A new development has been made in the 2002 murder of Run-DMC's Jam Master Jay.
According to a report from The New York Times on Monday (Aug. 17), the charges of two men, who have been suspects in the legendary DJ's killing, will be announced today. Law enforcement officials told the publication anonymously that Ronald Washington and Karl Jordan, Jr. were indicted on charges of murder while trafficking drugs. The murder of Jam Master Jay has long been an unsolved case, until now.
Washington, 56, is already in prison for robbery and Jordan was arrested by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the NYPD on Sunday (Aug. 16), according to a report from NBC 4.
A press conference has been scheduled for 2:30 p.m. ET this afternoon with Chief Rodney Harrison and the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
Jam Master Jay, born Jason Mizell, was shot and killed inside of a music studio in Queens, N.Y. on Oct. 30, 2002. He was 37 years old. Reports say that two men entered the studio where Jay was playing video games in the lounge located on the second floor. Jam Master Jay was shot once in the head and another man in the studio at the time was shot in the arm. The two men fled the scene. JMJ died at the scene. Four men were in the studio at the time, but none came forward with information regarding the incident. One man was later considered a suspect, but charges were never filed. Back in 2017, Jam Master Jay's murder was ruled a cold case.
Run-DMC, which is comprised of Run (Joseph Simmons, brother to Russell Simmons) and DMC (Daniel McDaniels) while Jay completed the trio as the DJ. R became the first hip-hop group to achieve mainstream success in the 1980s with their crossover hit record "Walk This Way" with rock band Aerosmith in 1986.
In 2009, Run-DMC was inducted by Eminem into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, making them the second rap act to do so at that time. Before them, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five were inducted in 2007. Run-DMC was also the first rap group to cover Rolling Stone magazine on the Dec. 4th, 1986 issue and win the Grammy's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016.
XXL has reached out to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the NYPD for a comment.
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