SDNY COURTHOUSE,
July 21 – After the conviction
and sentencing of R.Kelly in
the Eastern District of New
York, on July 18 jury
selection became for the trial
of his associate Donnell
Russell for threats to try to
stop a screening of the
documentary "Surviving
R.Kelly." As with the EDNY
trial (below), but in more
detail, Inner City Press live
tweeted the second and last
day ( first day here)
of jury selection here.
On July 20, there
were opening arguments and
witnesses - seemingly, more
than half of the case. Inner
City Press live tweeted here.
On July 21, the
US' final witnesses and
rested; Russell did not take
the stand and the evidence
closed, setting up the July 22
closings before deliberation.
Inner City Press live tweeted
July 21 here:
OK - trial of
#RKelly "associate" Don
Russell coming to close, US
says it will rest its case by
lunch, then it's up to the
defense.
US' next witness
is a former Neuehouse
employee. AUSA Pomerantz: What
did you do there?
Witness: Payroll
and staffing. I managed 15
people. AUSA: Did you evacuate
an event? Witness: Yes,
Surviving R. Kelly screening.
AUSA: What did you observe
from Adrian [Krasniqi]'s
demeanor after he got the call
about the gun?
Witness: It was
chaos. I was heading
downstairs. We had two
security guards. I first told
the crowd it was a fire alarm,
so people wouldn't panic
AUSA: Did
the police show up? Witness:
Yes. AUSA: Tell the jurors how
you felt. Witness: It was
shocking. They said there was
someone with a gun. AUSA: No
further questions. Judge
Gardephe: Cross examination.
Freedman: I
represent Mr. Russell. You've
never met him, right? Witness:
I have not. Freedman: You
weren't responsible for
answering the phones or
checking emails, right?
Witness: We have different
categories of emails.
[Very short
cross, and direct] AUSA David:
The government calls Andrew
Peterson, for cell site
analysis. AUSA: Does your
background as a radio engineer
help with your cell site
analysis? Peterson: It does.
AUSA: How
is the signal carried from the
cell site to the cell phone?
Peterson: Through the cell
tower. AUSA: And in a dense
environment like Chicago, how
much can you pinpoint?
Peterson: There's rarely a
direct line of sight.AUSA:
From which providers did you
review records? Peterson:
T-Mobile & Verizon.
AUSA: What does
this reflect? Peterson: Red
lines show the cell site
locations. AUSA: Did the US
ask you to look at a
particular time? Peterson: Dec
4, 2018, from 6:30 to
8:30 pm
AUSA: And
what property is this?
Peterson: 1828 South Millard
Avenue, Chicago. [Fast
research links it to June
Barrett, here]
Cross
examination: Freedman: Good
morning, Mr. Peterson.
Peterson: I can't hear you
well. Freedman: I swear I
haven't gotten taller since
yesterday.
Freedman: The
goverment didn't ask you to
look at the Neuehouse House
call log screens?
Peterson: They
didn't. Freedman: No further
questions.
Next US
witness is Julia Gutierrez, a
paralegal SDNYLIVE .
AUSA: Are you
familiar with Google Maps?
Gutierrez: Yes.
AUSA Pomerantz:
Was this the first call to
Neuehouse from any of Donnell
Russell's 3 phones? Gutierrez:
Yes, that was the first one.
AUSA: Did you search Govt
Exhibit 302 for the last call?
Gutierrez: Yes, it was at 7:38
pm.
AUSA: Did
you see the message, since
deleted, to Kash Jones, "the
cops may be arriving shortly,
deleted those messages"?
Gutierrez: Yes.
AUSA Pomerantz: No further
questions. Judge Gardephe: Any
more US witnesses?
AUSA Davis: The
US rests.
Judge: Morning
break.
Jury leaves.
Judge Gardephe:
Mr. Freedman, I'll hear your
motion. Freedman: There is no
evidence that Mr. Russell made
the call. Mr. Krasniqi said it
was a different voice, one
"from Brooklyn."
AUSA Davis:
The standard of Rule 29 is
high, all evidence is viewed
in the light most favorable to
the government. The call
records show that the
defendant made the calls,
there are his own
admissions...
AUSA Davis: All
calls from 7 pm to 7:51 pm
were from Mr. Russell. And
7:51 is important - that's why
Mr. Krasniqi called 911. And
he said the threat was 10
minutes before.
AUSA Davis: He
called Neuehouse nine times.
It's for the jury to decide.
On the conspiracy, Kash Jones
and Russell worked together
all day. He texts Kash, the
cops may be coming. She
replies, OK.
AUSA Davis:
So it should be left to the
jury. Judge Gardephe: I will
reserve decision. Mr.
Freedman, is there going to be
a defense case? Freedman: No.
Judge Gardephe: Mr. Russell,
have you talked with your
lawyer about if you should
testify? Don Russell: Yes.
Judge
Gardephe: And you have decided
it is not in your interest to
testify? Donnell Russell: Yes.
Jduge Gardephe: OK, we'll take
a break. Thread will continue
- watch this feed.
Jury enters.
Judge Gardephe:
Mr. Freedman, any defense
case? Freedman: No. Judge
Gardephe: Jurors, I'm going to
be excusing you for the rest
of the day, to discuss the
jury charge I'll give you
tomorrow, before you
deliberate. Don't discuss the
case.
Jury leaves.
Judge Gardephe:
Have the lawyers read my draft
charge? I am going to add,
Draw no inference from any
question I posed to a witness.
I do not intend to charge on
aiding and abetting. There's
no evidentiary foundation. ..
