Attorney Michael Hueston exits Brooklyn federal court on April 6, 2026, with supporters of his client Karl Jordan Jr.
Photo by Dean Moses
Three months after a judge reversed his conviction in the 2002 killing of Run DMC’s Jam Master Jay, Karl Jordan Jr. is a step closer to freedom, after the same judge on Monday approved his proposed bail package while he awaits trial on other charges.
Jurors convicted Jordan, 42, in February 2024 after a monthlong trial alongside his co-defendant Ronald Washington. Both Queens men were charged with murder while engaged in a narcotics trafficking conspiracy and gun-related murder for the Oct. 30, 2002, fatal shooting of Jay, whose real name was Jason Mizell, inside his Hollis, Queens, recording studio. Prosecutors posited that the murder stemmed from a dispute over a cocaine deal.
But in December, U.S. District Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall overturned the conviction against Jordan, whom prosecutors accused of firing the gun that killed Jay, writing in her 29-page ruling that there wasn’t enough evidence the killing was drug-related.
The government’s appeal of Hall’s ruling acquitting Jordan is still pending. Meanwhile, Jordan faces cocaine distribution and conspiracy charges, which were severed from the murder trial.
Hall on Monday found that Jordan successfully rebutted the presumption that he should be detained while those other charges are pending. The government, however, signaled that it is likely to appeal her ruling granting bail to Jordan, whose package includes 17 suretors, many of them family members, putting up a total of $1 million. The judge granted a stay while the government decides if it will appeal, ordering them to make a decision by Friday.
Referring to a previous comment by one of Jordan’s attorneys that his supporters are “putting up all that they have,” Hall said, “I think that that characterization is a fair one.” The package includes three residences, two of which are the homes in which suretors live.
“At the end of the day, sir, bond is about you giving me your word,” Hall said, addressing Jordan directly.
“You have my word,” replied Jordan, who appeared in court wearing a khaki jail uniform and frameless glasses.
Family supporting Karl Jordan Jr., who was convicted and then cleared of murdering Run DMC’s Jam Master Jay in 2002, leave court on April 6, 2026, after a hearing at which a federal judge approved Jordan’s $1 million bail package.Photo by Dean Moses
Hall then addressed Jordan’s supporters, who filled several rows of the courtroom, and offered a warning: “If Mr. Jordan proves me wrong today, I will not hesitate in the least to ensure the government acts on the collateral in this bond package.”
Supporters of Jordan who identified themselves as family members declined to comment following Monday’s hearing.
Defense attorneys Michael Hueston, John Diaz, Mark DeMarco and Emilee Sahli represented Jordan in court Monday.