On Feb. 27, 2024, two people were convicted of Run-DMC star Jam Master Jay’s murder in New York City in October 2002.
Jay’s godson, 40-year-old Karl Jordan Jr., and childhood friend 59-year-old Ronald Washington, killed the musician at his recording studio after being cut out of a drug deal. Jay, whose real name is Jason Mizell, was shot in the head.
Prosecutors said that Jordan and Washington thought they’d be a part of a drug deal worth $200K and they were upset when they were cut out. In 2020, the pair were charged after the killing went unsolved for many years.
Several witnesses who were at the studio the night of the shooting testified, including Uriel Rincon, who identified Jordan as the shooter. Rincon was playing a video game with Jay when they were ambushed, and Rincon suffered a gunshot wound to his left leg.
“I heard a couple of shots,” Rincon said. “I see Jay fall because his back was to me at the time. As Jay was falling, I saw Jordan shrug him off of him.”
A lifelong friend of Jay, Lydia High, testified and accused Washington of ordering her to get to the ground while holding a gun to her head after the shooting.
“Jason smiled. He smiled and he kind of gave the guy a pound,” High said. “And then he said, ‘Oh s—.'”
Both Jordan and Washington face between 20 years to life in prison.
Jay was one of the three founding members of the hip-hop group Run-D.M.C., which included Joseph “Rev Run” Simmons and Darryl “DMC” McDaniels.
