Drugs & Alcohol

Verne Troyer's death has officially been ruled a suicide ... TMZ has confirmed.

The L.A. County Coroner's Office released an autopsy report Wednesday saying the 'Austin Powers' star died of "sequelae of alcohol intoxication" ... basically alcohol abuse. Shortly after his death, the Coroner's Office "deferred" Verne's cause of death ... pending an investigation. The Coroner's Office has now determined alcohol abuse is what killed the actor.

As we reported ... Verne struggled with alcoholism for years and had been to rehab many times. In early April, Verne had been rushed to a hospital after cops got a call that he was suicidal. We were told he was being treated for alcohol poisoning because his BAC was triple the .08 limit.

He'd been on life support ever since -- but, as TMZ first reported, he died a few weeks later. He was 49.

Stop us if you've heard this before ... Lenny Dykstra's got problems.

A grand jury in Union County, NJ just indicted the ex-MLB superstar on 3 serious crimes ... possession of cocaine, possession of meth and making terroristic threats after an alleged blowup with his Uber driver last May.

As we previously reported, Dykstra was arrested back in May after allegedly threatening his Uber driver -- who then stopped the car in front of a police station.

Cops say they found evidence of cocaine and meth -- and took Dykstra into custody.

TMZ Sports obtained police body cam video from the arrest -- in which Dykstra tells the cop he does NOT have a gun in his possession (as originally claimed by the Uber driver).

Remember, the driver claimed Dykstra put a gun to his head during the incident. Dykstra says that's just not true.

In the video, Dykstra is frantically trying to dissuade the cops from searching one of his bags -- it seems obvious why.

Dykstra argued that the Uber driver was the bad guy -- who kidnapped him and Lenny was in fear for his life.

But, the grand jury clearly believes there's enough truth behind the Uber driver's story to move forward with charges against the 55-year-old.

If convicted, Dykstra faces between 3-5 years in prison on each charge.

Jim Jones is officially facing a handful of felony drug and firearm charges for his June arrest in Georgia after a police chase ... TMZ has learned.

The rapper's been hit with 3 counts of possession of a controlled substance and 2 counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony -- so 5 felony charges total ... according to new legal docs.

Jones has also been charged with a 6th count of possession of marijuana, less than an ounce ... which is a misdemeanor.

We broke the story ... Jones was busted on June 20 in Coweta County when a car he was a passenger in led cops on a chase. When it finally stopped, cops searched the vehicle and found marijuana, oxycodone, Percocet, vape cartridges and 2 loaded pistols.

Neither Jones nor the 3 others in the car, including the driver, admitted possession of the items ... so they were all arrested.

Jones' arraignment on the charges is scheduled for later this month. If convicted on all charges, he faces up to decades in prison.

The Boston Red Sox murdered the New York Yankees' season on Tuesday ... and danced on their ALDS playoff graves with champagne and beer bottles.

The BoSox narrowly escaped the Yanks' last-ditch effort to tie up the series by winning Game 4 at Yankee Stadium ... and celebrated the 4-3 win by drenching themselves in champagne. And, LOTS of it.

The lit fest kicked off with a motivational speech from Sox manager Alex Cora -- who warned his guys about their next matchup ... the Houston Astros.

But, Mookie Betts and Co. don't seem fazed one bit, 'cause that's when the corks start flyin' (right into a local reporter's face).

The ALCS kicks off on Saturday -- start hydrating now!

The Houston Astros are back in the ALCS for the second year in a row ... but they're celebrating like it's their first time -- drenching their locker room with TONS of beer and champagne!!

The 'stros just finished off their sweep of the Cleveland Indians in the ALDS with an 11-3 win on Monday ... and Jose Altuve & Co. made themselves right at home in the visitor's locker room at Progressive Field.

What's more incredible than their blowout win over the Tribe -- the amount of booze that is flying through the air at one time.

Conor McGregor is taking his L with a shot of his Proper 12 whiskey and a black eye from Khabib Nurmagomedov ... saying "we lost the match but won the battle."

It's the first time we've seen McGregor since he got choked out by Khabib in the 4th round at UFC 229 on Saturday night ... and all things considered, Conor looks pretty good.

Of course, Conor and Khabib got into a massive brawl with each other's crews after the fight ended ... with Nurmagomedov jumping out of the Octagon to confront Conor's training partner, Dillon Danis.

Conor didn't do any media after the fight and blew off his club appearances on Saturday ... but he appears to be moving forward.

Method Man and Redman are passing the blunt and leaving the rotation ... 'cause we're told the rappers won't be appearing in the "How High" sequel.

