Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Gang member who said he attacked rapper R. Kelly in prison cell sentenced to life

A convicted gang member who says he beat up jailed R&B singer R. Kelly in a Chicago cell has been sentenced to life in prison for a racketeering conviction that involved two 1999 murders

Via AP news wire
Wednesday 18 November 2020 12:54 GMT
Gang member who said he attacked rapper R. Kelly in prison cell sentenced to life

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A convicted gang member who said he beat up jailed R&B singer R. Kelly in a Chicago cell in August has been sentenced to life in prison for a racketeering conviction that involved two 1999 murders.

A federal judge in Hammond Indiana, sentenced Jeremiah Farmer 39, on Tuesday during a hearing in which Farmer represented himself and appeared combative, at times raising his voice and frequently interrupting the judge.

Farmer, a Latin King street gang member had faced a mandatory life sentence following his conviction last year on conspiracy to commit racketeering activity in a drug-related case that involved the killings of Marion Lowry, 74, and Harvey Siegers, 67.

Lowry and Siegers were beaten to death in June 1999 with a hammer at their Hammond business, Calumet Auto Rebuilders — a business where an indictment stated that employees “had repeatedly had conflicts with members of the Latin Kings,” the Chicago Tribune reported.

Farmer made headlines by claiming in court records that he attacked Kelly on Aug. 26 in downtown Chicago's Metropolitan Correctional Center — a federal detention center — because he wanted to shed light on wrongdoing by the government in his own criminal case.

Farmer was able to slip away from an employee at the center, enter a cell and repeatedly hit Kelly in the head, according to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons report. A security officer used pepper spray to stop the attack.

Kelly, 53, faces several dozen counts of state and federal sexual misconduct charges in Illinois, Minnesota and New York, from sexual assault to heading a racketeering scheme aimed at supplying him with girls.

The Grammy Award winning singer has denied ever abusing anyone.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in