Crime & Arrests

Jussie Smollett has just been hammered with a lawsuit the City of Chicago promised ... and he may effectively go on trial for allegedly staging the "attack" in January. All told, the City wants what will almost certainly be upwards of a half a million dollars.

The lawsuit -- to recover the costs of investigating the case -- outlines what the City claims Jussie did. It says Jussie and Abel Osundairo had been friends since 2017 -- socializing and exercising together. It says Abel assisted Jussie in obtaining recreational drugs.

The lawsuit claims Jussie told Abel shortly before the "attack," "Might need your help on the low."

The lawsuit claims, as we reported, Jussie scoped out the location for the "attack" with Abel and Ola 2 days before the attack and a dry run the day before. They agreed Abel would attack Jussie but would not hurt him too badly and would give Jussie a chance to appear to fight back.

The suit claims they also scripted the entire attack ... starting with the brothers calling Jussie "Empire f***** Empire n*****" -- referring to the homophobic and racist slurs.

They discussed the brothers placing a rope around Jussie's neck and pouring a liquid on him.

The brothers were also instructed not to bring their cellphones -- presumably, so they couldn't be tracked.

The suit says Jussie intentionally misled officers into believing his attackers were white, when he knew otherwise.

As we reported ... the city threatened to sue Jussie if he didn't fork over $130k to cover the cost of investigating a case it says was faked by the "Empire" star. The City of Chicago fired off a letter to Jussie's people earlier this month ... but his camp told the City to go pound sand.

The City says the cost of investigating the case was at least $130,000 in overtime alone, but it wants hundreds of thousands of dollars on top of that to cover attorneys fees and additional expenses. And then the City wants the judge to multiply that times 3, to punish Jussie.

Soulja Boy is behind bars after a judge ruled he'd violated his probation in several ways .. including having ammunition in his house.

Soulja walked into an L.A. courtroom Thursday for his hearing, but was taken into custody at the end. The judge said the rapper had failed to do his court-ordered community service ... and even conspired to falsify evidence that he had completed it.

But, the big no-no came during a raid at Soulja's Agoura Hills home in February. TMZ broke the story ... police went to his house to investigate a claim by one of his ex-girlfriends that Soulja had tied her up and held her captive in his garage.

According to the judge, cops found ammunition during the search ... which is a problem because Soulja's on probation for a weapons case that dates back to 2014.

Soulja was arrested back in March after going to see his probation officer, but was released that same day. As soon as he got out, he bragged he wasn't going out like Tekashi69.

This time he's being held without bail and will remain in custody until a hearing scheduled for April 30.

1:52 PM -- TMZ Sports has obtained footage of Fournette being arrested at the Easy Breezy Car Wash in Jacksonville ... where multiple cop cars responded to the situation.

A witness -- Kevonte Williams aka Kazethepharaoh -- tells us Fournette was driving a GMC Denali when he was pulled over by police.

When Fournette was taken out of the car, he was handcuffed and placed in a squad car while multiple witnesses shouted at the police, "Free Fournette!"

Eventually, Fournette was driven to a nearby station where he was booked. A friend of the NFL star drove the Denali away from the car wash.

NFL star Leonard Fournette was just arrested in Florida -- and it's all over an unpaid speeding ticket from back in November.

... A $204 TICKET!!!!!

Cops in Duval County were seen walking the Jacksonville Jaguars running back into a police station to be booked around 2:30 PM local time. He appeared to be in handcuffs at the time.

Fournette was initially pulled over Thursday for a routine traffic violation and when the cops ran his name, they noticed he was driving on a suspended license. There was also an outstanding warrant for his arrest stemming from the November citation, this according to WJXT.

The prior incident reportedly took place in Neptune Beach. Fournette was reportedly cited for going 37 mph in a 25 mph zone.

We pulled the records which show the penalty for the Nov. 17 incident was $204.00, which Fournette had 30 days to pay.

FYI, Fournette is currently in the middle of a 4-year, $27 MILLION contract.

The day after the Nov. speeding incident, Fournette rushed for 95 yards and a TD in a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

After Fournette was booked Thursday, he was released on $1,058 bond at 3:04 PM ... according to jail records.

The Jaguars issued a statement saying the team is "aware of the situation involving running back Leonard Fournette and are continuing to gather more information. No further comment will be provided at this time."

Fournette is coming off a disappointing 2018 NFL season where he only rushed for 439 yards in 8 games.

During one of the last games of the season, Fournette got fed up with a heckler and threatened to beat the guy's ass. Fournette later claimed the heckler had been shouting racial slurs at him.

Jussie Smollett is living it up on the beach in Hawaii like a guy with no problems at all -- not at all like a guy who's staring down an impending legal battle with the City of Chicago that could cost him dearly.

