Crime

Akon says R. Kelly needs to reevaluate all of his life choices after being convicted in his federal sex crimes trial ... but he also believes there's still a road to redemption for Kelly.

We got the artist at LAX and asked him about the guilty verdict in Kelly's case, and if there's any coming back from that. Akon says Kelly needs to do some deep reflection and talk to God.

He'll have plenty of time for that convo. The disgraced singer's looking at 10 years to life in prison when he's sentenced next year.

And, although the jury found Kelly guilty of all 9 federal counts -- including sex crimes, kidnapping, human trafficking, racketeering and obstruction of justice -- this doesn't mean his life is over ... in Akon's eyes, at least.

He tells us even Kelly has the right to try to make things right with his victims. He also offered some sage advice for those survivors.

Of course, the singer's legal battles are just beginning. Kelly still is facing another federal trial in Chicago ... and 2 other state trials for similar charges.

One of the men accused of helping orchestrate the 2019 shooting of David Ortiz has been killed in the Dominican Republic, police announced earlier this week.

Authorities in the D.R. say Luis Alfredo Rivas-Clase -- who was one of at least 12 men who allegedly plotted to kill the Red Sox legend -- died after being gunned down in broad daylight over the weekend.

Cops say Rivas-Clase was shot outside of a shopping center ... adding that investigators found 27 bullet shells when they arrived at the scene.

According to D.R. media outlet Listin Diario, witnesses say Rivas-Clase was chased by his attackers in a car and eventually gunned down after he crashed and tried to flee.

It's unclear if the alleged murder had anything to do with the Ortiz case.

As we previously reported, cops in the D.R. say multiple men -- including Rivas-Clase -- attempted to kill Ortiz while he was sitting outside a bar in June 2019.

Rivas-Clase was the last of the suspects still at large -- cops say they had found, arrested, and thrown in jail all of the others, including the alleged shooter.

R. Kelly's persona non grata in Baton Rouge ... his "key to the city" there has been rescinded by the very same official who bestowed him with the honor.

Kelly was given the honor back in February 2013 by Denise Marcelle, who, at the time, was a member of Baton Rouge Metro Council. Marcelle tells us after Kelly's guilty verdict, she regrets giving Kelly a key to the city in the first place and is going to rescind it.

If you're wondering how that works, the process doesn't include actually physically taking the $256 plaque and key back from the singer ... but he's stripped of the honor.

Obviously, there were allegations against Kelly when Marcelle presented the key to him back in 2013, but she tells us she only knew he had been acquitted in 2008, and didn't do her homework to truly understand what was leveled against him.

Marcelle now serves as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, and not in the BR Council, but a rep for BR tells us Marcelle still holds the power to rescind the key since she was the one who gave it out.

As we reported ... Kelly was found guilty earlier this week on all counts in his federal sex crimes trial.

Tensions are boiling over on Brian Laundrie's block, a fight just broke out right in front of his Florida home involving one of the family's neighbors.

Ya gotta see the video ... the neighbor, in a red shirt, starts screaming at a couple of protestors who have set up camp outside the Laundrie family home ... accusing the couple of stepping on his property.

The man sounds like he's had enough of the protestors on his street, threatening to open a can of whoop-ass if the protestors step foot on his property ... something he's already accused them of doing before.

The showdown is super intense ... and it gives a sense of the tensions building on Brian's block.

As you know ... there's a manhunt for Brian, and the FBI has already searched the house.

The altercation outside Brian's home comes on the heels of a makeshift floral Gabby Petito memorial on the front lawn getting tossed in the garbage.

Bottom line ... Brian's neighborhood is on edge.

U.S. Olympian Klete Keller admitted he spent nearly an hour in the U.S. Capitol building on January 6th, pleading guilty to felony obstruction of an official proceeding ... and now faces years in prison.

Remember, 39-year-old Keller -- a 2x gold medalist and former teammate of Michael Phelps -- was caught on video inside the halls of the capitol during the raid.

In fact, KK was wearing a Team U.S.A. jacket ... which helped others identify him once the footage was posted online by reporters.

