R. Kelly was expected to appear in a Cook County court yesterday for his first hearing since he was indicted and taken into custody last month. But of course, he didn’t show up.
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The singer, who is no stranger to a courthouse, has a pretty good attendance history, attending his previous hearings in a suit and sunglasses, according to Chicago Sun Times.
However, it appears he’s not too fond of his current residence inside Chicago’s Metropolitan Correctional Center, so he allegedly refused transport for yesterday’s hearing.
According to his lawyer, it’s apparently a bit of an ordeal to move Kelly. I don’t know about you, but that man looks like he’s small enough to fit in a car to me.
“I don’t want to discuss matters that I have discussed with the U.S. Marshal Service in open court,” Kelly’s lawyer Steve Greenberg said. “Suffice it to say that the marshal service said that moving Mr. Kelly is a large undertaking.”
The hearing continued without Kelly being present, but the judge presiding over his case was less than impressed by his absence.
“He has to be here,” Judge Lawrence Flood told Mr Greenberg.
“The defendant was to be brought to court today. That was all worked out. The sheriffs were going to be bringing him over,” Prosecutor Jennifer Gonzalez told the judge.
However, Kelly’s attorney denies this allegation.
“R. Kelly did not refuse to come to court today,” Greenberg said.
The 52-year-old remains in solitary confinement at the MCC in Chicago, where he is apparently miserable.
“He’s not a fighter. I’ve seen him cry when he talks about the situation,” Greenberg said.
R Kelly is facing criminal charges in New York, Illinois and Minnesota. The extensive list of charges include prostitution and solicitation, sexual exploitation of children, forced labor and kidnapping, among other things.
