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Jam Master Jay‘s long-delayed murder trial will go on as scheduled after the judge denied the defense’s motion for a mistrial.
According to the Associated Press, defense lawyers requested the mistrial on Thursday (February 8) on the grounds that prosecutors improperly guided a witness’ testimony.
On the stand, the witness said one of the two defendants confessed to her that he killed the Run-DMC DJ shortly after his death and told her “people get what they deserve.”
Prosecutors argued that the defense planted “a seed of prejudice” through their line of questioning, but U.S. District Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall denied their request for a mistrial because the witness had made similar prior statements.
Judge Hall did, however, reprimand the prosecutors, saying that their questions crossed the line and that “there was no need whatsoever.”
The two specific questions that sparked the issue came from Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Misorek, who asked: “Did he say he killed Jam Master Jay?” and “Did he say that people get what they deserve?”
The witness, a former girlfriend of the accused Ronald Washington, said yes to both.
Upon her decision to deny the motion for the mistrial, Judge Hall made sure to tell jurors to disregard the two questions and their answers.
In 2020, Karl Jordan Jr. (39) and Ronald Washington (59) were indicted for the New York City shooting that left the 37-year-old legend dead inside a Queens recording studio. The ongoing trial will be centered on their defense.
Last year, Jay Bryant (49) became the third person to be charged in the case, though his trial will most likely take place in 2025. All three defendants have pleaded not guilty.
Jam Master Jay Murder Witnesses May Lie Out Of Fear Of Retaliation, Prosecutors Say
The trio are believed to have entered JMJ’s studio and fled after the fatal shooting, with Jordan allegedly firing two shots at the victim at close range, including one to the head that killed him. Prosecutors claim that Bryant was seen entering the building immediately before the shooting and left behind an article of clothing at the crime scene, which contained his DNA.
An investigation revealed that the slaying was over a drug deal gone wrong, with Jam Master Jay allegedly acquiring roughly 10 kilograms of cocaine (worth an estimated $1.7 million) from a Midwest narcotics supplier months before his death.
When the Hip Hop pioneer sought to exclude Jordan and Washington from the large, multi-state drug deal, they “murdered him in cold blood,” prosecutors said in their 2020 indictment against the two men.
The trial remains ongoing.
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