In 2002, the DJ was shot and killed in his New York studio. Karl Jordan Jr. and Ronald Washington, two men, were charged with murder in 2020—nearly two decades later—and their trial began on Monday.
In2002, the 37-year-old DJ—real name: Jason Mizell—was shot in the head and died at his New York recording studio.
Ronald Washington and Karl Jordan Jr. were charged with murder in 2020, and their trial began in New York City on Monday.
Prosecutors claimed that after being excluded from a lucrative cocaine deal, godson Jordan and childhood pal Washington became furious.
According to reports, Mizell had obtained 10 kg of cocaine that Jordan, Washington, and other others intended to resell in Baltimore.
Prosecutors claimed that because the dealer in the transaction declined to cooperate with Washington, the defendants were denied the opportunity to receive up to $200,000 (£157,000).
The two men allegedly staged a “ambush” at the star’s Queens studio on October 30, 2002.
Jordan shot Mizell in the head at close range, instantly killing him, according to the prosecution, while Washington brandished a gun and ordered one person to lie on the ground.
Prosecutors alleged that before the two left, a second shot struck and injured Mizell’s friend Uriel “Tony” Rincon who was in the studio at the time.
To the charges, both men have entered not guilty pleas. They might spend at least 20 years in prison if found guilty.
Neither defendant is being pursued for the death penalty.
The couple admitted to others that they were involved in the event, and the jury was informed that they would be hearing from witnesses who were present in the studio that evening.
It was a “brazen murder,” according to prosecutor Miranda Gonzalez, who also stated that “each defendant was proud that they had taken down Jam Master Jay and got away with it.”