The "Empire" star is on vacay right now with his family, laughing it up and catching some rays in paradise. Dude's even going boogie boarding!

It's about as far away from Chicago as he could be, mentally, anyway. The other shoe could drop any day now ... remember, the City of Chicago says it's about to slap him with a civil lawsuit to recover the $130k cost of investigating the alleged homophobic and racist attack.

For now ... Jussie and his fam are snacking, catching waves and having a blast.

We got Jussie over the weekend in Woodland Hills where he was mum about the suit. His lawyer, Mark Geragos, insists Chicago is maliciously defaming his client, hinting the actor might file a lawsuit of his own.

4/12 -- Trivago tells TMZ, "At this stage, we do not have the full details of the situation, but we want to make clear that Trivago treats such incidents very seriously and strongly condemns drinking and driving which poses a risk to others and goes against the Trivago culture."

The guy whose name you don't know but face and voice you definitely recognize from those Trivago commercials has been busted for drunk driving.

The actor's name is Tim Williams and cops say they found him passed out at the wheel Wednesday around 3:15 PM in Houston. Cops tell us Williams was found with his foot on the brake while on the road.

We're told he was given a field sobriety test, which he bombed. He was taken to Harris County Jail and charged with driving while intoxicated. While in jail, we're told Williams submitted a blood test. Cops wouldn't tell us if he took a breathalyzer test. Williams is no longer in custody after posting bond.

Williams has been acting for a long time now ... since the mid-'90s. He's had a ton of minor roles ... like on "Law & Order," "The Sopranos" and the movie "Valkyrie." But, Williams burst to fame in 2014 as the face of the popular hotel search engine site.

9:11 AM -- Avenatti vehemently denies any wrongdoing. He said, "Any claim that any monies due clients were mishandled is bogus nonsense." He tweeted what he says is a testimonial from the paraplegic client he's accused of stealing millions from ... saying the client signed the doc less than a month ago attesting to his ethics.

Avenatti added he looks forward to proving his innocence.

8:52 AM -- TMZ's obtained the indictment and it's pretty damming. He's being indicted on 36 counts of fraud, perjury, failure to pay taxes and other financial crimes. According to docs ... Avenatti allegedly stole millions from a mentally ill paraplegic on disability who had scored a $4M settlement from L.A. County. The money had been wired to Avenatti in January 2015 and he allegedly hid the dough for years.

Avenatti's also accused of using $2.75 million in proceeds from another client's legal settlement to buy a private jet. Avenatti allegedly concealed that settlement too. The infamous lawyer is also accused of owing millions of dollars in back taxes and making false statements to the IRS.

Michael Avenatti's under a mountain of legal trouble now -- the IRS and the Department of Justice say he's been hit with a 36-count indictment that could land him in prison for life ... but he's already calling it BS.

A federal grand jury in California handed up the indictment Thursday, and if 36 charges sound like a lot ... it is. He faces up to 335 years in prison if convicted!!!

Avenatti says he intends to fully fight all charges and plead not guilty. He added, "I look forward to the entire truth being known as opposed to a one-sided version meant to sideline me."

As you know ... Avenatti was arrested and charged last month for allegedly trying to extort millions out of Nike. That case was brought on by the U.S. Attorney's Office in New York -- and on the same day, the U.S. Attorney's Office in L.A. announced a separate case against him for wire fraud.

If you're keeping score, that's 3 federal cases and dozens of charges.

As we reported ... Avenatti allegedly siphoned off a $1.6 million settlement he scored for a client in 2017 and hid it in a personal bank account he controlled in the wire fraud case. He's also accused of defrauding a bank for millions of dollars worth of loans by submitting fake tax returns between 2011 and 2013.

7:16 AM PT -- The U.S. Justice Department has accused Assange of conspiring with Chelsea Manning to hack a classified Pentagon computer.

Pam Anderson is enraged with Britain, The United States and President Trump after the arrest of her close friend Julian Assange.

Assange was arrested Thursday at the Ecuadorean Embassy in the UK after the country withdrew his asylum. Anderson went on a tear on Twitter Thursday morning, saying, "How could you Ecuador? (Because he exposed you). How could you UK.? Of course - you are America's bitch and you need a diversion from your idiotic Brexit bulls**t."

Pamela then turned her attention to The United States, tweeting, "And the USA? This toxic coward of a President. He needs to rally his base? You are selfish and cruel. You have taken the entire world backwards. You are devils and liars and thieves. And you will ROTT. And WE WILL RISE."

It was during an August interview with Harvey Levin on OBJECTified when Anderson revealed she and Assange had a very tight relationship.

The two have remained in constant contact while he remained in the Ecuadorean embassy.

