A judge has overturned the conviction of one of the two men found guilty of killing of Run-DMC‘s Jam Master Jay.
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The artist, whose real name was Jason Mizell, was shot in the head at the age of 37 in Queens in 2002. Karl Jordan Jr and Ronald Washington had allegedly targeted the artist at his recording studio in New York after they were cut out of a drug deal claimed to be worth $200,000. The pair were first charged with murder back in 2020 and had initially pleaded not guilty.
On Friday (December 19), Us District Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall granted Jordan’s motion of acquittal and conditionally denied his motion for a new trial, per CNN, arguing that the government had failed to prove that Jordan was motivated by the drug deal.
The judge also denied Washington’s motions for a judgment of acquittal and for a new trial, and cited evidence that showed that “a jury could reasonably infer that Washington was excluded from a potentially lucrative Baltimore deal and sought to retaliate against Mizell for his exclusion”.
The judge asked, per NBC News, “from what evidence, then, could the jury have reasonably inferred that Jordan sought to retaliate against Mizell for the failure of the Baltimore deal? There was none.” His co-defendant’s conviction remains intact.
After more than 20 years, the murder of Jam Master Jay still refuses to fully close. A federal judge just overturned the convictions of Karl Jordan Jr., ruling the government’s case against him was speculative and based on conjecture, especially around the alleged drug motive.… pic.twitter.com/LkJTlbzESv
— Baller Alert 🚨 (@balleralert) December 20, 2025
The murder trial began early last year, with the court hearing that the Run-DMC legend’s killing was motivated by greed and revenge related to a drug deal row.
An eyewitness who was at the scene of the shooting also appeared in court during the trial, identifying a suspect and recalling the Run-DMC star’s last moments. The case has mystified investigators for nearly two decades.
At last year’s trial, Jordan and Washington’s defence lawyer notably invoked Harry Potter in the closing statements. As reported by Courthouse News at the time, both Jordan and Washington’s defence attorneys pointed to evidence that they claim implies a third person as a suspect in Mizell’s murder, Jay Bryant.
Per the prosecutors’ argument, Bryant was present simply to let Jordan and Washington into the building on the day of the murder before leaving. The defence, however, suggested that if that were the case, then security monitors for the building would have shown Jordan and Washington waiting outside the building to be let in.
“Maybe they were out there,” Washington’s attorney, Susan Kellman said. “And maybe they borrowed Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak.” It was noted that this comment drew a laugh in the court gallery.
Early on in the trial, a US judge ruled that lyrics written by the accused couldn’t be used in the legal proceedings, after prosecutors wanted to use the lyrics: “We aim for the head, no body shots, and we stick around just to see the body drop.”
As Jam Master Jay – real name Jason Mizell – was shot in the head, they argued the lyrics “speaks directly to the issues in the case.”
