The brothers who claimed they were paid to stage an attack against Jussie Smollett are now reportedly unwilling to testify against the actor.
Chicago Police allege Abel Osundario and his brother, Ola, were paid $3,500 to jump Smollett in what the actor feigned was a racist and homophobic attack against him back in January 2019.
The pair had originally expressed intent to fully cooperate and testify against the “Empire” star — until their lawyer told Chicago’s CBS affiliate Wednesday that they’ve had a change of heart.
Attorney Gloria Schmidt Rodriguez said the two have flipped because they feel as if police are still treating them as suspects and are withholding possessions they had taken from them during a February 2019 raid of their home.
“It’s been over a year and they need to give us our stuff back,” said Abel Osundairo told the station.
“I would understand if we were defendants in the case, which we are not,” he added.
During the Valentine’s Day sweep, cops swiped among other possessions a safe containing a 9mm gun and ammunition that belongs to Abel, a legal gun owner, the station reported.
An administrative battle over the possessions has ensued, with Schmidt Rodriguez filing a court motion for the return of their belongings.
Chicago Police told the outlet the handgun is being preserved as evidence in an evidence locker and that the department would cooperate with any court order should the judge rule to have the items returned.
Smollet, meanwhile, has been rung through ups and downs in the legal system. In March 2019 he was slapped with a 16-count felony indictment for filing a false police report — only for Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx to suddenly drop all charges later that month.
But he was indicted once again for allegedly staging a hate-crime attack against himself this February. Smollett has pleaded not guilty to six new counts of disorderly conduct, accusing Smollett of lying to the Chicago Police Department about the incident.
Source: PageSix.com
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