Verdict reached in Jam Master Jay murder trial

A jury has reached a verdict in the trial of two defendants accused in the 2002 murder of hip-hop icon Jam Master Jay in a New York City recording studio.

U.S. District Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall announced on Tuesday that the decision will be read at 3:30 p.m. ET.

Karl Jordan Jr. and Ronald Washington are accused of killing Jam Master Jay — born Jason Mizell, who co-founded Run-DMC in the early 1980s — in a drug deal.

If found guilty, Jordan and Washington face at least 20 years behind bars and a maximum of life in prison. Prosecutors declined to seek the death penalty against them.

Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York have said that Mizell got involved in cocaine trafficking in the mid-1990s as Run D.M.C.'s notoriety was fading.

Authorities have said that Mizell had acquired 22 pounds of cocaine that Washington, Jordan and others were going to distribute in Maryland.

Prosecutors have alleged that when Mizell informed Washington that he wouldn't be part of the distribution, the defendant hatched a "murder conspiracy" against the music star.

At 7:30 p.m. Oct. 30, 2002, Washington and Jordan entered a 24-hour recording studio in Queens where Mizell was and ordered him to lie on the floor, prosecutors said.

Jordan allegedly fired two shots at close range, with one fatally striking Mizell in the head, prosecutors said. Jordan was 36 when the charges were announced in 2020; Washington was 56.

"They murdered him in cold blood," Seth DuCharme, then the acting United States attorney, said when charges were announced.

In 2007, when Washington was on trial for a string of armed robberies, he was first mentioned as a possible suspect in Mizell's slaying. He has maintained that he had no involvement.

DuCharme in