Karl Jordan Jr. confronted a federal attraction after a choose overturned his Jam Grasp Jay homicide conviction, holding the decades-old Hip-Hop killing case alive.
Federal prosecutors have appealed the acquittal of Karl Jordan Jr. within the 2002 homicide of Jam Grasp Jay because the long-running case continues to evolve greater than 20 years after the famed DJ was killed.
Prosecutors went to the U.S. Courtroom of Appeals for the Second Circuit to formally problem the choose’s post-verdict acquittal order and doesn’t but embody detailed authorized arguments, that are anticipated in later filings.
Jordan, the godson of Jam Grasp Jay, had been convicted in February 2024 together with co-defendant Ronald “Tinard” Washington.
Each males had been discovered responsible of homicide whereas engaged in narcotics trafficking for the October 2002 capturing in Jay’s Queens recording studio. The conviction appeared to carry long-sought justice in one in every of Hip-Hop’s most infamous chilly instances.
However Decide LaShann DeArcy Corridor granted Jordan a uncommon judgment of acquittal late final 12 months, siding together with his attorneys that prosecutors didn’t current ample proof linking him to a transparent motive for homicide.
The choose’s ruling erased Jordan’s convictions on the 2 homicide counts, prompting this attraction by the federal government. In distinction, Washington’s efforts to overturn his personal conviction failed earlier than the identical choose.
The court docket denied his motions for a judgment of acquittal and a brand new trial, and his convictions stay intact. Washington is in jail awaiting sentencing.
In the meantime, a 3rd man, Jay Bryant, stays scheduled for trial in reference to the killing.
Prosecutors charged Bryant in 2023, pointing to his alleged function in permitting Jordan and Washington into the studio by means of a again entrance and inserting his DNA on proof discovered on the scene. Bryant has pleaded not responsible and is ready to face a separate federal trial in 2026.
The attraction now earlier than the Second Circuit will check whether or not a choose can put aside a jury’s responsible verdict when motive proof is contested.
If prosecutors succeed, Jordan’s conviction could possibly be reinstated with out a new trial. If the attraction fails, the acquittal stands and Jordan can’t be retried due to double jeopardy protections.
No briefing schedule or listening to date has been set.
