A federal judge has thrown out the murder conviction of Karl Jordan Jr. in the 2002 killing of Run-DMC co-founder Jason William Mizell, widely known as DJ Jam Master Jay, finding prosecutors failed to establish a critical element of their case.
U.S. District Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall ruled Friday that the government did not prove Jordan acted out of drug-related retaliation, a requirement for the charge that tied the killing to a narcotics trafficking conspiracy. The decision overturns Jordan’s February 2024 conviction for murder and a related firearm offense, while leaving intact the conviction of co-defendant Ronald Washington.
Mizell was fatally shot inside his Queens recording studio on Oct. 30, 2002. The case went unsolved for nearly 20 years before federal prosecutors alleged the killing stemmed from a collapsed cocaine distribution plan involving Baltimore. Jordan, Mizell’s godson, was accused of firing the fatal shot after tensions over the failed deal.
Judge Hall rejected that theory. “The court is not convinced,” she wrote in a 29-page opinion. She said prosecutors offered “no evidence suggesting that Jordan felt cheated by the failure of the Baltimore deal” and labeled the government’s motive claims “impermissibly speculative and just conjecture.”
Hall acknowledged evidence that Jordan was involved in drug activity at the time, but said prosecutors failed to link that conduct to an intent to retaliate against Mizell. She concluded Jordan met the high legal bar for acquittal under Rule 29. His request for a new trial was conditionally denied and rendered moot by the ruling.
Hall denied similar motions from Washington, finding enough evidence for jurors to infer he sought retaliation after being excluded from a lucrative opportunity. Washington remains convicted.
Prosecutors relied heavily on eyewitness accounts at trial. Uriel “Tony” Rincon testified Jordan fired the fatal shot. Another witness, Lydia High, said a man with a neck tattoo greeted Mizell just before gunfire erupted. High also testified Washington held her at gunpoint as she attempted to escape.