The brothers who allegedly helped stage a racist and homophobic attack against actor Jussie Smollett in January 2019 are no longer cooperating with prosecutors.
Abel Osundairo tells CBS 2 Chicago that he and his brother, Ola, will not willingly testify in the case against Smollett because items collected during a police search of their apartment, including a 9mm gun inside a safe, haven’t been returned.
“I would understand if we were defendants in the case, which we are not,” Abel Osundiaro told CBS 2.
Osundairo says he is a licensed gun owner and that many of the things confiscated by police belong to his brother and other relatives.
The brothers’ attorney, Gloria Schmidt Rodriguez, has filed a motion with a judge for their belongings to be returned.
On June 12, Cook County Judge James Linn ruled the latest criminal case against Smollett did not constitute double jeopardy. Linn said Smollett’s previous case never led to an admission of guilt and the former “Empire” actor was never punished, so the new charges would not violate his right against double jeopardy.
Smollett was accused of making a false report to Chicago police and was indicted in March 2019 on 16 counts of disorderly conduct for allegedly lying about being attacked in a hate crime. Weeks later, the state’s attorney’s office abruptly dropped the charges, sparking outrage and confusion. Nearly a year later — in February — Smollett was indicted again by Special Prosecutor Dan Webb, who has criticized State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s decision to dismiss the initial charges.