Keller, who was hit with 7 charges stemming from the incident, appeared in person at a Washington D.C. District Court and pled guilty to the obstruction charge.

It's a charge that could carry decades in prison ... however, it's likely Keller ultimately gets sentenced to about 2 years in federal prison.

While addressing the court, Klete said he tried to erase all traces he was present at the raid, admitting he destroyed his phone and threw away the jacket he was photographed wearing.

Keller represented America as part of the U.S. Swim Team at the Olympic Games in '00, '04, '08. He was the anchor on the 4x200 meter freestyle relay team in 2004 ... and famously held off Australian superstar Ian Thorpe to narrowly secure the top spot on the podium.

Dog the Bounty Hunter has only been on the Brian Laundrie case for a few days, but TMZ has learned he now says Laundrie is alive, and Dog feels he's close to capturing him.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Dog is rolling to a remote site where he says Laundrie is hiding. Dog says he'll be at the site in less than an hour. We're told Dog had obtained information that leads him to believe Laundrie was alive and moving around as of 10 PM on Tuesday.

Dog says his latest information -- 12 hours old -- is that Laundrie is alive and evading capture.

Dog is working with a team that includes skilled ground and boat crews.

Obviously, we cannot confirm Laundrie's location or whether he's even alive, but we're reporting what Dog is saying. We will obviously update once Dog gets to the location.

The feds are on the hunt for a burner phone Brian Laundrie allegedly purchased the day he went missing ... TMZ has learned.

Sources connected to the manhunt for Laundrie tell TMZ ... FBI agents recently visited an AT&T store in North Port, FL -- where Laundrie's parents live -- and seized surveillance footage.

We're told Brian allegedly went to the store September 14 with an older woman and purchased the phone before they left.

The timing is significant because Sept. 14 is the date Laundrie's parents claim they last saw him leaving their home. They say he had his backpack and was going to a nearby nature reserve, but never returned. They reported him missing Sept. 17.

We reached out to the North Port AT&T store, where an employee told us she could not confirm or deny Brian was there Sept. 14 and said she was told not to discuss the matter. We also reached out to AT&T corporate, and they told us, "Thanks for contacting us.  I have to refer you to law enforcement on this one."

We've reached out to law enforcement ... again, they would not confirm or deny.

We broke the story ... Dog the Bounty Hunter claims he knows Laundrie is still alive and says he's closing in on him.

Kodak Black's violated the terms of his supervised release in his federal gun case by failing a drug test ... and now we've learned the rapper was ordered to get treatment.

You may recall ... the rapper was sentenced to 46 months behind bars in the gun case in late 2019, but he was freed by Trump when his sentence was commuted back in January as part of the ex-President's flurry of pardons and commutations.

We're told Kodak's failed drug test resulted in a court hearing this week for violating the terms of his supervised release.

According to court records ... the judge ordered Kodak to complete a 90-day stint in a residential program due to the violation. Our sources say Kodak is already in the treatment program.

R. Kelly being found guilty on all counts in his federal sex crimes trial is something Lizzette Martinez never thought would happen, but after more than 25 years ... she's rejoicing justice has been served.

Lizzette tells TMZ she was overcome with emotion when she heard the singer was found guilty, because she met him when she was 17 ... so she's spent more than half her life dealing with the aftermath of his abuse and the backlash of speaking out against him.

Lizzette says she now feels happiness, not just for herself, but all of the survivors of R. Kelly who've gone through hell. She adds ... the jury's decision finally shows the women Kelly hurt matter more than he does.

Finally, Lizzette believes the outcome for R. Kelly sends a message to society, in general, that this kind of behavior will no longer be tolerated.

As we reported, Kelly was found guilty Monday on 9 federal counts -- including racketeering, sex crimes, human trafficking, obstruction of justice and kidnapping -- and is looking at 10 years to life when he's sentenced in May.

Gabby Petito's family is speaking out about her death and the ongoing manhunt for her fiancé, Brian Laundrie ... and they want Brian to turn himself in to law enforcement.

