A JURY FOUND two men guilty of murdering the pioneering and world-famous DJ Jam Master Jay in 2002 at the conclusion of a federal trial on Tuesday. The verdict ends decades of speculation about why Jay, whose real name was Jason Mizell, had been killed. The jurors delivered the decision after weeks of testimony at the U.S. District Court – Eastern Division of New York courthouse in Brooklyn.
Karl Jordan Jr. and Ronald Washington were charged with murder “while engaged in a narcotics trafficking conspiracy and firearm-related murder,” per the Department of Justice.
“More than two decades after they killed Jason Mizell in his recording studio, Jordan and Washington have finally been held accountable for their cold-blooded crime driven by greed and revenge,” United States Attorney Breon Peace said. “That the victim, professionally known as Jam Master Jay, was a hip hop icon and Run-DMC’s music was born in Hollis, Queens, in this very district, and beloved by so many, adds to the tragedy of a life senselessly cut short.”
In 2020, U.S. attorneys indicted Jordan and Washington of conspiring to kill and conducting the murder of Mizell after a drug deal went bad. Mizell, U.S. attorneys claimed, had begun selling cocaine when Run-D.M.C.’s popularity started to fade, and that when a drug dealer refused to work with him if he included Washington in their plan for distribution, Washington and Jordan planned Mizell’s death.
In 2023, the government added another man, Jay Bryant, to the indictment, claiming that he helped Jordan and Washington gain access to Mizell, who was playing video games at a recording studio at the time of his death. Bryant is set to be tried in January 2026. Jordan and Washington each face a minimum of 20 years, with sentencing set for a later date. Jordan has also been charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and will be tried at a later date, per the DOJ.
Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall instructed attendees to remain calm, though it was anything but once the verdict was read. “Y’all just killed two innocent people,” Washington yelled after the verdict was announced. A supporter of Jordan screamed, “Bullshit. Bullshit. He didn’t do it. The Feds made the witnesses lie.”
Hellbound and Down 