Jam Master Jay’s business partner grabbed weapon to hunt down gunman

7 February 2024, 02:14

Jam Master Jay Trial
Jam Master Jay Trial. Picture: PA

He said he grabbed the gun ‘for protection’ before running out to look for anyone who might be running away.

Jam Master Jay’s business partner said when he saw the Run-DMC star had been shot in his recording studio, he grabbed a gun and went to look for whoever had done it.

Randy Allen told the murder trial over the DJ’s October 2002 death he was in the studio’s control room and heard two shots in the adjacent lounge area, but did not see the attacker or attackers.

Mr Allen added Jam Master Jay, real name Jason Mizell, had been keeping that gun by his side which he grabbed “for protection” before running out to look for anyone who might be running away.

Karl Jordan Jr and Ronald Washington have pleaded not guilty to the murder.

Defence attorneys pointed to a signed statement that Mr Allen gave to police hours after the shooting, which said he heard three to six shots and saw a heavyset man in a dark jacket going down the building’s stairs after the shooting.

Jam Master Jay
Rap trio Run-DMC pose in New York, 2001, with Jam Master Jay on the left (Jim Cooper/AP)

Mr Allen said he did not recall saying any of that, but he said in the following days, wounded witness Uriel Rincon told him Jordan fired the gun and Washington was there.

Mr Allen added that Lydia High, his sister and the business manager at Mr Mizell’s record label, told him Washington ordered her at gunpoint to hit the floor and a man with a tattooed neck fired the shots. Jordan has such a tattoo.

Mr Rincon and Ms High testified earlier in the trial, but neither told investigators for years that they could identify either man.

Mr Allen said he had wanted to leave it up to those two to tell since he had not seen the shooting himself.

He was the last to testify among five prosecution witnesses who said they were in various parts of the studio when the turntable titan was killed.

Other witnesses are yet to come in the case surrounding one of the hip-hop world’s most high-profile and tough-to-solve killings.

Prosecutors allege Mr Mizell was killed out of “greed and revenge.”

Jam Master Jay
Jam Master Jay in Los Angeles in 2002 (Krista Niles/AP)

Under their theory, Mr Mizell — known for his anti-drug advocacy with Run-DMC — was arranging to sell a sizable amount of cocaine in Baltimore, and Washington and Jordan were about to lose out on a piece of the profits.

The defence has not yet had its turn to present evidence.

Lawyers for Washington, 59, have said prosecutors brought a thin and illogical case against a down-and-out drinker who was anything but angry toward the famous friend who supported him.

Jordan, 40, who was Mizell’s godson, said through his lawyers he was elsewhere when the shooting happened and has alibis.

By Press Association

Latest World News

See more Latest World News

Virginia Giuffre

Woman driving Prince Andrew accuser Virginia Giuffre during crash that left her with 'four days to live' breaks silence

Exclusive
'Donald Trump has made Putin comfortable,' Mikhail Khodorkovsky has warned

'Trump has made Putin comfortable' despite massive Ukraine war losses, exiled former oligarch tells LBC

The bodies of Andrew Searle and his wife Dawn were discovered by a neighbour.

British couple found dead in south of France home being ‘treated as murder-suicide’

The vehicle was later extinguished after the driver, covered in flames, emerged from the vehicle.

Amsterdam Dam Square car explosion sees driver engulfed in flames - just days after mass stabbing

d

Pictured: US tourist arrested for sailing to remote island and leaving a can of Coke for world's most isolated tribe

The Sentinelese are a pre-Neolithic tribe that rejects contact with the modern world

US tourist arrested for sailing to remote island and leaving a can of Coke for the world's most isolated tribe to try

The Trump administration has been ridiculed after imposing tariffs on uninhabited islands

'No one is safe, not even the penguins': Trump administration ridiculed after imposing tariffs on uninhabited islands

World leaders react to US tariffs

'This is not the act of a friend': World leaders react to Trump's 'unwarranted' tariffs

British couple

British couple found dead in New Zealand named - as police probe possible murder-suicide

Virginia Giuffre said she had been left with 'four days to life' after the crash

Bus driver breaks silence on Virginia Giuffre crash that left her 'with four days to live'

Foreign Secretary David Lammy

David Lammy to urge Nato allies to increase defence spending in bid to make alliance 'stronger, fairer and more lethal'

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen

EU threatens further countermeasures against US tariffs after 'major blow to world economy'

Lord Sugar labels Trump tariffs 'a disaster' as Apprentice star teases potential US Presidential meeting

Lord Sugar labels Trump tariffs 'a disaster' and warns that the president 'hasn't thought it through'

Buildings that were destroyed during the Israeli ground and air operations in Gaza

Israel expands ground attack on Gaza to seize 'large areas' - despite pleas from hostage families

Police said two people died on Palliser Road, Roseneath.

British couple found dead at home in New Zealand - just months after moving to 'begin new chapter'

Virginia Giuffre warned it was a "very bad situation" after she claimed a school bus ploughed into her car

Virginia Giuffre was charged with breaching restraining order days before crash that 'left her with days to live'