CELEBRITY JUSTICE ™

Soulja Boy won't be charged for allegedly kidnapping a woman and tying her to a chair in his garage ... because prosecutors have rejected the case.

The Ventura County District Attorney tells TMZ ... they're declining to file charges against the rapper due to insufficient evidence. The alleged victim accused Soulja Boy of holding her captive for 6 hours, but our law enforcement sources say a police investigation didn't prove it.

TMZ broke the story ... a woman went to police back in February claiming Soulja kidnapped her, held her captive in his garage and tied her to a chair with an extension cord. Soulja denied the allegations, and his team said the woman was flat-out lying.

The Ventura County Sherriff's Department served a search warrant at Soulja's home and looked for evidence of a kidnapping ... and that turned out to be a huge problem for Soulja, for entirely different reasons.

Sheriffs say they found ammo on the property, which is a violation of Soulja's probation for a weapons case in L.A. County dating back to 2014 ... so he was later arrested for that.

"Gypsy Sisters" star Mellie Stanley avoided serious prison time after striking a plea deal for her role in what cops say was a massive coupon scam out of Kentucky.

Andrea Williams, the prosecutor for the Fayette County Commonwealth Attorney, tells TMZ ... the judge gave Mellie 5 years probation during Friday's sentencing hearing, and if she doesn't keep her nose clean, she could be heading to the slammer.

TMZ broke the story ... Mellie pled guilty earlier this year to 2 felonies -- theft by deception and criminal possession of a forged instrument -- and the charges stemmed from a huge coupon scam authorities say she executed with her husband, including swindling thousands of dollars in merchandise from Toys R Us and Babies R Us.

According to the terms of her probation ... Mellie must meet with her probation officer, she can't own a firearm, she has to stay away from drugs and alcohol, she'll be tested for substance abuse, and she's got to cough up the dough for all the items she stole with bogus coupons -- a cool $18,075.

Mellie's not totally in the clear ... if she violates any part of her probation, a judge will decide between sentencing Mellie to 6 years in prison or tacking on conditions to her probation.

Halle Berry damn near returned to her home to find the locks changed and a strange man living inside.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... 59-year-old Ronald Eugene Griffin first showed up at an L.A. property owned by the actress in January and allegedly fiddled with the locks, but took off when he was approached by Halle's gardener.

A couple months later, in March ... cops received a trespassing call from workers at Berry's pad, who said Griffin was there with a locksmith trying to get in, claiming he was the new owner of the home and had the deed to prove it.

We're told he'd already managed to have one of the locks changed, and actually made a call to the police when he was confronted by the employees at the house. Yes, he was audacious enough to call the cops claiming ownership and pointing the finger at Halle's employees as trespassers!!!

According to law enforcement ... when police arrived Griffin maintained he was the owner of the house, but LAPD detectives quickly determined Griffin had fraudulently changed the title of the residence.

Halle told the detectives she had no idea who he was ... and definitely didn't give him permission to be at her home.

Griffin was later arrested and hit with a felony count of procuring and offering a false warranty deed and an additional count of petty theft. His bond's set at $36k.

Strangely enough ... we're told the guy didn't even know it was Halle's place. Just luck of the draw for her.

This isn't the first time Halle's had major issues with intruders. Back in 2011, she came home, walked in the kitchen and told cops, "As I opened my glass kitchen door and closed it behind me, all of a sudden I sensed someone behind me and turned to see the intruder standing less than a foot behind me, staring through my glass kitchen door." The guy was arrested.

Lil Durk -- the rapper accused of attempted murder -- wants to stay on the straight and narrow path after bonding out of jail ... and his childhood pastor's taking up the cause.

We've learned Durk's going back to his roots by placing himself back under the wings of his pastor who presided over the church he attended as a kid in Chicago. The pastor -- who's like a second father to Durk -- he flew from Chicago to Atlanta to vouch for the rapper at a recent hearing -- plans to use his ATL connections to get Durk involved in the community.

Durk apparently plans to spend time at shelters and soup kitchens. We're told he wants to get his hands dirty ... just like he used to in Chicago with the guidance of his pastor. He'd mentor kids there but, for obvious reasons, Durk's work in Chi-Town's been put on hold given the serious charges.

As we reported ... Durk posted $250k bond Friday after a judge agreed he's not a flight risk. Dude was so ecstatic getting outta jail ... he literally skipped all the way to his waiting SUV. Durk will have a curfew and have to wear an ankle monitor.

