R. Kelly Associate Sentenced for Making Shooting Threats to Victims Featured in ‘Surviving R. Kelly’
As R. Kelly awaits another sentencing and additional criminal trials in several states, his associates and alleged enablers in his sexual abuse crimes are also being punished. The Lifetime docuseries Surviving R. Kelly detailed dozens of co-conspirators who worked alongside Kelly to aid in his abuse and sex trafficking ring of underage girls and young women. Now, two of his former associates have been sentenced for their roles in his crimes.
R. Kelly associated sentenced for making threats
The singer’s ex-manager, Donnell Russell, was previously convicted of trying to suppress the abuse allegations of victims. Prosecutors say Russell tried to intimidate at least one accuser and threatened to sue over the Lifetime series. He took things a step further when he called in the warning that shut down the documentary’s 2018 Manhattan premiere ahead of its showing.
During his recent sentencing, Russell told a federal judge that he “made bad judgments” while briefly working with Kelly, Love B. Scott reports. “I’m not a horrible person,” Russell said.
Regarding the phone call Russell made at the 22018 screening, The phone call claimed that someone at the screening had a gun and would fire. As a result, the screening was canceled, and the theater was evacuated. “I was happy that it ended. I didn’t question how it ended,” Russell said.
Prosecutors were able to link Russell to the phone threat through phone records and a text he sent about police potentially arriving at the venue. His defense team argued that there were many phone calls to the theater and that there wasn’t enough evidence to pin it on him.
He was convicted of threatening physical harm through interstate communication. Russell was not convicted of the conspiracy charge. He pleaded guilty to an interstate stalking charge of one of Kelly’s accusers. He was sentenced to 20 months in prison for the threat, which included making threatening messages to the woman, and later publishing explicit photos of her online as retaliation.
Another associate was found guilty of torching one of R. Kelly’s victim’s cars
Kelly’s former publicist, Michael Williams, pleaded guilty to torching Azriel Clary’s car in 2020. Clary was in a five-year relationship with the singer, beginning when she was just 17. Williams set the car ablaze in an attempt to intimidate Clary out of testifying against Kelly in his Brooklyn criminal trial.
Per Page Six, fire investigators linked Williams to the crime after discovering an accelerant on the edge of Clary’s property. Toll plaza cameras captured Williams’ GMC Yukon, which had severe damage to the front and side of the car and no license plate, traveling from his home state of Georgia to Florida ahead of the fire. The same cameras also captured Williams returning.
Once authorities searched Williams’ home, a complaint reveals he searched the phrases “witness intimidation” and “case law for tampering with a witness” on his devices. Clary also shared a photo and video evidence of the damage to her car on Instagram.
Williams was sentenced to eight years in prison for his part in Kelly’s crimes. His attorney, Todd Spodek, told FOX News that a sentence of five years would have been “sufficient but not greater than necessary in this case.” Now, Spodek says they plan to explore their legal options in Williams’ conviction.
R. Kelly is currently awaiting sentencing in his second criminal case
Kelly is already serving a 30-year sentence after being found guilty of six out of nine counts in his sex trafficking and racketeering case in Brooklyn. He has also been convicted of producing child pornography and enticing girls for sex and is set to be sentenced on Feb. 23 in that case.