TMZ Sports has obtained new footage showing Conor McGregor swatting and smashing a cell phone in front of the Fontainebleau hotel in Miami ... right after doing his famous "Billionaire Strut."

The footage is being used in the criminal case against the UFC star stemming from a March 11 incident.

The footage begins at 5:21 AM showing Conor leaving the hotel with an entourage while Ahmed Abdirzak follows him out while recording McGregor on his cell phone.

At one point, McGregor reaches out to Ahmed as if he was going to shake his hand -- but then pulls back and violently smacks the phone out of the guy's hand.

Conor then stomps on the phone a couple of times before picking it up and walking away.

McGregor was arrested later that day and has since been charged with felony robbery and misdemeanor criminal mischief. If convicted on all counts, Conor faces up to 6 years in prison.

Conor has pled not guilty on all charges. A trial is scheduled to begin in May.

Ahmed Abdirzak filed a lawsuit against Conor over the incident -- but later struck a settlement with the UFC fighter and dropped his suit.

Lori Loughlin, her hubby and all the parents involved in the biggest college admissions scam in U.S. history should NOT do any time behind bars ... so says Steve Madden.

We got the famous shoe designer, and ex-con, Tuesday in NYC ... and who better to ask about Lori and Mossimo Giannulli 's case? Remember, Madden did 2 and a half years in prison for money laundering and stock fraud.

He joked Lori might need some help at the prison commissary soon -- but then got serious about what she's facing.

As we reported ... a Federal Grand Jury indicted Lori and Mossimo with an additional crime of "conspiring to launder the bribes" on top of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud. The new charges could mean nearly 5 years in prison, at minimum, if they're convicted.

Steve, who admits he knows Mossimo, thinks a prison stretch is absurd in this case. Watch the video ... he calls their $500k plan to get their girls into USC, "misguided, for sure" -- but adds it doesn't warrant incarceration.

A$AP Bari would probably do great on "Deal or No Deal" ... after scoring a hell of a deal in his drug case.

The Northampton County D.A.'s Office in Pennsylvania tells TMZ ... the rapper recently showed up to court and pled guilty to a single misdemeanor charge of possession of weed. Under the deal ... we're told A$AP will only be fined four thousand bucks. No jail and no probation. So, that's it ... case closed.

Huge ... considering Bari had originally been charged with 2 felonies for possession of a controlled substance and intent to deliver. He'd also been slapped with 5 misdemeanor charges ... including possession of drug paraphernalia.

Nipsey Hussle's death certificate has been released -- his cause of death is listed as gunshot wounds to the head and torso -- and the rapper was pronounced 35 minutes after the shooting outside his store.

We broke the story ... the Crenshaw rapper was gunned down last week in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. Nipsey was rushed to the hospital, and his family and celeb friends showed up shortly after he arrived.

Nipsey's death certificate -- obtained by TMZ -- lists his occupation as an artist and entrepreneur. It says he was never married at the time of his death and worked in the entertainment and real estate industries. Nipsey was pronounced dead at 3:55 PM on March 31 ... 35 minutes after he was shot.

Nipsey was shot in plain view of a surveillance camera, and footage shows the shooter -- who cops believe to be Eric Holder -- opening fire 3 different times on Nipsey before kicking his body and fleeing the scene. Two other people were shot, but survived.

Nipsey's brutal murder has sent shock waves throughout Los Angeles and beyond, with celebs and sports stars paying tribute to the slain rapper in many different ways. Candlelight vigils are being held across the globe and a massive memorial service will be held at Staples Center Thursday.

Nipsey will be buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park.

As we first reported ... the family of the slain rapper wants to do something spectacular so as many of his fans can pay their respects ... a procession will follow Thursday's ceremony through the streets of L.A.

Nipsey was just 33.

The NHL has just suspended Slava Voynov for the entire 2019-20 season over a domestic violence incident from 2014 ... the league has announced.

As we previously reported, Voynov pled no contest to misdemeanor corporal injury to a spouse -- stemming from a 2014 altercation with his wife at their Redondo Beach, CA home.

Cops said Voynov's wife told them the hockey player kicked, punched and choked her -- and also slammed her head into a TV. Cops said she was bleeding when they arrived to the scene.

Voynov was ultimately sentenced to 90 days in jail and 3 years probation, which he completed last year.

The L.A. Kings terminated Slava's $25 million contract in 2015 -- and he moved back to his native Russia where he resumed his hockey career.

But, now that his probation is over, he wants to play in the NHL again -- and recently met with NHL officials to discuss possible reinstatement.

Enter NHL Commish Gary Bettman ... who says if Slava wants to return, he needs to be punished by the league for his actions -- even if those actions are almost 5 years old.

Bettman decided a 1-year suspension was sufficient and made the announcement on Tuesday.

