Source: CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/Getty
The trial of two men accused of murdering the Hip-Hop icon and Run-DMC member Jam Master Jay for a drug deal started in federal court in Brooklyn.
On Monday (Jan. 29), the anticipated trial of two men accused of murdering former Run-DMC member Jam Master Jay began in US Federal Court in Brooklyn, New York, with opening statements from the prosecution and defense. Ronald Washington, 59, and Carl Jordan Jr., 40, allegedly killed Jam Master Jay aka Jason Mizell inside a recording studio in Queens, New York, on October 30, 2002. In opening statements, Asst. US Attorney Miranda Gonzalez said the two men did it after they were cut off from a drug deal involving Jam Master Jay.
“They were left with nothing,” Gonzalez reportedly said Reuters. The deal was estimated to net $200,000 after Jam Master Jay met with a Midwest cocaine dealer with the drugs to be sold in Baltimore, with Washington and Jordan involved – until they were told they were out. “It was an ambush. An execution. And you will learn that he was motivated by greed and revenge,” Gonzalez continued, promising jurors they would hear from witnesses who he claimed that the men were bragging about the shoot as well as Tony Rincon and Lydia High who were also in the studio that night.
“Why bite the hand that feeds you?” argued Ezra Spilke, Washington's attorney in his opening statement, citing “aging memories” as the reason his client is in this position. If convicted of the charges, both men face a maximum sentence of life in prison with a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years. The courtroom was filled with Jam Master Jay favorites including DJ Hurricane. The trial is expected to last four weeks.
Jam Master Jay's murder had remained unsolved until authorities in 2020 arrested Washington and Jordan on a 10-count federal indictment. Both men pleaded not guilty. A third man, Jay Bryant, was arrested last year after DNA evidence collected from the scene and surveillance video captured him entering the studio at that time. His trial will take place in 2026.