He turned himself in nearly a month ago after an arrest warrant was issued in connection to a February shooting outside a restaurant called The Varsity. A detective said in court, cops have surveillance video showing Durk firing a weapon from a car. The victim, shot in the thigh, survived.

10:05 AM PT -- Kim Foxx responded to the order, saying, "I respectfully disagree with the court's conclusion that, in the absence of any conflict, the appointment of a special prosecutor is required."

She continued, "As always, I remain committed to transparency, justice, and the public safety of the communities we serve."

Jussie Smollett could actually be prosecuted for allegedly faking the now infamous attack on the streets of Chicago.

A Chicago judge has ordered a special prosecutor to be appointed to review the way prosecutors handled the case and ultimately dismissed it.

The judge said in his order, "If reasonable grounds exist to further prosecute Smollett, in the interest of justice the special prosecutor may take such action."

This is a stunning turn of events ... as you know, the Office of State's Attorney Kim Foxx essentially dropped all charges against Jussie ... this after the grand jury indicted the actor on 16 felony counts of lying to cops. Jussie claimed he was attacked by 2 men who beat him and put a rope around his neck while yelling racial and homophobic slurs. Cops called BS.

The judge said, "unprecedented irregularities identified in this case" warrants the appointment of a special prosecutor. Some of the irregularities, according to legal docs:

The judge said the State's Attorney screwed the case up after Foxx recused herself, because of comments she had made about the case, there was no one in her office properly overseeing the case ... so says the judge.

The judge used a nautical metaphor to describe the screw-ups, saying, "There was no master on the bridge to guide the ship as it floundered through unchartered waters. And it ultimately lost its bearings."

Cardi B has been indicted by a grand jury on multiple charges -- including 2 felonies -- in connection with a brawl at a New York strip club ... TMZ has confirmed.

TMZ broke the story ... Cardi was arrested in October for allegedly ordering an attack on 2 strip club bartenders -- Jade and Baddie G. The 2 women claim they were injured during the brawl when Cardi's people began throwing bottles and chairs.

The incident, which went down in August, was allegedly triggered after Cardi accused Jade of sleeping with Offset.

The grand jury has indicted Cardi on 12, charges including 2 counts of felony attempted assault with intent to cause serious physical injury. Other charges include misdemeanor reckless endangerment, assault, criminal solicitation, conspiracy and harassment.

She was initially charged with 2 misdemeanors ... assault and reckless endangerment, but that's all superseded by the grand jury indictment.

Cardi rejected a plea deal, which would have given her a conditional discharge in return for pleading guilty to a single misdemeanor. The problem ... if she misstepped during the conditional period, she'd be in big trouble.

Prosecution sources told TMZ last month they decided to take the matter to the grand jury because of information they discovered during their investigation. They would not be specific.

Mally Mall thinks State Farm makes for a terrible neighbor, claiming the insurance company's screwing him out of big bucks ... like $300k for his saber-toothed tiger head!!!

According to a new suit ... the hip-hop producer went with State Farm for a policy to cover his property in 2016, but after an unfortunate series of events -- a house fire and 2 subsequent thefts -- it failed to pony up the money he thinks he's owed ... specifically for the extinct cat head he says he lost.

As for why State Farm's to blame -- Mally claims he trusted his agent to get him properly covered a few months before his Vegas home caught fire and damaged his master bedroom, master bath, safe room and media room ... but the guy vastly underinsured him.

Mall claims the fire caused him to cut power to his home, which disabled his security system, and led to 2 separate thefts in the months afterward ... so he filed claims for property loss for the fire and the thefts.

Here's how he says he got screwed -- Mally claims his agent set his policy limits way too low ... and as a result, State Farm paid well over a million dollars LESS than his actual losses. For the thefts, Mall says the company also refused to cover various luxury items he owned ... like the tiger head.

Nobody's having a happier Friday than Lil Durk ... who skipped and hopped his way outta jail after posting $250k bond in his attempted murder case.

The rapper couldn't have been more ecstatic late Thursday night after he was sprung outta jail. As we reported ... a judge granted him bond after a hearing Thursday and agreed Durk is NOT a flight risk. The release, though, does come with some restrictions.

For starters ... Durk will have a curfew from 11 PM until 7 AM. He'll also have to wear an ankle monitor at all times and he's prohibited from having any contact -- direct or indirect -- with gang members. He also can't be near nor possess any weapons and must stay at least 200 yards away from the victim.

