One of the three men charged in the killing of Jam Master Jay plans to plead guilty, court records show, in what would be the first admission anyone has made in court to any role in the Run-DMC star’s death in 2002.
Jay Bryant pleaded not guilty to murder after his 2023 indictment, but his lawyer and federal prosecutors told the court in recent letters that they were negotiating a plea agreement.
A court docket entry indicated Bryant intends to change his plea, without saying anything about the charge or conduct to which he might admit or the punishment he might expect. Prosecutors declined to comment. A message was sent to Bryant’s attorney.
The notice is not an irreversible commitment, and defendants can change their minds about pleading guilty even as they are sitting in court.
If Bryant goes through with the plea, it could bring a measure of closure and complexity to the already convoluted case. Co-defendants Karl Jordan Jr and Ronald Washington were convicted in 2024 by a jury, but Jordan was later cleared by a judge.
Bryant was indicted nearly three years after the others, when authorities said Bryant’s DNA was found on a hat in the music studio where Jam Master Jay was gunned down. Jay, born Jason Mizell, was the DJ in Run-DMC, crafting beats and scratches that helped propel rap into music’s mainstream in the 1980s. The trio’s hits included It’s Tricky and a take on Aerosmith’s Walk This Way.
Prosecutors had long articulated a theory that Jordan and Washington went after Jay out of anger over a failed drug deal. According to prosecutors and trial witnesses, Jordan shot Jay while Washington blocked the door during the shooting. Both men denied the allegations.
Jordan was Jay’s godson, and Washington was one of the DJ’s childhood friends. Bryant, by contrast, had little if any connection to the rap star. According to testimony at their trial, Bryant knew someone in common with Jordan and Washington, but it was unclear whether Bryant had ever met Jay.
After announcing the alleged DNA match, prosecutors said Bryant had slipped into the studio building and opened a fire door so Washington and Jordan could avoid buzzing up and could ambush the DJ.
Bryant’s uncle claimed his nephew told him he shot Jay after the artist reached for a gun. No other witnesses even placed Bryant in the studio, however, and prosecutors disagreed with the uncle’s account, even though he was their witness. Instead, they suggested Bryant touched the hat and then Jordan or Washington carried it into the studio and dropped it.
Neither Washington’s nor Jordan’s DNA was found on the hat, according to court papers.
One of Jordan’s lawyers, Michael Hueston, argued that the charges against Bryant raised reasonable doubt about the case against Jordan. Jordan’s conviction ultimately was overturned for unrelated reasons.
Bryant, 52, was in jail on federal drug and gun charges when he was indicted in Jay’s death. He has since pleaded guilty in the drug and firearm case and is awaiting sentencing.
