After weeks of testimony, two men — Ronald Washington and Karl Jordan Jr. — have been found guilty in the 2002 murder of Run-DMC DJ Jam Master Jay. Jurors delivered the verdict at the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn on Tuesday (February 27th).
Washington and Jordan each face a minimum of 20 years behind bars, with sentencing set for a later date.
The two men were indicted and charged in connection with the murder of Jam Master Jay (born Jason Mizell) in August 2020, with federal prosecutors alleging the shooting was the result of a cocaine deal gone bad. In court documents, US attorneys claimed that they conspired to kill Mizell after he excluded Washington from the deal.
In May 2023, the government charged another man named Jay Bryant in the murder case.
During the trial, prosecutors told the jury that Bryant let Washington and Jordan into Mizell’s Queens recording studio on October 30th, 2002. Jordan then proceeded to fire two close-range shots at Mizell, including a fatal one to the head.
Mizell’s friend, Uriel “Tony” Rincon, and his JMJ Records employee, Lydia High, were the only eyewitnesses to the shooting. Both served as witnesses and gave testimony during the trial.
Defense attorneys called out Rincon and High for not identifying Washington and Jordan sooner and questioned their memory of the events. On the first point, US attorney Miranda Gonzalez said they were afraid of contacting authorities.
While taking the stand, Rincon and High both gave their distinct recollection of the events that evening, backing up the prosecutors’ allegations alongside other witnesses including one of Mizell’s cousins, Stephon Wotford; Ralph Mullgrav, the drug dealer who cut Washington out of the deal; and a woman who used to date Washington.
For nearly two decades, Mizell’s murder languished as a cold case as detectives struggled to establish a motive. Now, justice has finally been served.