A federal judge has thrown out the murder conviction of Karl Jordan Jr. in the 2002 killing of Run-DMC co-founder Jason William Mizell, widely known as DJ Jam Master Jay, finding prosecutors failed to establish a critical element of their case.

U.S. District Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall ruled Friday that the government did not prove Jordan acted out of drug-related retaliation, a requirement for the charge that tied the killing to a narcotics trafficking conspiracy. The decision overturns Jordan’s February 2024 conviction for murder and a related firearm offense, while leaving intact the conviction of co-defendant Ronald Washington.

Mizell was fatally shot inside his Queens recording studio on Oct. 30, 2002. The case went unsolved for nearly 20 years before federal prosecutors alleged the killing stemmed from a collapsed cocaine distribution plan involving Baltimore. Jordan, Mizell’s godson, was accused of firing the fatal shot after tensions over the failed deal.

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