Two Men Arrested in Murder of Run-DMC's Jam Master Jay

Nearly 18 years since the murder of Jam Master Jay, two suspects have been arrested in the 2002 killing.

Federal prosecutors were expected to announce charges against two men in the unsolved murder of Jason Mizell, better known as Jam Master Jay of legendary hip-hop group Run-DMC. According to The New York Times, Ronald Washington, 56, and Karl Jordan, Jr., 36, were indicted on charges of murder while engaged in drug trafficking.

It was not immediately clear what role the two men played in the killing, but investigators believe Mizell was involved in the finances of the drug-trafficking operation.

“There was a beef — it didn’t go as planned,” said one official.

The US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York is scheduled to hold a news conference at 2:30 p.m. to announce the unsealing of a criminal indictment. Washington is currently serving a federal prison sentence for robbery, while Jordan was taken into custody on Sunday and had previously gone to prison for shooting Mizell’s nephew.

Mizell, 37, had been playing video games at his Queens recording studio on Oct. 30, 2002 when two men entered the building. One of them, who was wearing a mask, fatally shot him in the head. He left behind a wife and three children.

Jam Master Jay teamed up with Run (Joseph Simmons) and DMC (Darryl McDaniels) to form Run-DMC. With Jam Master Jay as DJ, the Queens trio became one of the most influential hip-hop acts of all time.