A 3rd man has been charged in reference to the 2002 murder of Run-DMC’s Jam Master Jay in Latest York City.
Jay Bryant, 49, was indicted in federal court within the Eastern District of Latest York on Tuesday and charged with the death of the hip-hop legend, whose birth name is Jason “Jay” Mizell.
Two other men — Karl Jordan Jr., and Ronald Washington — were previously indicted in August 2020 within the death of 37-year-old Mizell, who was shot and killed at his recording studio after a drug deal went bad on Oct. 30, 2002.
Bryant’s attorney, César de Castro, told the Associated Press in an email that he and his client had just learned of the costs.
Bryant was already locked up on unrelated drug-trafficking charges on the time of the indictment, in line with court documents.
“Securing an indictment in a secret grand jury, applying an especially low burden of proof, is one thing. Proving it at trial is one other matter,” he said.
In line with a letter filed with the court Tuesday, Bryant, Jordan and Washington entered the studio around 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 30, 2002.
Washington pointed his gun at a person inside and demanded they get on the ground. Jordan then walked toward Mizell and fired two shots at close range. One shot fatally struck the rapper in the top. The opposite hit one other witness within the leg.
All three fled the scene, prosecutors said.
Bryant was spotted entering the constructing just before shots rang out, and a chunk of clothing he left behind contained his DNA, officials said.
He later admitted to being a component of the murder, telling one associate “that he was in actual fact the shooter,” nevertheless, prosecutors noted in a footnote that “The evidence doesn’t support Bryant’s claim that he was the shooter, and the evidence at trial will prove that Jordan was the person who shot Mizell.”
An official arraignment date has not been set.
Mizell was within the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group Run-DMC with Joseph “Run” Simmons and Darryl “DMC” McDaniel within the early Eighties.
The group’s string of hits helped bring hip-hop music into the mainstream, including “King of Rock,” “It’s Tricky” and a remake of Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way.”
For years, Mizell’s death lingered as a chilly case, with witnesses reluctant to talk up despite reward money being offered.
With Post wires
