In the latest revelation over the 2002 killing of Jam Master Jay, prosecutors now say the man who shot him was betrayed by a lifelong friend who implicated him in drug dealing and a 2010 homicide, among other crimes.
Karl Jordan Jr., a Queens native and rapper who used the stage name Young Yadi, is charged with personally murdering the legendary DJ and producer over a dispute involving an inter-state crack cocaine trafficking ring. Prosecutors allege his co-defendant, Ronald "Tinard" Washington was angry at Jay, who cut Washington out of a 10-kilo cocaine deal and arranged the killing, then provided cover while Jordan fired the fatal shot.
As a rapper, Jordan is part of a group called Rich Fly Gee$, which shot music videos in front of a tribute mural for Jam Master Jay. Jordan also posed for pictures in front of the mural, and one of his music videos zooms in on a street sign named after Jay.
Jordan has pleaded not guilty and his attorney claims Jordan had an alibi for Jay's shooting. An unsigned post on the Rich Fly Gee$ YouTube page denies Jordan was involved and says it makes no sense he would murder Jay over a dispute that didn't directly involve him.
"He filmed this video in front of this mural out of love, honor, and respect for Jay," the post says. "He did not kill Jay. Everybody has their own opinion but its (sic) a fact that he did not and would not have hurt someone that he looked up to."
Jordan and Washington have been in federal custody facing a murder indictment since 2020, but in recent weeks attorneys on both sides have released new information on the defendants' background and alleged ties to other crimes, including Washington's status as a suspect in the 1995 killing of 2pac's former friend Randy "Stretch" Walker.
Now, prosecutors have revealed that in September 2020, just a month after the indictment was handed down, prosecutors entered a proffer agreement with a person who claimed to have known Jordan since
childhood, and implicated him as a drug dealer since his teen years.
The informant, whose name is redacted from public filings, told the FBI that Jordan "began selling narcotics at age 14 through 2017," while prosecutors say they conducted their own undercover investigation that shows Jordan was selling drugs well into 2020. The informant told authorities Jordan typically sold to a group on Long Island and made $10,000 per month, court records show.
Additionally, an affidavit by federal authorities says that two witnesses claimed Jordan was involved with the 2010 killing of a rival drug dealer in Queens, in which "Jordan's coconspirator shot the victim approximately six times," killing him, during a fist fight with the victim that Jordan was losing.
The affidavit was for a warrant to search Jordan's phones, where authorities pored through videos of Jordan rapping. They took special note of lyrics like, "I aim for the head, I ain’t a body shooter” and references to drug trafficking. They also found "numerous photographs and videos of Jordan holding stacks of hundred-dollar bills and other denominations of money," prosecutors said.
Last month, prosecutors filed court papers referencing Washington being a suspect in Stretch's killing, which they described as a gang-related shooting where Stretch's brother was the intended target. That homicide remains officially unsolved.
Written By: Nate Gartrell
