Jay Bryant pleaded guilty to a federal murder charge in the 2002 killing of Run-DMC’s Jam Master Jay and faces an expected 15 to 20 years in prison.
Jay Bryant pleaded guilty Monday to a federal murder charge in the 2002 killing of Jam Master Jay, the Run-DMC DJ whose death in a Queens recording studio went unsolved for nearly two decades.
Bryant, 52, told a federal magistrate in New York that he helped others get into the building where Jason Mizell, known professionally as Jam Master Jay, was ambushed and shot. He did not identify the other people involved.
“I knew a gun was going to be used to shoot Jason Mizell,” Bryant said in court, according to the CBC account of the proceeding. “I knew that what I was doing was wrong and a crime.”
The plea marks a significant turn in one of hip-hop’s most closely watched cold cases, but it does not fully settle the legal fallout. A jury in 2024 convicted two other men, Karl Jordan Jr. and Ronald Washington, in the killing. A judge later overturned Jordan’s conviction, and Washington has challenged his conviction.
Bryant is expected to face a prison sentence of 15 to 20 years for the killing and unrelated drug and gun charges to which he had previously pleaded guilty. No sentencing date has been set.
Prosecutors had alleged Bryant acted as an accomplice by opening a back fire door at the studio building, allowing Jordan and Washington to enter without buzzing up and alerting Mizell. Prosecutors also said Bryant’s DNA was found on a hat inside the studio. Bryant had initially pleaded not guilty after he was added to the murder indictment in 2023.
Authorities have said Jordan and Washington were motivated by anger over being cut out of a failed cocaine deal involving Mizell. Lawyers for the two men denied their clients were involved, and the case against them has continued to face challenges after the 2024 convictions.
Mizell was 37 when he was shot in October 2002 in the Queens neighborhood where he grew up. As Run-DMC’s DJ, he helped shape one of rap’s defining acts alongside Joseph “Run” Simmons and Darryl “DMC” McDaniels. The group’s 1980s hits and crossover collaborations helped push hip-hop into the mainstream; Run-DMC was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2009.
Bryant’s plea brings a new admission of responsibility in the killing, while leaving unresolved how the remaining court challenges will affect the broader case.
Comments (0)