"I have determined that Player Slava Voynov engaged in acts of domestic violence directed at his wife,” Commissioner Bettman said.

"Today’s ruling, while tailored to the specific facts of this case and the individuals involved, is necessary and consistent with the NHL’s strongly-held policy that it cannot and will not tolerate this and similar types of conduct, particularly as directed at a spouse, domestic partner or family member."

Comedian Luenell is absolutely furious at Chris Darden and going nuclear on him ... saying he's worse than an "Uncle Tom" for defending Nipsey Hussle's alleged killer.

We got Luenell outside Katsuya Monday night in Hollywood, and took her temperature on Darden putting himself in the center of another high-profile case in the African-American community. She makes it crystal clear ... "most of the people in my community, we're appalled" Darden has signed on to rep Eric Holder in the murder case.

Check out the vid ... Luenell doesn't mince words, calling the former O.J. Simpson prosecutor everything from a Judas to a race traitor to a bitch -- to name just a few of the gems she dropped.

It's clear Luenell's still heated over Darden's role in O.J.'s murder trial. On top of that, Darden is NOT getting her vote for Daddy of the Year -- she's livid Darden's daughter is getting harassed as a result of his decision to take Holder's case.

Nipsey Hussle will take one last victory lap around L.A. before he's laid to rest, and the procession will touch much of the city ... especially the neighborhoods he fiercely supported.

Sources close to the slain rapper tell TMZ ... Nipsey's casket will travel to a few important landmarks, including his Marathon clothing store, where he was shot to death. All told, the procession will cover just over 25 miles as it winds through South L.A. following Thursday's memorial service at Staples Center.

Our sources say Nipsey's casket will be at Staples during the celebration of life, and the funeral procession will start as soon as the service ends. We're told Nipsey's family wanted to make sure the community got an opportunity to pay respects along the route because most people won't be able to attend the memorial. Staples only seats 21,000.

As you know, Nipsey's store -- at the intersection of Slauson and Crenshaw -- was central in his life and death. He intentionally opened it there to support his neighborhood, but, sadly, it's also where he was killed ... and where several vigils have been held since then.

We're told the procession is expected to take about an hour and a half, ending at a funeral home in the Crenshaw district.

1:29 PM PT -- Boosie has finally been released after posting $3,500 bond.

12:07 PM PT -- According to the police report, the arresting officers found $20,160 in cash in a black bag Boosie was holding during his arrest.

4/9 9:35 AM PT -- Coweta Co. Sheriff's office just released a photo of the gun, weed, and cash cops say they recovered from the car Boosie was driving.

4/9 -- We previously reported the Antonio Allen arrested with Boosie was a former NFL player with the Jets. That was incorrect ... it's a different Antonio Allen.

Boosie has been busted on drug and gun charges following a traffic stop in Georgia ... TMZ has confirmed.

According to online court records, the rapper and another man, named Antonio Allen are currently being held in the Coweta County Jail. Boosie and Allen are each facing marijuana and narcotics possession charges, plus another charge for possession of a firearm.

Boosie and Allen were reportedly stopped by police Monday afternoon after an officer observed a white Dodge Charger swerving lanes and nearly sideswiping another vehicle ... and cops say Boosie was driving the car, which reeked of weed.

Police reportedly searched the vehicle and found a bag of marijuana and a loaded 9mm handgun under the passenger seat, where Allen was sitting. Investigators also say they found a bag of cash, plus a vape pen.

Boosie has gone to jail for drug charges before ... he was locked up in Louisiana in 2009 on a marijuana charge, and then got busted trying to smuggle drugs into prison and served more time. He was released in 2014 and had been on parole until 2018.

Cops are on the hunt to figure out who tried to kill someone during last week's Nipsey Hussle vigil.

According to a new search warrant, obtained by TMZ, the day after Nipsey was murdered in front of The Marathon Clothing store, 2 people were shot during the evening vigil -- one person in the elbow and another in the lower back/buttocks. The woman who was shot in the buttocks says she heard a "loud, rapid succession of gunshots from an unknown direction."

Cops believe the shooter or shooters were trying to kill someone, and they think it was all captured on the surveillance video from Marathon. The affidavit reads in part, there is a "surveillance system [that] captured the events leading up to, and after the attempted murder of unknown Victim."

The LAPD asked a judge to order the seizure of the video equipment located inside the strip mall stores, including Marathon.

The legal docs say employees at all the businesses refused to turn over their equipment.

And there's this ... the affidavit says, "The Marathon store has been involved in numerous investigation where surveillance video has been deleted by staff/management, prior to police arrival."

As you know, the shots triggered a stampede and 19 people were injured.

It's interesting ... although the warrant says someone was trying to commit murder, cops said shortly after the vigil there appeared to be no evidence of gunshots.