live drums, bass and keyboards to studio sessions. Darryl “DMC” McDaniels and Joseph “Run” Simmons are the other two founding members.
“Walk This Way,” the trio’s 1986 Aerosmith mash-up, is often cited as their lightning-in-a-bottle moment, coming two years after they released “Rock Box,” another song with guitar chords that make shake your head
Music publishing ok player He said that Run-DMC was not trying to appease white rock-loving audiences; The three were trying to top the bombast of Billy Squire’s 1980 hit, “Big Beat.” They were planting a flag for the vitality of hip-hop.