As we first reported ... Durk turned himself in to authorities nearly a month ago, after an arrest warrant was issued in connection to a February shooting outside a restaurant called The Varsity.

Fetty Wap allegedly manhandled a woman he had just met at a music video shoot ... and TMZ's learned he's now under investigation for felony battery.

The accuser went to LAPD and filed a report after her alleged Wednesday night run-in with the rapper at a home in the Hollywood Hills ... according to law enforcement sources.

Their interaction began earlier Wednesday. Sources close to the situation tell us they met at a music video set and afterward, Fetty invited the accuser and several other women to a party at an Airbnb. We're told at some point during the evening ... the accuser went into a room with Fetty, and that's when things allegedly turned violent.

TMZ obtained a video shot in that room. When it begins you can hear a woman accusing Fetty of having just put his hands on her, and she dares him to do it again. Fetty then appears to smack the phone out of her hand.

Our sources say there was a witness -- one of the accuser's friends -- in the room at the time. As for what started the argument ... we're told there was an angry discussion about the other women he'd invited back to the house.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Fetty's now a battery suspect and detectives will attempt to interview him about the allegations.

The two suspects who allegedly stole half a MILLION dollars worth of stuff from Le'Veon Bell were 2 women he left naked in bed earlier in the day ... this according to the Jets star himself.

In 911 audio obtained by TMZ Sports ... Bell tells dispatch on May 25 two women stole "clothes, shoes, money and my jewelry" in a burglary at his Hollywood, Florida home.

When dispatch asks for a description of the females ... Le'Veon says he can't say what they were wearing -- because when he left them earlier in the day, they were naked in his bed!!!

Of course, according to the police report, Bell describes the two as his "girlfriends" ... so seems the NFL superstar at least had a solid start to the day ...

"When I left, [one of the women] was in the bed," Bell said on the 911 call ... "She was in the bed, not wearing clothes when I left. So, I didn't see her. You know what I'm saying."

And the other lady ... "She was in the bed too. They didn't have clothes on."

Bell says in the 911 call the women stole his watch, his jewelry and "a couple more things of value out of my house" ... and estimated everything they took was worth around $1 MILLION.

Police eventually determined the value of the jewelry Le'Veon lost was $520,000. As we previously reported, one of the items that was taken is a diamond Black Panther pendant.

Unclear if Bell has been able to get his stuff back -- or if the suspects have been caught. The Hollywood PD tells us the investigation is still ongoing and "no update yet."

Kevin Spacey's sexual assault accuser was texting his girlfriend during their alleged encounter at a Nantucket bar ... and in the texts, he claimed Spacey was getting him drunk and grabbing his genitals.

A string of text messages between the accuser and his girlfriend are included in a new court filing -- obtained by TMZ -- in the criminal sexual assault case against Spacey -- and they're pretty disturbing. According to the docs, the texts are from screenshots taken by the accuser and provided to investigators.

The alleged victim texted his girlfriend ... Spacey, "grabbed my dick like 8 times", "pulled my zipper down", and "reached down my pants." The man ends the convo by writing, "Kevin Spacey is gay."

Spacey's lawyers say the texts appear to pick up mid-conversation, beginning with the man telling his then-GF, Spacey's, "hanging around me in the bar. He got my number and asked me to come out with him." The girlfriend replies, "Sounds like he's hitting on you."

Spacey's team thinks the texts don't tell the full story, because most of them lack time stamps ... and it's possible the accuser deleted other texts that could change the context.

The man also allegedly sent group texts to his friends, writing, "I'm serious. One sec. I'm calling my mom. I'm serious. I'm dead serious. I swear on everyone ... I'm drunk but I'm not f***ing around."

The judge and jury in the murder trial of the alleged killer of one of Ashton Kutcher's friends went on an emotional field trip ... checking out the place Ashley Ellerin died a grisly death.

Ashton has already gone in front of the jury on behalf of his slain friend, providing testimony that could be important in the case of a man prosecutors say is a "serial sexual-thrill killer" ... and now the jury is getting an in-person look at the crime scene.

Two vans filled with the judge and jury ventured out over the past 2 days to the sites of the horrific crimes ... including the place where Ellerin was found dead back in February 2001, laying just outside her bathroom with more than 47 stab wounds.

Judge Larry Fidler milled around the property with the jury ... and they were accompanied by police detectives Tom Small and Mark Lillienfeld, along with defense attorney Daniel Nardoni.

As we reported ... Ashton says Ashley was supposed to be his date to a Grammys after-party, but she never showed.

