Uber-bad move
Alleged Jussie plotter’s ride led cops to pair
Two brothers allegedly hired to attack actor Jussie Smollett covered their tracks almost perfectly — until one of them ordered an Uber.
Testifying during the second day of Smollett’s hate hoax trial, Chicago Police Detective Michael Theis said the rideshare receipt ended up being a huge break in the investigation as officers struggled to identify the men who allegedly threw a noose around the actor’s neck, beat him and yelled racist and homophobic slurs, as well as pro-Trump rhetoric, as Smollett was walking to get a sandwich in January 2019.
“This was horrible. I mean the crime was [thought to be] a hate crime, horrible hate crime. There was a noose, there was bleach,” Theis testified Tuesday. “It was local news, it was national news, international news. Everyone wanted to know what happened, from the mayor on down.”
Investigators combed through thousands of hours of surveillance footage from the dark alley where the attack took place before they finally spotted two men, one wearing a red hat, walking away from the scene. The men walked nearly a mile and paid cash for a cab, leaving no trace.
“That told us they were trying to hide their movements,” Theis testified.
But then Olabinjo Osundairo ordered an Uber on his own account.
Osundairo and his brother, Abimbola, were eventually arrested, but not charged, for their involvement in the hate crime. That’s when they told police Smollett, who they knew from working on the Fox show “Empire,” had paid them $3,500 to stage the crime.
More surveillance footage from the area shows what appears to be trial runs for the attack, Theis said Tuesday.
Smollett asked the Osundairos to meet him “on the low” and paid for the supplies to stage the attack, according to the former detective.
Smollett, the 39-year-old actor best known for playing musician Jamal Lyon on “Empire,” has been charged with felony disorderly conduct for allegedly staging the attack, but has denied any wrongdoing.
It’s unclear if he plans to testify on his own behalf. The Osundairo brothers are expected to testify against him.
Before Tuesday’s proceedings began, Smollett’s brother, Jojo, spoke out in support of the actor from the lobby of the Leighton Criminal Court Building.
“We’re confident in his legal team, and we look forward to people hearing the actual facts of this case,” he told reporters. “We love him. We’re here to support him, all of us, and to lift him up.”
Smollett’s sister, actress Jurnee Smollett, was by his side Monday when he arrived at the courthouse.
Defense attorneys attacked the Osundairo brothers’ credibility in opening statements, saying they changed their story and claimed, “They are going to lie to your face.”
Theis pushed back Tuesday against a defense argument that police rushed to judgment, saying two dozen Chicago cops spent 3,000 man-hours working the high-profile case before detaining the Osundairos.
If convicted, Smollett faces up to three years in prison, but legal observers predict he’ll probably get probation and community service. Smollett already did 16 hours of community service as part of an earlier plea deal in the messy back-and-forth case.
He never admitted wrongdoing, which allowed the revival of the criminal case against him.