A man accused in the murder of DJ Jam Master Jay has pleaded guilty for his part in the 2002 death of the former member of Run-DMC.
Jay Bryant was charged nearly three years ago in the death of the musician, whose real name was Jason Mizell. He was charged with murder, to which he initially pleaded not guilty.
On Monday, however, in a New York court, Bryant agreed to plead guilty to a murder charge.
He admitted in the Brooklyn courthouse that he had helped let in the men who would kill Mizell at his New York studio in October 2002 in a planned ambush.
“I knew a gun was going to be used to shoot Jason Mizell,” Bryant told the judge, NBC reported. “I knew that what I was doing was wrong and a crime.”
Bryant did not name the men he assisted in the crime, but his plea comes after Mizell’s godson and friend were convicted of his murder in a drug-related dispute. One of the men won an appeal last year to overturn his conviction, while the other is still challenging his own case.
Mizell joined forces with Joseph ‘Run’ Simmons and Darryl ‘DMC’ McDaniels in the 1980s, working with them on hits such as It’s Tricky. He went on to produce music and mentor up-and-coming artists, including rapper 50 Cent.
Prosecutors contend that Mizell’s godson, Karl Jordan Jr, shot the Run-DMC member while Ronald Washington, a friend of Mizell’s, blocked the door.
Bryant allegedly slipped into the building and assisted the two men by opening a back door for them. Bryant was seen entering Mizell’s recording studio immediately before the shooting, and his DNA was found on a hat at the scene, according to prosecutors.
