Two arrested in 2002 slaying of Run-DMC’s Jam Master Jay

[The Bobster]

https://nypost.com/2020/08/17/jam-master-jay-slaying-two-reportedly-arrested-in-2002-slaying/

Two arrested in 2002 slaying of Run-DMC’s Jam Master Jay
By Larry Celona and Ben Feuerherd
August 17, 2020 | 1:10pm | Updated

Jam Master Jay
Getty Images


Two men have finally been arrested in the 2002 slaying of Run-DMC’s Jam Master Jay, law enforcement sources told The Post on Monday.

“It was all over drugs,” said a former investigator who worked on the case.

One of the men, Ronald Washington, had long been suspected of being involved in the hip-hop pioneer’s execution-style murder in his Queens studio, the source said.

Jay, 37, whose real name was Jason Mizell, was believed to have ponied up $15,000, while a pal put in another $15,000, to buy a total of 2 kilos of coke that the pair then planned to turn around and peddle.

Mizell was new to the drug world and just hoped to score a quick buck, sources told The Post around the time of his murder.

But intermediaries who were friends of Mizell instead allegedly took both the cash and drugs and split.

When the drug suppliers still demanded their dough, Mizell balked at paying any more, sources said.

“He said he got robbed, [too], and couldn’t pay them back,” the former prober said.

“After awhile, [the suppliers] said, ‘F–k it,’ and killed him,” the source said. “It looked like he had no way or intention of paying them, and they f–king shot him.

“It was always over drugs and money owed,” the source said. “They all knew each other.”

Mizell’s killers had been buzzed into his Jamaica studio that day because they were known from the neighborhood, the ex-investigator said.

There were three witnesses who saw them, the source said — although the witnesses were all reluctant to speak. One of them eventually identified Washington as one of the people buzzed in, but it wasn’t enough for an arrest at the time, the source said.

The name of the second suspect, Karl Jordan Jr., eventually also landed on investigators’ radar because he had a relative who was involved in the doomed drug deal that Mizell was killed over, the source said.

When the feds first took over the case, they thought the slaying was tied to a robbery team that had been targeting southeast Queens and Long Island, the source said.

But then it quickly became clear “it was always over drugs and money owed,” the source said.

Washington is already behind bars for robbery, while Jordan, 36, was nabbed Sunday, sources said.

“I’m glad they finally made an arrest in the case,” the former investigator said. “We worked long and hard on it back when it happened.”

 

[The Bobster]

https://nypost.com/2020/08/18/second-jam-master-jay-suspect-pleads-not-guilty-at-arraignment/

Second Jam Master Jay suspect pleads not guilty at arraignment
By Ben Feuerherd
August 18, 2020 | 5:16pm

The second suspect arrested in the 2002 killing of hip hop legend Jam Master Jay was ordered held in federal custody Tuesday, as prosecutors argued he was responsible for the murder — despite not pulling the trigger in the killing.

Ronald Washington, 56, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in Brooklyn federal court for allegedly working with Karl Jordan Jr. to gun down the DJ, real name Jason Mizell, in a Queens music studio on Oct. 30, 2002.

At the hearing, federal prosecutor Artie McConnell urged a judge to order Washington be held in custody, arguing he has a lengthy rap sheet that includes violent crimes.

He added that even though Washington is not suspected of being the gunman in Mizell’s slaying, he is just as responsible for the killing as Jordan.

“Even though Mr. Washington did not pull the trigger he is equally responsible for the murder of Mr. Mizell as his co-conspirator,” McConnell said.

McConnell added that the pair gunned down a “music icon” in his own studio in a brazen hit that should warrant him being held behind bars.

Washington is already locked up, serving time for a string of robberies, and is not set for release until 2022, his lawyer said at the hearing.

Washington and Jordan allegedly killed Mizell over a drug deal gone bad.

“[In] July 2002, Mizell acquired approximately ten kilograms of cocaine on consignment from a supplier in the Midwest. The cocaine was intended to be distributed in Maryland by Washington, Jordan and other co-conspirators,” feds charged in court papers.

“A dispute between Washington and one of the co-conspirators resulted in Mizell telling Washington that he would be cut out of the Maryland transaction.

