Two men have been found guilty of murdering Jason “Jay” Mizell, who is famously known as Jam Master Jay from the hip-hop music group Run-DMC, per the DOJ.
A Brooklyn jury delivered the guilty verdicts to Ronald Washington and Karl Jordan, Jr. in court on Tuesday. Once sentenced, they each face 20 years to life in prison.
Washington is the childhood friend of Mizell, while Jordan is Mizell’s godson. A fight reportedly almost erupted in the courtroom following the verdict’s announcement. “Y’all just killed two innocent people,” Washington yelled. Supporters of Jordan’s were also in attendance, whom he told he loved before U.S. Marshalls escorted him out.
Official deliberations — which were a 10-hour process — started on Monday after a juror was replaced and dismissed from the initial set of jurors.
The decision comes 22 years after the star was murdered on Oct. 30, 2002, in his music studio. Back in August 2020, a New York grand jury charged the men with murder while engaged in narcotics trafficking, use of a firearm with intent to fatally injure, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and multiple counts of distribution of a controlled substance.
Prosecutors accused Washington and Jordan of walking into Mizell’s Queens studio and fatally shooting him. He died as a result of a single gunshot wound to the head, which was fired by a masked gunman. In the days leading up to the murder, Washington was staying with Mizell. He was later named as a possible suspect in 2007, per the AP. Washington is currently in federal prison for robberies he committed after Mizell’s death.
In the prosecution’s closing arguments, Assistant U.S. Attorney Artie McConnell said the murder was about “greed.”
“It’s about money. It’s about jealousy,” McConnell said. “And it’s about the actions of two men, Karl Jordan, Jr. and Ronald Washington, that the evidence proves are killers.” On the opposite end, defense attorneys claim third defendant Jay Bryant — who was charged in May 2023 with murder while engaged in narcotics trafficking and firearm-related murder — is the person responsible for the murder.
“Jay Bryant is literally reasonable doubt in this case,” Michael Hueston, Jordan’s attorney said. Bryant pleaded not guilty and will have his trial separately in January 2026.
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