Overview
- Court records show Jay Bryant plans to change his plea to guilty in the 2002 shooting of Jam Master Jay, though the deal is not final until entered in court.
- If accepted by the judge, the plea would be the first time any defendant has admitted in court to a role in the Run-DMC DJ’s death.
- Evidence in the case has been disputed, with prosecutors pointing to Bryant’s DNA on a hat from the studio while his uncle claimed Bryant confessed and other witnesses did not place him inside.
- Two men were convicted in 2024, but Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall later acquitted Karl Jordan Jr., and prosecutors have now asked a federal appeals court to reinstate that verdict while Ronald Washington’s conviction remains in place.
- Bryant was indicted in 2023 and is also awaiting sentencing for separate federal drug and firearm offenses, a backdrop that could influence any plea terms.