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The mastermind behind the David Ortiz shooting has been arrested in the Dominican Republic, officials say. 

Victor Hugo Gomez is the man who allegedly put the wheels in motion for a team of hitmen to roll up to a popular lounge with murderous intent on June 9.

Of course, Dominican officials have now said they don't believe Ortiz was the intended target that night -- insisting the shooter mistook the MLB legend for a friend who was sitting nearby. 

Ortiz was hit in the back -- but the bullet caused serious damage to several organs including his intestines and liver. After the initial life-saving surgery, Ortiz was flown to Boston where he's been receiving treatment ever since. 

As for Gomez, officials say he put out the hit on Ortiz's friend while Gomez was inside the United States. Officials say Gomez has a criminal record and possible ties to a drug cartel. 

So far, at least 10 people have been arrested in the investigation -- including the shooter Rolfi Ferreira Cruz, who has said on the record that Ortiz was not his target. 

Former Guns N' Roses drummer Steven Adler was rushed to the hospital after stabbing himself at his home ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ someone at Adler's L.A. home called 911 shortly after 6:30 PM Thursday night to report someone had stabbed themselves. We're told when cops and paramedics arrived, they discovered it was Adler who had suffered a stab wound to his stomach.

Our sources say Adler was taken to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries. We're told no one else is suspected to have been involved in the incident. 

Adler has openly struggled with substance abuse for decades. He was kicked out of Guns N' Roses over his drug addiction in 1990 ... but was later inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with the group in 2012.

Adler has appeared on several TV shows about addiction ... he was a member of seasons 2 and 5 of "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew" and its spin-off 'Sober House.'

Wendy Williams and her son put his assault case aside to grab some grub together, as his legal drama could soon be coming to an end ... if he plays his cards right.

The talk show host and Kevin Hunter Jr. were out in New York Thursday night, seen for the first time since he pled not guilty in a New Jersey courtroom Tuesday.

The 2 looked pretty relaxed, especially Jr. in sneakers, sweats and a white t-shirt with an interesting photo on it. Check it out ... it's a pic of one of Paul Cezanne's paintings from his 1890s The Card Players campaign.

Perhaps Wendy's son's trying to say something here -- he's playing the hand he's been dealt, he's got good cards, or ya gotta know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em -- or maybe it's just a shirt.

Either way ... our sources tell us Kevin Jr. is likely on course for a conditional dismissal in his case, meaning he can completely clear his name if he stays out of trouble for a short amount of time.

As we've reported ... Kevin Sr. has said he does not want to press charges against his son following their scuffle in a parking lot last month in which Jr. allegedly punched Sr. and got arrested for assault.

Nothing like a good ol' fashioned street fight -- with a hint of MMA action -- to top off a night out on the town ... and this one even has a hype man and a very distressed damsel!

The "Clash in the Crosswalk" (every great fight needs a title) went down Thursday night outside Poppy in West Hollywood. Two dudes, one with his shirt off -- 'cause why not -- squared up for some bare-knuckle boxing.

Here's what we know from the bearded hype man who repeatedly shouted things like, "Welcome to L.A." and "WEST SIDE!!!!" ... the shirt-off dude started the fight, or at least wanted the fight initially.

But, after one shot to the face, the topless tough guy went down ... and the other guy unleashed his ground and pound game, including an attempted rear naked choke. Attempted.

Now that Kylie Jenner's legally allowed to drink ... why not get in the booze biz?!

Kylie has applied for trademarks for "Kylie" and "Kylie Jenner" ... two names she's already trademarked for different goods. But, this time she wants to slap those marks on spirits, liquor, wine, alcohol cocktail mixes, prepared wine cocktails, non-alcoholic cocktail bases, energy sports drinks, smoothies, beers ... plus use the marks for restaurants, bars and cocktail lounges. 

As we first reported ... Kylie expanded her business just last month filing trademarks for "Kylie Baby" to make strollers and all kinds of baby products. The reality star didn't stop there ... she also filed for a trademark for "Kylie Hair" to pump out dryers, curling irons and all kinds of stuff.

Kylie, of course, is already a global brand thanks to Kylie Cosmetics, which is what got her inducted into the Billionaire's club. Expansion, baby!!!

Here he is!!! Kevin Durant is back out in public just 2 weeks after suffering a devastating injury in the NBA Finals ... but it's clear he's got a long road to recovery. 

The 30-year-old superstar was out in New York City on Wednesday -- with a team of people helping him out of a building and into a waiting sprinter van. 

You can see KD's right leg is bandaged up from his toe to his knee. An assistant was also holding a walking boot for Kev while another person followed close behind with a medical knee scooter. 

The clip is pretty short but you can see Durant is trying to be independent. It's obvious he wants to be able to move around without help. 

