More than two decades after the mysterious killing of hip hop legend Jam Master Jay at his Queens recording studio, federal prosecutors Monday gave opening arguments in the murder trial of the two men they said were motivated by greed and revenge to “execute” him.
Karl Jordan Jr., 40, and Ronald Washington, 59, have pleaded not guilty to federal murder charges for the 2002 shooting. If convicted, both men face a minimum of 20 years behind bars and a maximum sentence of life in prison.
“They thought they got away with it. But they were wrong,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Miranda Gonzalez said during opening statements. “Now is the time to finally hold them accountable.”
A third person charged in the murder, Jay Bryant, is expected to stand trial separately. Prosecutors said he opened the door to the studio for Jordan and Washington.
In separate opening statements, Jordan’s and Washington’s attorneys both fervently denied their clients were the killers, and urged jurors to carefully evaluate whether the prosecution witnesses are telling the truth.
Jason Mizell, also known as Jam Master Jay, was a member of the hip hop group Run-D.M.C., known for hits like “It’s Tricky,” “King of Rock” and “Beats to the Rhyme.” The group rose to fame in the 1980s, during hip hop’s golden era.
But as Run-D.M.C. faded from the spotlight, Gonzalez said, Mizell turned to another source of income: the drug trade. Between 1996 and 2002, according to prosecutors, Mizell sometimes worked as a “middle man” transporting cocaine for drug sales. Gonzalez said this role allowed Mizell to earn hundreds of thousands of dollars — income she said he relied on to support his tight-knit community in Hollis, just as he had when he earned money as a musician.
A few months before his death, Mizell received 10 kilograms of cocaine, which Washington and Jordan had agreed to help sell in Baltimore, according to court papers. But a dealer in town didn’t want to work with…
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