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Two men were found guilty Tuesday of killing Run-DMC DJ Jason Mizell, known as Jam Master Jay, bringing a long-sought conclusion to a case that had confused investigators and left rap fans in disbelief. grieving for more than 20 years.
Karl Jordan Jr., 40, Mizell’s godson, was accused of firing the fatal bullet into Mizell’s head in 2002. Federal prosecutors said Ronald Washington, 59, a longtime friend of Mizell’s, carried out the murder with Mr. Jordan, motivated by revenge after being shut out of a potentially lucrative drug deal.
Mizell was 37 when he was shot at point-blank range in his Queens recording studio, not far from Hollis, the neighborhood that gave rise to Run-DMC and other hip-hop groups in the 1980s. The group’s name was a reference to their masters of ceremonies: Joseph Simmons, known as Run, and Darryl McDaniels, known as DMC. With Mizell providing the beats, the trio brought hip-hop to the mainstream in the mid-’80s, selling millions of records, collaborating with rock band Aerosmith, and signing a deal with Adidas, whose sneakers were part of his uniform.
By 2002, Run-DMC’s fame had dimmed and Mizell had turned to drug trafficking to support his family and entourage, prosecutors said. They argued that greed and revenge had led Washington and Jordan to kill Mizell, and that the pair had recruited a third man, Jay Bryant, who will be tried separately in 2026.
The prosecution presented 35 witnesses during the month-long trial, ranging from drug dealers to some of Mr. Mizell’s closest contacts, and evidence including ballistics and graphic autopsy photographs. The most important witnesses were those who witnessed the murder: Lydia High, who worked for Mr. Mizell’s record label, and Tony Rincón, an assistant.
Rincón, who identified Jordan as the shooter, suffered a gunshot wound to the leg during the ambush. High said she could not see the shooter’s face, but that Washington had a gun pointed at her when the murder occurred.
Both High and Rincón spent years denying knowing who was responsible for Mizell’s death. Mark Misorek, a prosecutor, said Jordan and his family and friends had intimidated them and other witnesses, preventing the case from being solved. Only after the case was reopened in 2016 were investigators able to gather enough material to move forward, leading to charges being filed against Washington and Jordan in 2020.
“Time resolved this case,” Misorek said.
But defense attorneys attacked the credibility of those two witnesses and others, questioning why their stories had changed over the years and whether their memories could be clear more than 20 years after the crime.
The first charge against the three men was murder while engaged in narcotics trafficking, and prosecutors called several witnesses who testified that Mizell had been working as a middleman in large cocaine deals in the years before his death.
Prosecutors said Washington and Mizell had traveled to Baltimore to settle a deal for 10 kilograms of cocaine, valued at more than $100,000, shortly before the latter’s death.
But a trafficker there objected to Washington’s involvement, prompting Washington and Jordan to plot the murder as revenge, prosecutors said.
The murder took place at Mizell’s studio on Merrick Boulevard on the night of October 30, 2002. Prosecutors said Bryant had played a small role, arriving at the studio and opening a back door for the two men to use.
Mizell and Rincón were sitting on a couch playing video games. Ms. High, who was subpoenaed in the case, testified that she had stopped by briefly to have Mr. Mizell sign some documents. Mizell had a gun in her hand, which made her feel uncomfortable, she said.
He broke down several times on the witness stand when he testified that a man entered the studio, whom Mr. Mizell stood up to greet with a smile. But then Mr. Mizell shouted an insult and she heard a gunshot.
Ms High screamed and jumped to run towards the door, but another gunman blocked it.
“It was Tinard,” he said, using Washington’s nickname.
He did not identify the gunman who fired the shot and said he only remembered that he was a light-skinned black man with a tattoo on his neck, a description matching Mr. Jordan’s.
Sean Piccoli contributed with reports.