A man who was convicted of killing hip-hop icon Jam Master Jay — and whose conviction was then overturned — is on track to getting out from behind bars for the first time in five-and-a-half years.
Karl Jordan Jr., 42, wearing a tan jail jumpsuit with a gray long-sleeve thermal shirt underneath, appeared in Brooklyn federal court on Monday (April 6) in front of Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall, the same judge who vacated his conviction for shooting Jay (real name Jason Mizell) at the end of last year. Jordan still faces trial for a number of drug-related offenses, and Friday’s hearing was for Judge Hall to decide whether he should be let out on bail until that trial takes place. The government strongly opposes Jordan’s release, and is appealing Judge Hall’s decision to toss his conviction.
Judge Hall decided that Jordan, who has been locked up since August of 2020 and is currently in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, should indeed be freed on a $1 million bail package secured by 17 of his family and friends. She pointed out that the last violent incident he had been involved in, per the government’s own records, was in 2004. So, she continued, he didn’t present a danger to the community.
“With respect to dangerousness…, the government has not come forward with evidence that Mr. Jordan engaged in [violent] conduct” since that date, she explained. And, as a life-long New Yorker, he did not seem to be a major flight risk.
The judge went on to say that the fact that so many of Jordan’s family and friends were guaranteeing that he would come to court — with at least two of them putting their own homes at risk as suretors — went a long way. The fact that people were literally betting their houses that Jordan would show up to his court dates, Judge Hall explained, “is not lost on this court.”
But Jordan was not immediately free to go. At the government’s request, Judge Hall delayed her ruling taking effect until Friday (Apr. 10), in order to give prosecutors time to decide if they wanted to appeal. If they do, Jordan will remain in jail while his case is heard by an appellate court.
If freed, Jordan will be subject to electronic location monitoring, and will not be able to speak to any co-defendants or witnesses in his case.
Judge Hall ended Monday’s hearing by speaking first to Jordan’s family and friends, over a dozen deep in the courtroom. She explained exactly how important it was for Jordan to continue to show up for court once he’s no longer locked up.
“I have said why I believe Mr. Jordan is not a danger and not a flight risk. But judges have been wrong,” she said. “If Mr. Jordan proves me wrong, I will not hesitate to ensure that the government acts on the collateral in this bond package.”
Then she turned to Jordan himself.
“There’s a very real chance, Mr. Jordan, you may be released in the near term. I wish you luck, and that you will stay out of trouble.”
If the government chooses not to appeal Monday’s decision, Jordan is set to appear in front of a magistrate judge on Friday to finalize the bail package arrangements.
In 2024, a jury found Jordan guilty of firing the bullet that killed Jam Master Jay back in 2002, and also convicted Ronald Washington of helping to orchestrate the killing. But in 2025, Judge Hall overturned Jordan’s conviction, ruling that prosecutors failed to present sufficient evidence showing he had a motive to kill the pioneering DJ.
In granting the acquittal, the judge sided with the defense's argument that the government did not prove that Jordan was part of a drug trafficking conspiracy that led to him shooting Mizell.
One more suspect in Mizell’s killing, Jay Bryant, is still awaiting trial.