Freedman: I
think there should be a
change, to say the US must
prove that Mr. Russell said
the word, not "the words
communicated by Mr. Russell."
Because I'm contesting that he
said them, not necessarily
that they were said.
And by noon, the
jury instruction is finalized.
Freedman: If they
haven't decided by 5 pm
tomorrow, can they stay later?
Judge Gardephe: I'll tell them
that they can. We are
adjourned.
This case is US
v. Russell, 20-cr-538
(Gardephe)
The morning of
jury selection in the R.Kelly
trial, which began on August
18, 2021 with no call-in line
and no Press or public in the
courtroom, his lawyers
docketed a motion
to dismiss, below.
On
September 2, Inner City Press
went to the EDNY courthouse in
Brooklyn, before 9 am. There
were supporters of R.Kelly on
the sidewalk in front, one
with a tiara; there was other
journalists. On a delay
occasioned by the flooding of
the subway system, all entered
and up to the (overflow)
Courtroom on the sixth floor.
On TV
screens, at first two lawyers
milled about, then others,
then Judge Ann Donnelly
herself. Why she decided not
only to ban the Press and
public from the actual
courtroom, where the reactions
of the jury for example could
be gauged, but worse to have
no call-in line, is not known.
Now is why,
when she played some of the
audio the prosecutors
presented to the jurors, it
was only for only some members
of the media, rather than have
it made available as a
judicial document. Later on
September 27, nine jury guilty
verdicts for R.Kelly, whose
lawyer Devereaux Cannick said,
"I'm sure we'll be appealing."
On June 8, the US
filed its sentencing memo,
asking for more than 25 years.
"Based on a total offense
level of 45 and a criminal
history category of I, the
applicable Guidelines
range is life imprisonment.
II. A Sentence in Excess of 25
Years is Warranted The
government respectfully
submits that a sentence in
excess of 25 years is
appropriate in light of all
relevant factors, including
the nature and circumstances
of the offense, the
history and characteristics of
the defendant, and the need
for the sentence to reflect
the seriousness of the
offense, to promote respect
for the law, to provide just
punishment, to afford
adequate deterrence and to
protect the public" Memo on
Inner City Press'
DocumentCloud here.
On June 29, in a
proceeding of which no live
tweeting was permitted,
R.Kelly was sentenced to 30
years. He did not speak prior
to sentencing, unlike for
example Ghislaine Maxwell the
previous day in SDNY. (She got
20 years). We'll have more on
this.
Full motion
on Inner City Press'
DocumentCloud here.
September
2 witnesses began with a Mr.
Yong Fe Wu (phonetic), a
forensic biologist in
Illinois. He put big numbers
on the screen -- look, Ma,
thirty zeros! - but when
R.Kelly's lawyer Cannick asked
if if weren't possible that
the semen-stained shirt he
tested hadn't been taken by
someone coming over the fence,
he replied, I don't know that
story.
Next up
was Homeland Security Special
Agent Chris Wilson, not to be
confused with the next
witness, Chris' cousin Mike.
Chris testified at length
about photos and text messages
extracted from two iPhones and
one laptop taken from R.Kelly.
Then Mike Kelly,
who was present at the arrest
on July 11, 2019 in Chicago's
Trump building, testified
about an iPad.
During
this, the woman in the tiara,
whose birthday it was and is
and who said she was spending
it with the "King of R&B,"
fell asleep on the back bench
of the overflow courtroom and,
to be honest, began to snore.
A Court Security
Officer came in and told her,
you can't sleep in the
courtroom, you have to go
outside. But she sat up and
remarked, accurately, "This is
the boring part."
And needlessly
opaque - no exhibits, no call
in line. Watch this site. And
this vlog;
hear this
podcast.
Previously,
reverse chronological:
With less
transparency each week, now no
exhibits have been made
available since August 23. On
the morning of August 21, the
defense filed a request for
access to legal mail and
documents they say have been
withheld for more than two
months (photo of letter
Tweeted here)
and now full letter on Inner
City Press' DocumentCloud here
"RE: United
States v. Robert Kelly
Criminal Docket No.: 19-286
(AMD) Dear Judge Donnelly: The
defense writes to respectfully
request that the Court Order
that the Bureau of Prisons and
U.S. Marshals provide Mr.
Kelly with his legal mail and
documents that were collected
when he was moved from MCC
Chicago to MDC Brooklyn. Mr.
Kelly was moved to MDC
Brooklyn over two months ago
and his mail and legal
documents from MCC Chicago
have not been delivered.
Accordingly, it is
respectfully requested that
the Court Order that the BOP
and U.S. Marshals provide Mr.
Kelly his legal mail and
documents from MCC Chicago."
Watch this site - & this.
Inner
City Press published the
full
motion on its
DocumentCloud
here,
and song here.
Inner City
Press which successfully
advocated for the restoration
of call-in access to January 6
proceedings in the District
for the District of Columbia,
did an August 18 stand-up
outside the U.S. District
Court for the Southern
District of New York, here
From the motion
to dismiss: "Mr. r. Kelly
respectfully submits this
memorandum of law in support
of his pre-trial motion
to dismiss in advance of trial
in this matter."
Inner City
Press published the full memo
on its DocumentCloud, here.
Inner City Press will continue
to follow and report on these
cases. EDNY is US v. Robert
Sylvester Kelly, a/k/a R.
Kelly, EDNY Docket No.
19-cr-286 (AMD).
Criminal in SDNY
is This
case is US v.
Russell,
20-cr-538
(Gardephe). More on Patreon here.
***
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