Two men were convicted Tuesday by a jury in Brooklyn federal court for the 2002 murder of DJ and Run-DMC founder Jam Master Jay, a hip-hop figure whose sudden death shocked the rap world .
Jam Master Jay was shot and killed at age 37 on October 30, 2002, in his recording studio in Queens, New York, a crime that remained unsolved for nearly two decades, before the two suspects were indicted in 2020. Ronald Washington and Karl Jordan Jr.
"You have just killed two innocent people
," said Ronald Washington as he was led out of the courtroom, while relatives and friends of the accused, present at the trial which lasted nearly of a month, burst into tears.
According to the prosecution, the two men had acted out of revenge, after being excluded from a cocaine sale.
Prosecutors relied on two witnesses who kept silent for a long time, for fear of reprisals according to the prosecution.
According to their thesis, Karl Jordan Jr, 18 years old at the time and godson of the victim, shot the DJ in the head, while Ronald Washington held the other people present in the studio at gunpoint.
A third suspect
But defense lawyers pointed to a third suspect, Jay Bryant, who was charged in May 2023 and is to be tried separately and at a later date.
According to the prosecution, Jay Bryant is involved because he allowed the two accused to enter the studio, but for the defense, it is on him that the heaviest suspicions fall.
The death of Jam Master Jay in his studio in Queens, the popular New York borough where Run-DMC was formed in the early 1980s, was a huge shock for the rap world, recalling the violent deaths of two other giants, Tupac Shakur, murdered in Las Vegas in 1996, and The Notorious BIG, killed in Los Angeles in 1997.
His funeral in the Allen Cathedral was grandiose, bringing together the elite of American rap of the time, from LL Cool J to Queen Latifah, including Chuck D (Public Enemy) and his friends from Run-DMC, Joseph “Run” Simmons and Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, among several thousand people.
The trio is often considered the first great rap group, with its hits
It's Like That
,
It's Tricky
, and the famous cover of Aerosmith's title,
Walk This Way
, in duet with the rock group.
The trial revealed a darker side of the DJ, whose real name is Jason Mizell, who got involved in drug trafficking to support his lifestyle and that of his loved ones, while Run-DMC was losing its notoriety, according to prosecutors.
Sentencing will take place at a later date.