R. Kelly’s ex-manager Donnell Russell gets a year in prison for threats to the theater

His misplaced loyalty lands him straight in prison.

Donnell Russell, former manager of R. Kelly, was sentenced Monday to a year in federal prison for making a shooting threat at a Manhattan theater that prevented the screening of a damaging documentary about the disgraced hip-hop star.

When a judge delivered the verdict, the Kelly loyalist insisted he wasn’t a bad person. The ruling will not add to the prison time he is already serving in another federal criminal case against him.

Russell admitted in court that he “made bad judgments” while briefly working for the “I Believe I Can Fly” singer as Kelly faced mounting allegations of sexual abuse.

“I’m not a terrible person,” Russell said in court, though US District Judge Paul Gardephe described him as involved in “serious criminal acts” in “a misguided attempt to protect someone who was a prolific abuser.” “.

Russell, 47, said he originally dealt with the Grammy winner to help with intellectual property matters to help Kelly pay for legal fees. The two Chicago natives had met decades before before dating again.

Kelly was convicted of sex trafficking and racketeering last year and was sentenced to 30 years in prison in June. The verdict on his conviction for making child pornography and enticing girls into sex in Chicago is scheduled for February 23.

Prior to Kelly’s guilty verdict, Russell worked to appease those abuse allegations by threatening at least one accuser — and then making a gunshot threat at the Manhattan premiere of Lifetime’s Surviving R. Kelly docuseries, which ended the show in 2018.

The call claimed someone at the event had a gun and was going to shoot, prompting the event’s cancellation and evacuation.

The series focused on allegations against Kelly of sexually abusing women and girls; Some of the prosecutors were scheduled to speak at a panel discussion after the premiere.

“I was glad it was over. I didn’t question how it ended,” Russell said in court Monday.

Russell was convicted in July of threatening assault through interstate communications related to the theatrical threat, but was acquitted of conspiracy charges.

Days after that guilty verdict, he pleaded guilty to interstate stalking involving one of Kelly’s sex abuse accusers and was sentenced to 20 months in prison last month.

He is expected to turn himself in next year to serve the two sentences simultaneously.

With mail wires