The jury made a verdict in the court the trial of the two defendants He is charged with the 2002 murder of hip-hop icon Jam Master Jay at his New York recording studio.
U.S. District Judge LaShawn DeArcy Hall announced Tuesday that the verdict will be read at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Carl Jordan Jr. and Ronald Washington Jam Master Jay, born Jason Mizell, co-founder of Run-DMC in the early 1980s, is accused of drug dealing.
If convicted, Jordan and Washington face a minimum of 20 years behind bars and a maximum of life in prison. Prosecutors refused to seek the death penalty against them.
Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York said Mizell became involved in cocaine trafficking in the mid-1990s as Run DMC’s fame faded.
Authorities said Mizell obtained 22 pounds of cocaine, which Washington, Jordan and others intended to distribute in Maryland.
Prosecutors alleged that when Mizell told Washington that he would not be part of the distribution, the defendant hatched a “murderous conspiracy” against the music star.
According to prosecutors, at 7:30 p.m. on October 30, 2002, Washington and Jordan entered Mizell’s 24-hour recording studio in Queens and ordered him to lie on the floor.
Prosecutors said Jordan fired two shots at close range, one of which fatally struck Mizell in the head. Jordan was 36 years old charges were announced in 2020; Washington was 56 years old.
“They killed him in cold blood,” said then-acting U.S. attorney Seth DuCharme when the charges were announced.
In 2007, when Washington was convicted of a series of armed robberies, he was first mentioned as a possible suspect in Mizell’s murder. He said that he had nothing to do with it.
In 2020, DuCharme credited a new team of prosecutors and investigators with cracking the nearly two-decade-old case.
Jordan, who was 18 at the time of the attack said that he was at his girlfriend’s house that nightAccording to the Associated Press, his attorneys said in court documents that witnesses could corroborate the claim. Her defense also said in court documents that Mizell and Jordan’s father were lifelong friends, according to the report.
He also faced gun and cocaine charges to which he pleaded not guilty.
In May 2023, A the third defendantJay Bryant, 49, was charged with murder after prosecutors said they had evidence that he was also at the recording studio the night of the murder.
Later, it was determined that he will be tried separately.
This was reported by Bryant’s lawyer Cesar de Castro AP laetct year suggested that the charge was the result of a “low burden of proof” and that prosecutors would put up an uphill battle.
Offering an opportunity to discuss his client’s case on Tuesday night, de Castro also sent information on the court’s ruling in favor and the scheduling of the case. He said that the trial was scheduled for January 2026.
Mizell was Run-DMC’s DJ as well contributed has a crisp, bottom-heavy sound that brings live drums, bass and keyboards to studio sessions. Darryl “DMC” McDaniels and Joseph “Run” Simmons are the other two founding members.
The trio’s 1986 hit with Aerosmith, “Walk This Way,” is often cited as a lightning-rod moment, coming two years after they released another song with guitar chords, “Rock Box.”
Music edition Good player Run-DMC said it wasn’t trying to appease rock-loving white audiences; the three tried to cover Billy Squire’s 1980 hit “Big Beat” together. They were flying a flag for the vitality of hip-hop.