NEW YORK — Federal prosecutors convinced a Brooklyn judge to seat an anonymous jury in the Jam Master Jay murder trial, citing fears the panel could face “improper influence or intimidation” from the two accused killers and their associates on the street.
The Friday ruling by Federal Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall came after prosecutors laid out their concerns in a 19-page court filing detailing the efforts of accused killers Ronald “Tinard” Washington and Karl Jordan Jr., along with people acting on their behalf, to dissuade witnesses from appearing.
“The defendants and their associates have engaged in attempts to obstruct justice,” wrote U.S. Attorney Breon Peace in court papers. “... The defendants sought to silence potential witnesses against them almost immediately after committing the charged murder. They continue to try to identify and tamper with potential witnesses while incarcerated.”
Jason Mizell, the beloved hip-hop DJ and member of Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Run-DMC, was shot point-blank in the head with a .40 caliber handgun inside his Queens recording studio on Oct. 30, 2002 — with the suspects arrested in August 2020 to finally close the long-cold case.
Washington, a friend of the turntable wizard, was sleeping on a sofa inside the victim’s home in the days before the shocking execution over what prosecutors termed a drug deal gone bad. Prosecutors also argued the jury restriction would ensure a fair trial for the defendants.
“The interests of justice would best be served in this case by protecting the the identities of the jurors,” the court filing asserted. “First, the defendants are dangerous and, based on the evidence expected to be presented at trial, they are likely to be perceived by the jurors as dangerous.
“In these circumstances, the fact that the jurors are aware their identities are publicly known may subtly and unconsciously impair their impartiality.”
Defense attorney Susan Kellman, representing Washington, declined comment as did Micheal Hueston, the lawyer for Jordan. The judge also adjourned the trial, expected to begin next month, to a later date to be determined.
When the indictment was unsealed 17 months ago, one witness received threatening text messages and a photograph of a person shot in the head, the federal prosecutors alleged. A second witness was at work when approached by a stranger who warned “you know what happens to snitches,” the court papers said.
“The government has been unable to connect these threats to the defendants and thus is not seeking their admission,” the prosecutors acknowledged. “But they are nevertheless relevant to the motion for an anonymous jury.”
The government’s Jan. 2 memorandum of law filing also called for withholding “the names, addresses and workplaces” of the jurors from both the defendants and their attorneys, while asking for federal marshals to accompany the panel in and court of the courthouse each day.
“These measures are necessary to assure the public’s right to a fair trial by protecting the jury from improper influence or intimidation,” the government argued.
The paperwork also called for the jurors to eat lunch as a group “so they do not mingle in the courthouse with the public or any potential trial spectator.”
Veteran defense attorney Ron Kuby said such restrictions were “not common but they’re not rare,” and often used by prosecutors in narcotics, terrorism and mob prosecutions.
Mizell was targeted for cutting his killers out of a multi-kilogram cocaine deal, according to authorities. The longtime Hollis, Queens resident was blasted in the head at close range, with federal prosecutors alleging the defendants “shot him in cold blood.”
But the slaying went unsolved for nearly 18 years, when the case was finally cleared with the arrests of Jordan, 38, and Washington, 58. The younger suspect was accused of pulling the trigger while his partner pointed a gun at the other people inside the recording studio, prosecutors said.
The government also cited recorded jailhouse phone calls where Washington and Jordan “repeatedly speculated about the possible witnesses who will testify against them and who will be ‘snitching.’” The defendants face mandatory sentences of 20 years to life if convicted.
