Two person connected to the 2002 killing of hip-hop artist Jam Master Jay have been indicted, which until now had been one of New York City’s most mysterious killings.
Karl Jordan Jr. will be tried in court for the murder and other charges on Monday afternoon and Ronald Washington will be reappearing in court later this week.
Federal prosecutors revealed the charges at a news conference Monday afternoon.
Washington was reportedly living at Jay‘s home in the days before his killing. He was publicly announced as a potential suspect or witness back in 2007.
He is currently serving a federal prison sentence stemming from a string of robberies he committed while on the run from police after Jay’s death.
In court papers filed at the time, prosecutors alleged that Washington waved a handgun around and ordered people at a Queens recording studio owned by Jay to lie flat while another man killed him on October 30, 2002.
Washington “provided cover for his partner to shoot and kill Jason Mizell,” prosecutors wrote.
Jason “Jay” Mizell, known professionally as Jam Master Jay, was a member of 1980s hip-hop sensation Run-DMC with Joseph “Run” Simmons and Darryl “DMC” McDaniel.
Their hit songs rocked the airwaves include “It’s Tricky,” “Christmas in Hollis” and the Aerosmith remake collaboration “Walk This Way.”
Jay was shot once in the head with a .40-caliber bullet by a masked man at his studio in Hollis, the Queens neighborhood where he grew up, police said at the time. He left behind a wife and three children.
Police identified at least four people in the studio with Jay, including the two armed gunmen. The city and Jay’s friends reportedly offered more than $60,000 in reward money, but witnesses refused to come forward and the case lingered.
Jay’s acquaintance with Washington upset his family. Before sleeping on Jay’s couch, Washington had been linked to the 1995 fatal shooting of Randy Walker, a close associate of the late Hiphop legend, Tupac Shakur.
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