Third Man Charged With Killing Of Run-DMC's Jam Master Jay: Feds

QUEENS — A third man was charged for the murder of Queens native and Run-DMC deejay Jam Master Jay in 2002, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.

Jay Bryant, 49, faces federal drug charges for an unrelated incident, and he will be arraigned on the murder charge later on after the fatal shooting of the hip-hop pioneer, whose real name was Jason W. Mizell, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Mizell was shot on October 30, 2002, while recording new music at his studio in Jamaica, officials said.

Karl Jordan and Ronald Washington were previously charged with the murder of Mizell and awaiting trial in January 2024, prosecutors said.

During the 1980s, Run-D.M.C. became one of the biggest hip-hop groups in history and the group is credited with breaking hip-hop into mainstream music.

The three men entered the recording studio about 7:30 p.m., and Jordan approached Mizell, pointed his firearm at him, and shot him in the head and another man in the leg, according to U.S. Attorney Breon Peace.

Bryant was observed entering the building immediately before the shooting and a piece of clothing left at the crime scene had Bryant’s DNA, Peace said. He later admitted he was part of the murder, and signaled to one of the other men as the shooter, prosecutors said.