Durant underwent surgery on June 12 to repair a ruptured Achilles -- which he injured in the 2nd quarter of Game 5 of the NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors. 

Durant had missed significant playing time before Game 5 due to a calf strain -- and some people questioned whether he came back before his body was ready. 

After the surgery, Durant posted on social media saying he wasn't pressured into returning -- and said, "I wanted to be out there that night because that's what I do."

There are reports Durant could miss the entire 2019-20 regular season due to the Achilles injury -- with some speculating he might be ready to go for the playoffs. 

Meanwhile, KD just declined his player option with the Warriors which means he'll officially be a free agent and can sign wherever he wants. He'll obviously get a max contract offer, which would kick off with a $38.2 mil starting salary. 

Get well soon!!!

Benzino blew up on a couple of cops when they hauled him for an outstanding warrant ... and his escalation to all-out tirade was captured on a police bodycam.

In the footage, obtained by TMZ, Benzino was pissed from the get-go about the incident, because he believes the cop who ran his tags racially profiled him.

When the second officer -- whose body cam vid we're seeing -- arrives and explains police can legally run his tags for any reason, Benzino gets snarky, saying ... "I didn't know that I could just be harassed for any old reason." 

The former 'Love & Hip Hop' star adds ... "Would you all pull a white person over like that?"

We broke the story ... Benzino got busted Saturday outside Atlanta. His outstanding warrant was for failure to appear in court for a no insurance ticket he got in April. 

Benzino's snark turned to outrage ... and then just plain old rage when the cops tell him the warrant is all over a prior traffic stop. That's when he started hurling f-bombs, and getting handcuffed only amped things up.

He ended going absolutely ballistic on the female officer, yelling, "Suck my d**k!" ... and threatening to sue her. Benzino's shouting and cussing -- from the backseat of the police car -- drew the attention of a female onlooker. It's unclear if she has any connection to Benzino.

So ... who picks up the check?

Cristiano Ronaldo and Michael Jordan -- two of the wealthiest athletes in the history of the planet -- doubled up for a night out in the French Riviera ... because this is what extremely rich people do.

Ronaldo has been yachting it up with his longtime girlfriend, Georgina Rodriguez, and their kids -- but clearly, they got a babysitter and found some time for a night out with MJ and his wife.

Unclear where they went ... but with Ronaldo reportedly worth somewhere in the ballpark of a billion dollars ... and Jordan reportedly ALREADY in the tres commas club -- they can afford to eat anywhere they want!

Remember, Ronaldo has been sailing around on a $200,000-per-week yacht -- that comes with its own gym space and MOVIE THEATER!

Over the years, Jordan has been spotted floating around on expensive boats.

"Will & Grace" creator Max Mutchnick has a deep, personal connection with Stonewall -- it's the first gay bar he ever dared to fearfully enter, and it now has just come full circle with his own children.

We got Max Thursday afternoon at LAX ...he had just returned from New York, where he took his children to visit the site where the gay rights movement began 50 years ago today ... when a violent clash erupted between patrons and law enforcement.

Max credits the people who stood up for their rights for his own successful journey, which of course includes his transformative TV sitcom. But, with all the progress, there's one person he says is most responsible for "Will and Grace" ... Ellen DeGeneres.

By the way ... Max and Ellen have another connection ... a few years back he sold his spectacular Bev Hills home to Ellen.

Los Angeles native Vanessa Marano was only 13 years old when she landed the role of the spectacled youngster, April Nardini, in the long-running television drama "Gilmore Girls."

Vanessa Marano shared her scenes with stars like Scott Patterson as her paternal plot twist Luke Danes, Sherilyn Fenn as April's pretty (and protective) mom, Anna Nardini ... and of course Lauren Graham as the sassy mom and Luke's love interest, Lorelai Gilmore along with Alexis Bledel as the sweet single child, Rory Gilmore.

Fun fact: Vanessa's sister Laura Marano (23 years old) is also an actress and was one of the original kids on the FOX television show "Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?"

HERE'S THE RUNDOWN

Chaka Khan's scorned ex-manager wants the singer to tell her something good ... by cutting a fat check for the money her manager claims she's owed. 

According to a lawsuit obtained by TMZ ... Olasumbo Kuti claims she was hired to be Chaka's manager in 2013, and she says when she was fired in 2017 Chaka owed her a huge sum of money that has never been paid out. 

In the docs, Kuti claims Chaka owes her a cool $236,600 for her business and personal management services. That's not all, Kuti claims she owns 5 percent of 3 of Chaka's businesses, and Kuti is also asking the court to award her that small slice of ownership. 

Kuti says she did wonders for Chaka's bottom line during her time as her manager ... but Kuti says when Chaka cleaned house a few years ago, she was screwed out of a huge chunk of change. 

