In a breaking story, this afternoon (February 27), a Brooklyn, New York jury has convicted two men for the murder of Hip-Hop legend Jam Master Jay (aka Jason Mizell). Karl Jordan, Jr. and Ronald Washington are the two men the court deemed responsible for the murder of the Run-D.M.C. co-founder on October 30, 2002. CNN reports that Jordan was Jay’s godson. That incident happened just miles from the courtroom in Jamaica, Queens. Washington, 59, and Jordan, 40, face at least 20 years behind bars.

The details of the verdict allege that Karl Jordan fired two shots from a .40 caliber pistol, including one into the Hip-Hop legend’s skull. Another shot wounded JMJ’s friend Uriel “Tony” Rincon, who was playing video games with Mizell. An employee of Jay’s label, JMJ Records, Lydia High, was another eye witness. Rincon and High both testified in the trial, which began late last month.

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In 2020, United States attorneys indicted Jordan and Washington for conspiring to kill and murder the DJ/producer/record executive inside a New York City recording room named 24/7 Studios. The attack was alleged to be related to a botched drug deal. Prosecutors said that the two men targeted Jay after they were excluded from a cocaine transaction in Baltimore, Maryland, worth an estimated $200,000. During one trip, Ralph Mullgrav, a distributor of Jay’s, reportedly refused to participate in the trade if Washington was involved. Washington, who was living at Jay’s sister’s house, took revenge after he did not profit from the sale.

According to Rolling Stone reports, Washington was a childhood friend of JMJ. He reportedly yelled, “Y’all just killed two innocent people!” upon the reading of the verdict. An associate of Jordan’s yelled out about Karl’s innocence, alleging that federal authorities made witnesses lie in the investigation and trial.

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Prosecutors said Rincon and High avoided identifying Washington and Jordan in the past out of fear. That changed in 2017. Accounts of the 2002 killing say that Jay greeted the men who conspired against him with handshakes and smiles moments before dying. Mullgrav also testified about Washington’s character and claimed that Jam Master Jay had resorted to selling drugs “to make ends here and there.” Jay’s artist and business partner, Randy Allen, who was also present in a separate studio room the night of his killing, also took the stand. During the trial, Allen said that he took Jay’s pistol, and ran after his friend’s killers, according to The New York Daily News, who also published a photo of Karl Jordan.