Run-DMC rapper Jam Master Jay was murdered over twenty years ago, and today, two men have been convicted for the crime.
The godson and a childhood friend of Jam Master Jay, real name Jason Mizell, targeted him at his recording studio in Queens on 30 October 2002 after allegedly being left out of a drug deal, the trial heard.
Mizell died aged 37 after being fatally shot in the head.
Karl Jordan Jr, 40, and Ronald Washington, 59, now face at least 20 years in prison after an anonymous jury in Brooklyn delivered the verdict.
In a closing statement, Assistant US Attorney Artie McConnell said, via The Guardian: ’Twenty years is a long time to wait for justice. Don’t let this go on for another minute.’
According to Reuters, the court heard that his friend, Washington, and godson Jordan – who was 18 at the time – thought they would be involved in a cocaine shipment worth nearly $200,000, but were eventually shunned from the agreement.
‘It was a brutal crime,’ Assistant US Attorney Miranda Gonzalez said during the opening statements, via the New York Post. ‘The defendants had killed a world-famous musician in front of people they know.’
Describing Mizell’s death as an ‘ambush’, she added: ‘And you’ll learn that it was motivated by greed and revenge.’
Defense lawyers denied all claims, insisting that they both ‘have no clue who did it’. Jordan and Washington were arrested in 2020.
It was alleged that a third man, Jay Bryant, went into his New York studio and let Washington and Jordan into the venue through a locked fire exit – where the latter shot Mizell.
Bryant was arrested in 2013. He has pleaded not guilty and will stand trial separately in 2026.
Mizell joined Run-DMC in 1982 working the turntables, joining Joseph ‘Run’ Simmons and Darryl ‘DMC’ McDaniels.
They enjoyed global success in the 1980s and helped hip-hop break into the pop mainstream with hits like Walk This Way, Rock Box, It’s Tricky and King of Rock. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009. The group disbanded after Mizell’s death.
Mizell started his own record label and helped emerging talent including 50 Cent.
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