Actor Jussie Smollett bought drugs from the two brothers that assaulted him, documents released by the Chicago Police Department show.
The batch of documents was released on May 30. (See pdfs here, here, and here).
Detectives obtained phone records from the Osundairos and access to Smollett’s phone and social media accounts and found one of them was in touch with Smollett before and after the alleged assault.
According to texts obtained by the police, Smollett asked one of the brothers for marijuana, ecstasy, and cocaine. Smollett paid through Venmo.
In one series of messages, Smollett wrote: “[Racial slur] you still got a molly connect?”
“Hahahaha,” the brother replied.
“Imma need a good fo pills Haha,” Smollett wrote.
“Oh yeah? Got you?” the brother said. He later wrote, “Got it.” They arranged for Smollett to get the pills in the morning.
Detectives said that a check Smollett wrote to the brothers was not, as he claimed, for training but for drugs. “There are multiple occasions where Smollett appears to describe payments for illicit activity as payments for legitimate expenses,” detectives added.
Smollett was also shown pictures of the Osundairo brothers while being interviewed on Feb. 14. He told detectives that he had known one of them for about one year and that he’d been his trainer for about a month. He said they first met on the set of “Empire.”
Smollett then “realized that the photos he viewed were of the persons that were in custody at the time,” detectives wrote. Smollett said that it couldn’t have been the Osundairos.
“They are black as sin,” he said. “We don’t have any issues. They are straight so we don’t haven’t any problems with women or men. They did not owe me any money, I don’t owe them any money. We have a good relationship,” he added, detectives said.
Describing the men he said attacked him, Smollett told officers on Jan. 29 that both were wearing ski masks but that he was able to see the area between the eyes and saw white skin. Detectives noted on Feb. 14 that Smollett claimed he never said the one attacker was white and said that he “assumed they were white” due to the comments they allegedly made to him.
In a case report filed on March 19, detectives noted that what was originally an investigation into an assault had changed based on evidence uncovered, which officials said included testimony from the Osundairos, cell phone records, and video surveillance of the brothers buying gear at multiple stores.
“Investigation revealed that a plan was formulated and put into play by Smollett to conduct a staged incident where Smollett was beaten by [Abel Osundairo] and [Ola Osundairo] posing as persons other than themselves,” the detective wrote.
Detectives said that on Jan. 19, the brothers met Smollett at the film studio where “Empire” was filmed and on Jan. 27, Smollett picked them up from their house and they “proceeded to drive … to the location the attack took place, a dry run.”
Chicago police officials said that Smollett staged the attack, committing the crime of filing a false police report and tying up a number of police resources for weeks. Prosecutors said they largely agreed but still dropped all 16 felony counts against the actor in March in exchange for $10,000 and a day of community service.
Smollett did not have to admit any wrongdoing.
A state prosecutors association said that prosecutors violated the law by dropping the charges and police and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel slammed the move.
Smollett is still being probed by federal authorities for allegedly sending himself a threatening letter.
