Jay Bryant pleads guilty in Jam Master Jay murder, two decades later
Jay Bryant pleads guilty in Jam Master Jay murder, two decades later
Jay Bryant pleads guilty to murder for helping others ambush Jam Master Jay in 2002, advancing a case that has seen multiple convictions and reversals over 20 years.
Two decades after the ambush that killed Run-DMC’s Jam Master Jay, Jay Bryant, 52, pleaded guilty to a murder charge for his role in the incident. Bryant changed his plea on Monday, admitting that he helped others gain access to a building where the pioneering DJ was shot in the head in 2002.
DNA evidence found on a hat inside the recording studio has been cited in the investigation, and Bryant had previously denied involvement. Prosecutors say Jordan and Washington planned the killing out of revenge after being cut out of a drug deal worth nearly $200,000. In 2024, Mizell’s godson Karl Jordan Jr. and his childhood friend Ronald Washington were convicted in the case. A judge later overturned Jordan’s conviction, and Washington has challenged his own conviction as well.
Bryant is accused of acting as an accomplice by helping Jordan and Washington slip into the Queens studio through a back door to avoid the buzzer entry process. He did not name others who participated. In court on Monday, Bryant apologized and acknowledged that he knew a gun would be used to shoot the 37-year-old rapper, who performed as Jam Master Jay. The 2002 shooting shocked the music industry and remains a defining moment in hip-hop history.
