Kecalf Franklin, the youngest son of the late Aretha Franklin, has spent the last two months in jail after he was arrested for a DUI two months after his mother died.
The Blast reports that Kecalf was arrested in Michigan on Oct. 27, 2018 for driving under the influence. Law enforcement sources told the news outlet that Kecalf had a court date on Dec. 19, where he was given the maximum sentence of 93 days in jail after pleading guilty to operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.
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Kecalf, a Christian rapper, has been in custody since October, and will reportedly remain behind bars until February 26.
Kecalf was born in 1970 and is Franklin’s son with her road manager, Ken Cunningham. He is brother to Teddy Richards, 54, Clarence Franklin, 64, and Edward Franklin, 62
A New York Times review of a 2008 Aretha Franklin concert at Radio City Music Hall described Kecalf’s appearance in colorful terms, saying he came on stage “with a backpack, a hoodie and some cheap-sounding recorded tracks. After what felt like ages, it was a relief to have Ms. Franklin return.”
Aretha Franklin’s estate has been the subject of much drama as of late. As previously reported, there is an ongoing investigation by the Bloomfield Township Police Department in Michigan over some missing property, and her son Edward is also locked in a battle with the estate.
Meanwhile, the IRS claims that the Queen of Soul owed more than $6.3 million in back taxes from 2012 to 2018, as well as an additional $1.5 million in penalties, although her estate has disputed the claim.
An attorney for Franklin’s estate told The Blast that Franklin paid off the vast majority of her debt before she died and that “The Estate is diligently working to resolve any remaining issues.” The same lawyer told the Associated Press that her estate has paid at least $3 million in back taxes to the IRS since her death in August.
“We have a tax attorney. All of her returns have been filed,” Favid Bennett of Thav Gross P.C. told the AP. “We have disputes with the IRS regarding what they claim was income. We claim it’s double-dipping income because they don’t understand how the business works.”
“She had to pay for transportation, hotel rooms, backup singers, musicians. When she did that the IRS was questioning the returns she filed,” Bennett continued. “We’re going through audits. Returns were filed as timely as we could get them filed.”
Franklin died of pancreatic cancer in August in her Detroit apartment the age of 76. At the time of her death, she owned a home in Oakland County, Michigan. The IRS filed its claim this month in Oakland County Probate Court. Documents in an Oakland County court after Franklin’s death did not mention the value of her estate, which could run into the tens of millions, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Photo credit: Bruce Glikas / Contributor / Getty