Ashton testified ... on the night of the Grammys, he went to her house around 10:45 PM and knocked on the door, but no one answered. He peeked through a side window and saw what he thought was red wine spilled on the floor, so he left.

Ashley's severely stabbed body was found the following morning ... and authorities say Michael Gargiulo is the murderer.

10:49 AM PT -- In addition to the curfew, Durk will need to wear an ankle monitor at all times. He also is prohibited from having any contact, direct or indirect, with gang members.

He also cannot be near or possess any weapons, and must stay at least 200 yards away from the victim.

Lil Durk will soon get his wish and be sprung outta jail ... after a judge granted him bond.

The rapper was in court Thursday in Atlanta for a bond hearing which the judge granted and set at $250k. Durk will NOT be on house arrest but will have a curfew from 11 PM until 7 AM.

TMZ broke the story ... Durk turned himself in to police nearly a month ago after an arrest warrant was issued in connection to a February shooting outside a restaurant called The Varsity. He asked the court to grant him bond ... arguing he's not a flight risk. Obviously, the judge agreed.

Durk will now be free while he awaits trial for his alleged role in the shooting. The rapper's attorney, Manny Arora, tells TMZ ... Durk will post bond and be released Friday.

Durk had been booked for 5 felony charges ... including criminal attempt to commit murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during commission of a felony, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and another charge of associating with a criminal street gang to participate in a crime.

Kendall Jenner's alleged stalker has gone off the radar -- with cops and his family -- and his whereabouts is unknown ... officials are afraid he's trying to get back to L.A. and Kendall.

38-year-old Canadian citizen John Ford was deported from the U.S. earlier this month after ICE arrested him in New Mexico. You'll recall, LAPD arrested him last fall after he scaled a hill and made it onto Kendall's property ... more than once.

Now, we're told Ford's family members in Toronto -- who were supposed to keep tabs on him -- say they have no idea where he is. The last communication law enforcement had with Ford was when they dropped him at the Toronto airport, but he's gone completely MIA since then.

That's a problem for a number of reasons -- not the least of which includes any attempt to return to KJ's place in Bev Hills. Our sources say Kendall and her team are on high alert and prepared to act if need be.

We're told it would be near impossible for Ford to reenter the country at border checkpoints since law enforcement's looking out for him -- however, if he attempts to get in illegally ... all bets are off.

Authorities ask that if he's spotted, people call their local law enforcement.

Rob Kardashian and Blac Chyna's alleged cyberbullying may prove costly ... so claims one of BC's ex's who's suing them for more than $2 mil.

Pilot Jones filed new legal docs saying he's been damaged to the tune of $2,113,800. He says the alleged cyberbullying and defamation caused him emotional distress in the amount of $500k. He also says Rob and Chyna's alleged attack on him fractured his family and he wants $250k for that.

But, there's more. He wants more than $250k for past and future medical expenses and $600k in lost earnings. And, there's still more ... he claims he somehow lost rent and that's another $7,200 and he wants reimbursement for a trip to Louisiana, where he fled back home after the alleged attack.

And last but not least ... he wants $500k in punitive damages.

TMZ broke the story ... Jones sued the former couple in 2017 ... claiming they blamed him for selling a pic to an outlet showing him making out with BC. He also claimed they outed him as bisexual and released his digits to the public ... which resulted in threats.

Carrie Underwood is accused of being a "Sunday Night Football" theme song stealer -- another singer claims Carrie straight jacked her hit, "Game On" ... and used it without permission.

The woman behind the suit is Heidi Merrill -- a singer who had success with the sports-themed song "Cornhusker Strong" back in 2015.

Merrill says she wanted to ride the wave and make more sports-themed music so she came up with the song "Game On" in 2016 and posted it to YouTube in March 2017.

In her suit, Merrill says she met Carrie Underwood's producer, Mark Bright, at an event in Nashville in August 2017 and asked if Carrie would be looking to create a new song for the 2018 NFL "Sunday Night Football" show open.

Merrill says she submitted the song to Bright -- but was eventually told Carrie's camp passed on using "Game On."

Fast forward to Sept. 2018 ... Merrill says she was shocked to see Underwood and NBC promoting a secret new theme song for 'SNF' ... which ended up being called "Game On."

Merrill says Carrie's version is "substantially -- even strikingly -- similar, if not identical" to her own song ... and she's pissed!

She's now suing Carrie, Mark Bright, NBC, the NFL and more for copyright infringement -- but she has not listed an amount she's looking for.