At long last, there’s justice for Jam Master Jay.
Two men were arrested for the murder of the legendary hip-hop icon from Run DMC, who was shot to death in his Queens studio 18 years ago, federal prosecutors announced Monday afternoon.
NYPD detectives, in conjunction with the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District with the FBI and ATF, revealed on Aug. 17 the arrest of Ronald Washington, 56, and Karl Jordan, Jr, 36, both indicted on charges of murder “while engaging in drug trafficking.”
Washington is already in federal prison for robbery while Jordan was nabbed on Sunday, officials said.
Acting U.S. District Attorney Seth DuCharme said the two men charged walked into the recording studio in Jamaica, Queens on Oct. 30, 2002 and shot Jam Master Jay, his real name Jason Mizell, at point-blank range in front of witnesses. However, those witnesses stayed silent for years.
Both men are being remanded as “each defendant presents an extreme danger to the community and a substantial risk of flight,” the indictment said.
DuCharme charged that Mizell “sought to exclude” Washington from a multi-kilogram, multi-state, narcotics transaction, so Washington and Jordan “conspired and executed Mizell.”
Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison said the cold case was even more important to him as he is from the Queens community and was especially interested in seeing this case to its conclusion.
The indictment says Mizell was heavily involved in the distribution of cocaine and had obtained 10 kilograms on consignment from a midwest supplier. Mizell apparently tried to cut Washington out of the cocaine deal that was to be distributed to Maryland and Washington, so he and Jordan cooked up a plan to kill Mizell.
The indictment revealed that on Oct. 20, 2002, the two men armed with guns entered the 23/7 Studio located on Merrick Boulevard, demanded that a man at the door lay on the floor. Then Jordan approached Mizell and shot him in the head, firing a second bullet that hit another man in the leg.
Mizell was pronounced dead at the scene.
Washington has a criminal history going back to 1983 for robbery, possession of firearms, assault, and drug trafficking. Jordan has no criminal history but does have an arrest record, most notably for criminal use of a firearm, but the witness refused to testify, the indictment said. The indictment also noted that Jordan has been allegedly involved in drug trafficking for ‘decades.”
The family had been waiting for the case to come to a conclusion and last year they celebrated his memory in a special memorial ceremony.
