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It was motivated by greed and revenge, prosecutor Miranda Gonzalez told jurors in her 20-minute opening statement.
rose to fame, youll hear that Jason never forgot his roots, she said.
Jason Mizell was generous with his money.
He even let people stay at his family home or his studio if they fell on hard times.
By the mid-90s, however, money from Run-D.M.C.
In August of 2002, Mizell and Washington went to Baltimore for a deal.
But the distributor there didnt want to work with Washington, so Mizell sent him away empty-handed.
On October 30 of that year, the disagreement spiraled into violence.
Mizell was in his music studio in Queens, sitting on the sofa playing video games.
Mizell had a pistol nearby.
Jordan marched to the studio, and Mizell stood.
Jordan pulled out a gun and put a 40-caliber bullet in his head, killing him in an instant.
Jordan fired another shot which struck another person in the leg, the prosecution said.
The defense lawyers opening statements were brief.
John Diaz, who represents Jordan, told jurors that the evidence against his client was not persuasive.
Karl Jordan did not kill Jason Mizell,he insisted in his ten-minute opening.
I expect the evidence throughout the trial to prove that.
Ezra Spilke, Washingtons lawyer, pointed to the delay between Mizells murder and trial proceedings as problematic.
This case revolves around 10 seconds 21 years ago a blink of an eye, a generation ago.
Mizell and Washington, he said, were like family.
Why kill the one person you’ve got the option to depend on?
As lawyers on both sides presented their openings, Jordan and Washington looked on attentively.
On May 30, 2023, Bryant was indicted in Mizells killing.
Bryant will be tried separately from Jordan and Washington.
He is expected to go before a jury in 2026.
All three men have maintained their innocence.
