Home Entertainment R. KELLY MOVED TO NEW YORK CITY AHEAD OF HIS TRAFFICKING TRIAL IN AUGUST.

R. KELLY MOVED TO NEW YORK CITY AHEAD OF HIS TRAFFICKING TRIAL IN AUGUST.

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R. KELLY MOVED TO NEW YORK CITY AHEAD OF HIS TRAFFICKING TRIAL IN AUGUST.

RnB star R. Kelly has been moved to New York ahead of his court appearance later in August. Kelly was charged with racketeering, kidnapping, and sexual exploitation 2years ago.

The federal prison official website listed the RnB singer as an inmate at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn on Wednesday the 23rd of June. Kelly was moved from Chicago where he was facing similar charges following his detention since July 2019.

The 54-year-old singer also added an attorney to his legal team Deveraux Cannick. Cannick is a former Bronx County district attorney who has made a name for himself over the years in New York for defending controversial celebrity cases.

However, there seems to be some conflict rising in the singer’s defense team, according to a report by the Chicago Tribune, one of Kelly’s attorneys is connected to an alleged victim of the FBI bribery sting last year. “the issue involving Nicole Blank Becker is likely to be a focal point of an unusual hearing Thursday in Brooklyn, where U.S district Judge Ann Donnelly is expected to notify Kelly of any conflicts of interest Becker may have so the singer can make an informed decision about his legal representation” the Tribune said. 

Ahead of Kelly’s transfer, Donnelly had requested to have a physical hearing to hear from Kelly directly his final decision about his legal team as regards the potential conflict of interest rising in his defense team; Kelly has been in the federal correctional center in Chicago since his arrest due to the pandemic.

Last year, Richard Arline Jr. a self-acclaimed cousin of R. Kelly was charged with an attempt to pay an alleged victim in the racketeering case $500,000 to keep her from testifying, although the charge did not name the victim, details from the court show that it was Azriel Clary, Kelly’s former girlfriend.

Becker had worked with Clary when she was still a vocal supporter of the singer; during Kelly’s arrest in 2019, Becker showed up for a bond hearing at the Dirksen U.S Courthouse with Clary and Kelly’s other girlfriend, she has also provided statements to the media on behalf of both girlfriends.

Clary is expected to testify at the upcoming trial in August and Becker’s dealing with Clary stands as an issue in the case. However if Kelly ignores the potential conflict of interest, Becker will go on in the case as one of his defense attorneys.

Meanwhile, two of his defense attorneys abruptly pulled out from the case two months ahead of the trial. Steven Greenberg and Michael Leonard said during a status conference that they no longer want to represent Kelly; they cited a rift about lack of corporation from other attorneys in the team. 

They also said they have concerns regarding the backgrounds of both Farinella and Becker as neither of them has ever tried a federal case. They said they wanted to see Kelly discuss their concerns but he didn’t want to see them hence their decision to pull out.

However, one of the attorneys Thomas Farinella said Kelly decided to lay off both Greenberg and Leonard from the team, he said in the conference. When asked by the Judge if he was okay with his decision to continue with just two attorneys in the case, Kelly confirmed saying “absolutely, yes ma’am” reports says.

Judge Donnelly has since ordered the defense attorneys to submit their gripes in writing to the court as she will quickly make her decision; she also said there will be no more delay to the start of the trial.

In a separate development, the mansion used by R. Kelly for his alleged ‘sex cult’ has been sold reports says. According to TMZ, the mansion was sold for $1,785,000 on June 3rd; the mansion has a focal point for some of the claims leveled against the 54-year-old singer. It was alleged that Kelly kept women and girls in the mansion as part of his sex cult.

Kelly is set for trial in Brooklyn on August 9 on a racketeering charge that alleged he ran an enterprise that recruited women and underage girls for sexual activities then isolate and threaten them under his control. Federal prosecutors say his managers and bodyguards selected Kelly’s victims at concerts and arrange for them to travel and see him.

Kelly is also set to face a similar trial in September in Chicago on federal charges related to sex abuse of minors and allegations he conspired with his two former employees to rig his 2008 child pornography trial in Cook County by paying victims and witnesses to change their stories. 

R. Kelly has pleaded not guilty to all charges leveled against him. His attorneys have tried severally to get Kelly released on bail but their efforts yielded no results; in August last year, Kelly was attacked in his cell by a gang leader who was awaiting sentence in a double murder case, his attorneys tried to use that incident to get him bail but were denied again. 

Author: Kangmwa Gofwen

Lagos Bureau Chief, Nigeria

gofwenjoy@gmail.com