Jam Master Jay‘s convicted killer Ronald Washington has filed a motion to appeal his guilty verdict, claiming that the prosecution failed to provide a link between himself and the so-called “drug conspiracy” that was at the crux of the murder of the Run-DMC legend.
According to court documents obtained by HipHopDX, Washington — who filed the motion on Friday (April 5) — now moves for a judgment of acquittal. In the alternative, he’s pushing for a new trial.
Washington claims that none of the testimony by the other defendants could implicate him in the matter, and therefore, “for the foregoing reasons, Ronald Washington’s motion for a judgment of acquittal under Rule 29 should be granted, or, in the alternative, a new trial should be ordered.”
Check out part of the filing below.
Previously, the final suspect in the case was reportedly considering a plea deal.
The Associated Press is reporting that prosecutors are considering a plea for Jay Bryant, 50, though it is not clear what the deal comprises. Both sides are due to file a status report by August 5.
Neither Bryant nor his lawyer, César de Castro, issued a comment after the court meeting on Thursday (April 4).
Should the two sides not come to a resolution, they are due to commence the trial in January 2025.
Last year, Jay Bryant (49) became the third person to be charged in the case.
Back in February, the trial of two of the three defendants concluded in New York, and Karl Jordan, Jr., and Ronald Washington were found guilty on all counts.
The trio are believed to have entered JMJ’s studio and fled after the fatal shooting, with Jordan firing two shots at the victim at close range, including one to the head that killed him. Prosecutors were able to prove that Bryant was seen entering the building immediately before the shooting and left behind an article of clothing at the crime scene, which contained his DNA.
An investigation revealed that the slaying was over a drug deal gone wrong, with Jam Master Jay allegedly acquiring roughly 10 kilograms of cocaine (worth an estimated $1.7 million) from a Midwest narcotics supplier months before his death.
When the Hip Hop pioneer sought to exclude Jordan and Washington from the large, multi-state drug deal, they “murdered him in cold blood,” prosecutors said in their 2020 indictment against the two men.
After Jordan and Washington’s convictions, the Run-D.M.C. legends’ two sons addressed the notion that the legendary beatmaker was murdered because of his involvement in drug trafficking.