We reached out to Chaka's team ... so far, radio silence.

Biz Markie says he's 100% on board with 50 Cent shaming people into paying their debts ... now here's hoping Fiddy's cool with food stamps as valid currency to pay off the debt.

We got the "Just a Friend" rapper Thursday in D.C. at Reagan National Airport and, of course, had to ask him what was up with paying 50 with food stamps. ICYMI ... Biz and 50 hung out at a festival earlier this month in Minneapolis and, while backstage, Markie finally ante'd up what he owed. The look on Fiddy's face says it all.

Check out the clip ... Biz tells us exactly why he owed the "In Da Club" rapper money. BTW ... 50 putting people on blast for owing him money is entirely cool with him. It's unclear if Biz really did pay off his debt with food stamps. We really can't tell if Biz is joking or not. 50 took to Instagram and seemed to laugh off the whole thing ... so, who knows.

Beth Chapman is getting a special sendoff from the TV network where she and her husband became icons.

Honchos at A&E tell TMZ ... the network's regular 4-hour block of "Dog the Bounty Hunter" episodes next Monday morning will conclude with onscreen "In memoriam" tributes to Beth. 

As you know ... Beth and Duane "Dog" Chapman started their rise to fame back in 2004, when A&E first started airing their first reality show. The series had a long run for eight seasons, became nationally syndicated and even spawned a few spin-offs on other networks. 

A&E reps also add, "We are very saddened by the loss of Beth Chapman and our thoughts are with Dog and the entire Chapman family during this difficult time." We're told the network's also planning to schedule a marathon of 'Dog' episodes in coming weeks.

As we've reported ... Beth suffered a choking emergency at her and Dog's home in Hawaii last weekend, and she was placed in a medically-induced coma. Doctors felt placing Beth in a coma gave her the best shot at pulling through, but she was unable to recover and died Wednesday morning. 

The woman who drove Nipsey Hussle's alleged murderer from the scene of the crime says the shooting was triggered by a conversation about snitching ... at least that's her testimony to a grand jury.

The woman -- only identified in court docs as Witness 1 -- says she and the accused, Eric Holder, were hanging out on March 31 when they went to The Marathon Clothing strip mall to get food. She says they pulled in and recognized Nipsey ... she says she was excited to see him.

According to the docs, Holder went into the burger joint to get food and she then saw him walk over to Nipsey. Holder was speaking to Nipsey and his crew for several minutes while she waited to take a selfie with him.

Witness 1 claims she saw Nipsey wave off Holder, as if he didn't want to speak with him ... but not before accusing Holder of being a snitch. She also claimed to the grand jury to have overheard Holder ask Nipsey if he ever snitched. She says Holder left the conversation and got his food from the restaurant ... then they both got into the car.  

The woman says Holder then instructed her to drive around the corner from the mall, and then she saw him pull out a black, semi-automatic handgun. He pulled back the slide and then asked her to go around the block so he could do a drive-by shooting. She says she refused.

She says Holder then got out of the car, put on a red shirt and instructed her not to move. He went through the alley, allegedly fired several shots at Nipsey and others and ran back to the car. She says when he got back in the car Holder had 2 guns -- the black semi-automatic and also a smaller revolver. He put the 9 mm in his bag of food. 

According to the docs, Witness 1 was testifying under an immunity agreement ... meaning nothing she said can be used against her in any future prosecution. She has not been charged in connection with the murder.

Additionally, Nipsey's business associate, Herman Douglas, testified for the grand jury -- he was at Marathon Clothing the day of the murder, and says he and Nipsey saw Holder in the car when he drove into the strip mall. Herman says Nipsey said, "Is that Shitty (Holder's street name)?"

Herman describes the conversation between Nipsey and Holder as non-confrontational, but he too says Nipsey told Holder he'd heard rumors about him snitching ... and Nipsey advised Holder to take care of it. 

Colorado police have busted even more people in that wild youth baseball brawl ... saying they've now hit 12 TOTAL people with disorderly conduct citations -- including a 16-year-old kid.

Cops had initially cited just 5 people in the June 15 melee -- but after more than a week of investigating and reviewing some pretty clear brawl footage, officials have identified at least 7 more people involved in the fracas.

Among the accused, cops say there was a 55-year-old man, a 47-year-old man, three women (27, 30 and 30) and a 16-year-old juvenile. Most of the men are in their 20s.

As we previously reported, several parents got into an argument over the rules during a championship game involving 7-year-old players in Lakewood -- when suddenly a pregnant woman came out of the stands brandishing a baseball bat.

When a man tried to rip the weapon away from her ... all hell broke loose -- and HUGE fight ensued.

For their part, the Bear Creek Junior Sports Association issued a statement apologizing for the incident, saying, "BCJSA has ZERO tolerance for this type of behavior....PERIOD."