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They announced that two men had been charged
with his murder, bringing to a close the attempt to solve one of
the biggest unsolved killings in the world of rap.
Jam Master Jay, 37, whose real name was Jason Mizell, was shot
inside a recording studio in the New York City borough of
Queens.
"This is a case about a murder that for nearly two decades had
gone unanswered, and so today we begin to answer that question
of who killed Jason Mizell, and why," Seth DuCharme, the acting
U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, told a news
conference.
One of the accused men, Karl Jordan Jr., pleaded not guilty to
murder and eight drug-related charges through his lawyer when he
was arraigned on Monday. DuCharme said the other man, Ronald
Washington, would be arraigned later this week. If convicted
they would face 20 years to life behind bars.
"They walked in and they murdered him (Mizell) in cold blood,"
DuCharme said.
Run-DMC, one of the best-known rap acts of the 1980s, was
founded in New York City in 1981. Jam Master Jay was a founder
member along with Joseph “Run” Simmons and Darryl “DMC”
McDaniel. Their hits included “It’s Tricky,” “Christmas in
Hollis” and the Aerosmith cover “Walk This Way.”
Washington, 56, who is already in prison, was previously named
as a suspect in Mizell's murder in 2007 but was not charged.
Jordan, 36, was arrested on Sunday.
According to the indictment, Washington and Jordan entered
Mizell's recording studio in Queens on the evening of Oct. 30,
2002. Both men were armed. Jordan fired two shots at close range
at Mizell, striking the rapper once in the head.
Investigators allege the motive for the killing was a dispute
over the distribution of about 10 kg (22.05 lb) of cocaine that
Mizell had acquired elsewhere.
Washington and Jordan had intended to distribute the cocaine,
but Mizell "had recently informed Washington that the defendant
would not be involved in distributing the narcotics" which
precipitated the murder, according to the court filings.
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant, Lisa Richwine and Daniel Trotta;
Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Steve Orlofsky and Tom Brown)
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