The Petito family and their attorney held a press conference Tuesday in New York, announcing a foundation in her name and calling on Brian to emerge from wherever he is and give himself up.

As we reported ... Dog the Bounty Hunter is hot on Laundrie's trail, alerting cops to a Florida campsite possibly linked to Brian and his parents.

The Petito family are welcoming Dog's help, and asking everyone to help find Brian just like folks helped find Gabby's body.

Laundrie's been missing for weeks and he's officially a wanted man after the feds issued an arrest warrant last week and charged him with unauthorized use of a credit card right around the time Gabby went missing.

There have been a few potential Brian sightings, like the trail cam footage in Florida and doppelganger sighting in Canada ... but so far nothing concrete.

The Petito family isn't expecting any help from the Laundrie family in locating Brian ... saying the Laundries didn't help them find Gabby.

As you know ... Gabby was found dead in Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park earlier this month. Her family held a candlelight vigil this past weekend and also laid her to rest with an emotional funeral service.

Dina Lohan's going to spend some time behind bars ... after copping a plea in her DWI case.

A spokesperson with the Nassau County D.A.'s Office tells TMZ ... Lindsay Lohan's mom pled guilty to operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and leaving the scene of an incident without reporting it.

We're told Dina will have to spend 18 days in jail and will then be on 5 years probation. She also must participate in a victim impact panel and take part in an alcohol program.

As we reported ... Dina was busted back in January after cops say an outing at Outback Steakhouse ended with her t-boning another car outside the restaurant and leaving the scene.

Cops ultimately tracked her down at her Long Island home ... where cops say she fell on her face and accused the responding officer of pushing her. Cops said they detected a strong odor of booze on her breath and noticed Dina had glassy, bloodshot eyes too.

BTW ... Dina had a prior DWI in 2013 also in Long Island.

Cops in Brian Laundrie's hometown are sending a message to floral delivery people, and anyone else mourning Gabby Petito -- don't send flowers to Brian's parents' house ... they'll just get tossed in the garbage.

You can see from the video, a makeshift memorial was beginning to form on the front lawn of the Laundrie's Florida home, but on Monday ... as a local florist tried dropping off a delivery, a cop informed her it's a waste of time.

The officer says all flowers should be sent to city hall in North Port, FL -- apparently, a memorial is set up there -- but some had already arrived outside the house, where Gabby once lived with her fiance.

The cop added that city's public works staff will be clearing the yard in the middle of the night.

A reporter on the ground there said another delivery was made about an hour later but with the police gone ... the delivery person was able to leave the flowers at the makeshift memorial.

R. Kelly has just been found guilty on all counts in his federal sex crimes trial ... and could be staring down life in prison.

The jury started deliberating on Friday afternoon, had the weekend off, and took about half the day on Monday to reach its verdict on 9 federal counts ... including racketeering, sex crimes, human trafficking, obstruction of justice and kidnapping.

The trial wrapped a little over a month after it began ... with the prosecution calling far more witnesses than the defense. Kelly's team only called 5 witnesses over a couple of days. Kelly himself never took the stand.

Sentencing is scheduled for May 4, and now that Kelly's been convicted on all counts, he could get 10 years to life. Mind you, he's still set to go on a second federal trial in Chicago, and state trials in Illinois and Minnesota.

Monday's verdict in federal court in Brooklyn comes just over 2 years after Kelly was arrested in Chicago for multiple federal sex crimes in 2 different states.

Kelly's legal team called a handful of ex-Kelly employees and associates to take the stand in an effort to discredit allegations the singer sexually abused women, girls and boys.

Some of Kelly's ardent defenders said, under oath, they never saw Kelly abuse anyone. What's more ... some of the defense witnesses went as far as saying that, if anything, Kelly was "chivalrous" to his GFs.

Prosecutors, however, called dozens of witnesses to the stand to refute defense testimony and poke holes throughout. Some of the prosecutors' witnesses straight-up said Kelly had a small team made up of managers, bodyguards and assistants who rounded up Kelly's potential victims before the singer groomed them for unwanted sex, among other things.

