Jam Master Jay’s Killers Found Guilty For 2002 Murder

February 27, 2024

Karl Jordan Jr. and Ronald Washington are facing a minimum of 20 years to life in prison or the death penalty.

The two men accused of killing Jam Master Jay—Karl Jordan Jr. and Ronald Washington—were reportedly found guilty on all counts for the 2002 murder. According to ABC News, both defendants are facing a minimum of 20 years to life in prison. The death penalty is also on the table per the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.

Jam Master Jay was shot and killed inside of his Queens recording studio on October 30, 2002. The two people who were within feet of JMJ when he was shot in the head provided tearful testimonies during Tuesday’s (February 27). A second shooting victim, Tony Rincon, testified that Jordan “walked directly to Jay, kind of gave him half a handshake and at the same time.” That’s when he said he heard a couple of shots and saw Jay fall to the ground.

It would be nearly 20 years before any arrests would be made in one of Hip-Hop’s most infamous unsolved murders. Although investigators have long suspected Washington and Jordan of carrying out the murder, they weren’t indicted until 2020. The trial, delayed by the pandemic, finally began on January 29. Prosecutors claimed that Jay was murdered by Jordan and Washington because he was allegedly going to cut them out of a lucrative cocaine distribution deal—approximately 10 kilograms of cocaine acquired from a narcotics supplier based in the Midwest.

The verdict comes as somewhat of a surprise considering there was a snag in the deliberations earlier this week. Juror No. 12 believed he was too connected to the Hollis, Queens neighborhood where Jam Master Jay was murdered. The juror said he frequented a barbershop referenced in testimony during the trial. The juror reportedly mentioned he “passed through Hollis many times” in a jury questionnaire, but he was still selected to serve on the jury. Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall excused the juror on Monday. One of the four alternate jurors replaced Juror No. 12.

Def Jam Recordings’ first publicist, Bill Adler, who wrote Tougher Than Leather: The Authorized Biography of Run-DMC in 1987, tells AllHipHop, “I’m happy that this has been resolved. It’s been terribly frustrating to have had to wait 22 years for it to be resolved, but I’m glad I lived to see its resolution. As pleased as I am about it, it does not bring back Jay. Jay lived a double life when he was dealing drugs. Some folks close to him knew about it, lots of folks very close to him didn’t know anything. Jay did this on the DL.

“The other part of it is the most horrific part of it is the guys who committed the murder were life long friends. Little D [Karl Jordan] was somebody who grew up right across the straight from Jay in Hollis. They describe him as Jay’s godson, but I don’t think that’s true. In any case, he’s a kid right in the neighborhood. The idea that these guys would conspire to kill Jay despite their lengthy friendship is just unspeakable to me.”

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