Two men — Ronald Washington and Karl Jordan Jr. — have been found guilty of the 2002 murder of hip-hop pioneer Jam Master Jay. According to Variety, jurors at the U.S. District Court’s Eastern Division of New York in Brooklyn convicted the accused killers on Tuesday (February 27) after weeks of trial testimonies.
Jordan, who is described as Jay’s godson, was charged with firing the gun, while Washington was also involved in the plan. The two men allegedly plotted the killing in revenge for being cut out of a drug deal by Jay, who had reportedly turned to the drug trade as the popularity of his group, Run-DMC, faded in the late ’90s. Jay Bryant, the third member of the alleged conspiracy, will be tried separately in 2026.
The only two witnesses to the execution-style shooting were Jay’s assistant assistant Uriel “Tony” Rincon and Lydia High, an employee of Jay’s JMJ Records label. Both had been intimidated by Jordan, refusing to testify for decades. Jordan and Washington both could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.
At the time of his death, Jam Master Jay was just 37 years old. He was survived by three children: two boys and a daughter. Both boys followed him into the DJ business.
