2 Men Found Guilty In The Death Run DMC’s Jam Master Jay

A jury found  Karl Jordan Jr. and Ronald Washington guilty of murder in the killing of hip-hop icon Jam Master Jay in a New York City recording studio in 2002, federal prosecutors said. The two men were accused of killing Jam Master Jay — born Jason Mizell, who co-founded 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 declined to seek the death penalty. Breon Peace, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, thanked witnesses, who he said showed bravery in testifying.

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 wouldn’t be part of the distribution, Washington hatched a “murder conspiracy” against Mizell. At 7:30 p.m. Oct. 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 fired two shots at close range, with one fatally striking Mizell in the head, prosecutors alleged. Jordan was 36 when the charges were announced in 2020; Washington was 56.

Source: NBC News