A federal judge has overturned one of the two convictions in the murder case of Run-DMC member Jam Master Jay.
On Dec. 19, Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall overturned Karl Jordan Jr.’s murder conviction, ruling there was
insufficient evidence to prove he had a motive to kill Jason Mizell, known as Jam Master Jay, NBC News reports. The judge granted Jordan’s motion for acquittal and conditionally denied his request for a new trial.Jordan—Mizell’s godson—was convicted alongside Ronald Washington in February 2024 for the 2002 killing of Jam Master Jay at a New York City recording studio. Prosecutors alleged the murder was retaliation for being cut out of a drug deal. Jordan, Washington, and Jay Bryant were charged with murder while engaged in narcotics trafficking and firearm-related offenses; Bryant has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled for trial next year.
In her ruling, Judge Hall said prosecutors failed to prove Jordan was motivated by the alleged drug deal. An eyewitness testified that Jordan shot Jam Master Jay in his Queens recording studio on Oct. 30, 2002. However, Jordan’s attorneys contended that the evidence did not support the prosecutors’ claim that he committed the murder in retaliation for a failed drug deal.
“We are really happy for Mr. Jordan and his family that justice was served,” one of his attorneys, John Diaz, said in an email.
Jordan has not been sentenced on the murder charges but remains in custody pending trial on unrelated drug offenses from years after the killing. Meanwhile, the U.S. Attorney’s Office is reviewing the judge’s decision in his overturned murder conviction.
Separately, the court found that prosecutors did establish a motive in the case against Washington, resulting in the denial of his motion for acquittal. The judge cited evidence that showed that “a jury could reasonably infer that Washington was excluded from a potentially lucrative Baltimore deal and sought to retaliate against Mizell for his exclusion.”
Jam Master Jay served as the DJ for the legendary hip-hop group Run-D.M.C., helping the group bring hip-hop into the pop mainstream in the 1980s with hits like “It’s Tricky” and their Aerosmith-assisted “Walk This Way.” As Run-DMC’s fame faded in the 1990s, Jam Master Jay reportedly resorted to dealing cocaine, with evidence showing that by 2001 or 2002, there was a planned deal in Baltimore with Jordan and Washington.
Jam Master Jay coordinated the operation and worked with an associate named Yakim,
who refused to partner with Washington. Jam Master Jay was fatally shot in his Queens recording studio on Oct. 30, 2002, a killing that shook the hip-hop community and remained unsolved for nearly two decades. In 2024, trial evidence included eyewitness testimony, with Uriel “Tony” Rincon testifying that he saw Jordan fire the fatal shot.RELATED CONTENT: Jam Master Jay’s Killer Stabbed 18 Times In Prison Altercation