“Following Washington’s dispute with Mizell, Washington and Jordan conspired to murder Mizell.”

After news of the busts spread Monday, Mizell’s friends — including former Run-DMC member Darryl McDaniels — said they were relieved by the arrests.

 

[The Bobster]

https://nypost.com/2021/03/05/accused-killer-of-jam-master-jay-hit-with-two-new-charges/

Accused killer of Run-DMC’s Jam Master Jay hit with two new charges
By Rebecca Rosenberg
March 5, 2021 | 12:42pm | Updated

The accused killer of Run-DMC’s Jam Master Jay has been hit with two new charges, Brooklyn federal prosecutors announced Friday.

Karl Jordan Jr., 36, has been indicted on one count each of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and use of firearms in connection with a drug-trafficking crime. If convicted of the new raps, he would face a minimum of five additional years in prison.

The new charges don’t relate to the 2002 execution-styling shooting of hip-hop legend Jay, whose real name was Jason Mizell.

Jordan is accused of pumping a bullet into Mizell’s head at his Queens recording studio over a drug deal gone bad — with the alleged help of co-defendant Ronald Washington, 56.

Both men were busted in August for the infamous Oct. 30, 2002, slaying and are being held without bail.

Mizell formed the legendary hip-hop group Run-DMC with Darryl McDaniels and Joseph “Run” Simmons — the brother of Def Jam Records founder Russell Simmons.

 

[The Bobster]

3rd man charged in connection to 2002 murder of Run-DMC’s Jam Master Jay

Bryant was spotted entering the building just before shots rang out, and a piece of clothing he left behind contained his DNA, officials said.

nypost.com

3rd man charged in connection to 2002 murder of Run-DMC’s Jam Master Jay​

By
Patrick Reilly


May 30, 2023 11:26pm
Updated

Unidentified friends and fmily members pay their last respects to Run-DMC hip-hop legend Jason Mizell aka Jam Master Jay on Nov. 5, 2002. Luiz C. Ribeiro






A third man has been charged in connection with the 2002 murder of Run-DMC’s Jam Master Jay in New York City.
Jay Bryant, 49, was indicted in federal court in the Eastern District of New York on Tuesday and charged with the death of the hip-hop legend, whose birth name is Jason “Jay” Mizell.
Two other men — Karl Jordan Jr., and Ronald Washington — were previously indicted in August 2020 in the death of 37-year-old Mizell, who was shot and killed at his recording studio after a drug deal went bad on Oct. 30, 2002.
Bryant’s attorney, César de Castro, told the Associated Press in an email that he and his client had just learned of the charges.
Bryant was already locked up on unrelated drug-trafficking charges at the time of the indictment, according to court documents.
“Securing an indictment in a secret grand jury, applying an extremely low burden of proof, is one thing. Proving it at trial is another matter,” he said.
According to a letter filed with the court Tuesday, Bryant, Jordan and Washington entered the studio around 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 30, 2002.
Washington pointed his gun at an individual inside and demanded they get on the floor. Jordan then walked toward Mizell and fired two shots at close range. One shot fatally struck the rapper in the head. The other hit another witness in the leg.

Jam Master Jay was gunned down in a Queens music studio in October 2002.AP Jam Master Jay with his Run-DMC bandmates Darryl “DMC” McDaniel and Joseph “Run” Simmons. SUNSHINE
All three fled the scene, prosecutors said.


Bryant was spotted entering the building just before shots rang out, and a piece of clothing he left behind contained his DNA, officials said.


He later admitted to being a part of the murder, telling one associate “that he was in fact the shooter,” however, prosecutors noted in a footnote that “The evidence does not support Bryant’s claim that he was the shooter, and the evidence at trial will prove that Jordan was the individual that shot Mizell.”





An official arraignment date has not been set.


Mizell was in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group Run-DMC with Joseph “Run” Simmons and Darryl “DMC” McDaniel in the early 1980s.


The group’s string of hits helped bring hip-hop music into the mainstream, including “King of Rock,” “It’s Tricky” and a remake of Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way.”


For years, Mizell’s death lingered as a cold case, with witnesses reluctant to speak up despite reward money being offered.