Jam Master Jay Murder Trial: 2 Men Found Guilty of Killing Run-D.M.C. DJ in 2002

A Brooklyn federal jury has found Karl Jordan Jr. and Ronald Washington guilty of murdering Run-D.M.C.’s Jam Master Jay in 2002. According to the U.S. attorney’s office for New York’s Eastern District, Jordan and Washington face a minimum of 20 years in prison and a maximum term of life imprisonment.

Karl Jordan Jr. and Ronald Washington were arrested in 2020 and charged with murder while engaged in a narcotics trafficking conspiracy. Their trial began last month.

During the trial, prosecutors argued that Jam Master Jay was involved in a cocaine-trafficking scheme, and that a dispute with Jordan and Washington led the DJ to cut the men out of a drug deal that could have been worth $200,000. Betrayed, Jordan and Washington killed Jam Master Jay at his recording studio in Queens, New York, prosecutors said, with Jordan firing the fatal gunshots.

Last year, federal prosecutors charged a third man, Jay Bryant, with taking part in the killing of Jam Master Jay. Bryant has pleaded not guilty, and he will stand trial in January 2026.