These witnesses also testified saying Kelly's entourage would recruit potential victims ... either at his concerts, malls and even fast-food joints.

You'll recall one of the 2 women interviewed by Gayle King back in 2019 also took the witness stand ... and claimed Kelly was controlling them right then and there during the interview.

Britney Spears' lawyer is outraged and indignant over revelations his client was secretly recorded even in her bedroom, and he's filed legal docs suggesting Jamie Spears and the conservators may have committed a crime.

Attorney, Mathew Rosengart, is referring to the NYT doc, "Controlling Britney Spears," in which a former member of the security team Jamie hired claims there are hours and hours of recordings that should never have been made, especially those in Britney's bedroom.

Rosengart says in his docs ... some of what was captured may involve the attorney/client relationship, which are "a sacrosanct part of the legal system." Rosengart notes California is a 2-party state -- meaning all parties on a recording must have given their prior approval to be recorded, and if they're not, it's a crime.

And, Rosengart seems to have his sights set on Jamie for Wednesday's big hearing, and it seems this issue is coming up as even more ammo to get Jamie out of the conservatorship.

What's more ... Rosengart makes it clear in the docs ... he's going to depose Jamie and will ask about the recordings, and if Jamie invokes the 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination, it will be telling.

Rosengart's latest filing makes it clear ... he's doubling down to get Jamie out, but Britney's dad has already all but said he'll be gone for good Wednesday.

And, Rosengart ends with this ... once Jamie's gone, there must be a "prompt termination of the conservatorship."

The FBI paid Brian Laundrie's parents' home a visit to get some personal items in hopes they might have his DNA on them.

Several FBI agents went to the Florida home Sunday after authorities requested some personal items belonging to Gabby Petito's fiance to assist them with DNA matching. An attorney for Laundrie's parents said they complied.

It's interesting ... one would have assumed authorities could have gotten their hands on some of his DNA from items in the van. Not to mention ... they also searched his car not long after he was named a person of interest, so it's puzzling why they'd need more.

Then there's this ... there's new dispatch audio that shows cops talking about a domestic dispute involving Gabby and Laundrie during a stop in Utah back in August.

You can hear the cop saying "RP (reporting party) states seeing a male hit a female, domestic. He got into a white Ford Transit van, has a black ladder on the back, Florida plate."

As we've reported ... Laundrie allegedly slapped Gabby and hit her in the run-up to them being pulled over by cops in Moab, Utah. According to 911 audio ... the caller claimed to have witnessed the violence.

Gabby was seen on video distraught, but Laundrie denied any wrongdoing and claimed nothing happened between them. Cops didn't cite or arrest Laundrie. The Moab City Police Dept. is now reportedly under investigation for how it handled the domestic dispute.

A new force has entered the fold in the ongoing search for Gabby Petito's fiance, Brian Laundrie -- and that's Dog the Bounty Hunter ... who's already knocking at his front door.

The famed TV personality and real-life human tracker has thrown his hat into the ring to help try and locate Laundrie -- who's vanished and been missing for almost a couple weeks now ... and is currently the subject of a massive manhunt, as he's suspect #1 in this whole case.

Reporter Brian Entin got footage of Dog dropping into the Laundrie family home in North Port, FL ... but it doesn't look like they were willing to chat with DTBH.

He seems to poke his head around the side of the house -- where there are a few parked cars in the driveway -- and finally makes his way to the main entrance, where he knocks and lingers a bit. Nobody answers ... and eventually Dog heads back to his truck with his wife, Francie, right behind him. Entin asks what he's doing there -- and Dog tells him, "you know."

As for why Dog's doing this (and how), we have some answers. His rep tells TMZ ... Dog wants to help bring justice to the Petito family, and feels compelled to get out there and do what he does best -- capturing people and bringing them to the authorities.

We're told Dog is simply volunteering his services at this point, and has not yet made contact with the investigative powers overseeing this case -- namely, the FBI. But, we're told Dog will touch base with them eventually ... and turn over anything he finds along the way.