Sources close to "How High 2" tell TMZ ... the hip-hop duo wasn't cast in the made-for-TV movie after starring in the original stoner comedy.

We're told the sequel is going to be fundamentally different from the OG version -- think sativa vs. indica -- because it's for a television PG-13 audience, and weed legalization has made strides since 2001, when Meth and Red blazed their way through Harvard.

Filming began last week in Atlanta and, as we reported ... Lil Yachty and DC Young Fly are the franchise's new stars.

Meth and Red are MIA -- probably ripping a bong somewhere -- but one of the original producers, Shauna Garr, is returning.

Don't write off Meth and Red just yet ... we're told there's always a chance the duo changes course and makes a cameo in the sequel, or in a potential trilogy.

Ryan Lochte has clearly been spinning out of control because after his drunken door kicking incident on the West Coast, he caused a bad car crash on the East Coast the very same day ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Lochte was driving in Gainesville, FL Thursday at around 9:45 PM when he rear ended a car.

Lochte had just landed in Gainsville after flying from Orange County, CA, where he drunkenly kicked in his hotel room door at around 3 AM. Cops were called, came to the hotel but no arrests were made. Lochte settled up with the hotel and smoothed things over.

As for the car crash, according to the police report, Lochte was driving his Porsche to his home when he realized he was about to hit the car in front of him and slammed on his brakes at the last minute ... to no avail.

The driver of the car Lochte hit was taken by ambulance to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Lochte was okay and cited for "careless driving." There's no mention of alcohol in the police report.

Lochte's lawyer, Jeff Ostrow, told TMZ Sports Friday, "Ryan has been battling alcohol addiction for many years and unfortunately it has become a destructive pattern for him." Ostrow says Lochte realizes he needs professional help and will seek it.

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner have reached a custody agreement, but it is vague for an obvious reason ... Ben's issue with alcohol.

As we have already reported, the couple long ago agreed to joint custody of their 3 kids. There are 2 elements to the agreement -- legal and physical custody.

Legal custody is simple ... they will jointly agree on decisions that affect the kids, such as education and various activities.

As for physical custody, that's where it gets tricky. As we reported, the divorce was held up for a long time because Ben was on and off the bottle, and Jennifer didn't want to strike any custody arrangement until he was sober and stable.

We're told the physical custody agreement is vague ... it doesn't outline any specific division of time with the kids. But, we're told, at least at the beginning, Jen will get the lion's share of custodial time, and when Ben has the kids he will have a monitor to ensure he's sober and the kids are safe.

There's another factor -- their kids are older now -- 12, 9 and 6 -- and they may be conscious of Ben's problem with alcohol and how it's affected their family, and they will have a voice as well.

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner have officially signed their divorce papers ... but the split isn't final yet.

Ben and Jen met Garner's home Thursday for several hours to hammer out the remaining details in their divorce. After reaching a final agreement ... both signed on the dotted line to officially end things.

In order for the divorce to be finalized and make the pair legally single, they'll still need approval to use a private judge who will then need to submit the docs to the court for the papers to get stamped. We're told that will happen by the end of this year.

As we first reported ... Ben and Jen's final settlement was to be agreed on once Ben got out of rehab. With him now out of rehab, that plan was set into motion.

TMZ broke the story ... Ben's drinking was a sticking point in the settlement. Before rehab, Ben had fallen off the wagon for 18 months. It was an issue because when Ben isn't sober ... it puts Ben and Jen's 3 kids at risk when he's with them.

We broke the story ... Jen filed for divorce back in April 2017 and it was as amicable as it can get. They reached a property settlement, which was complicated and time-consuming because of the fortune that needed to be divided. They did NOT have a prenup, so all of their earnings during their 12-year marriage went into one pot.

As for custody ... Ben and Jen agreed to joint custody, though the settlement does not say how much custodial time Ben and Jen each get. They've gotten along great coparenting the kids ... and felt shifting custody based on their work schedules rather than abide by a rigid formula served them better.

"Ray Donovan" actor Marion "Pooch" Hall's wild DUI arrest this week -- during which he was allegedly so wasted he let his 2-year-old steer his car -- immediately caught the attention of children's services ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us the L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services has opened an investigation into Hall's case. We broke the story ... Hall was arrested Wednesday night after cops say he was driving with a .25 blood alcohol level with his son on his lap and his son's hands on the wheel, and it ended when his car crashed into a parked vehicle.

Hall was arrested for DUI and felony child endangerment and the toddler was released to his mother.

As for what the investigation could entail ... we're told DCFS workers will want to interview the Hall family and run Hall's record to see if this alleged behavior is common, or just a one-time thing.

If it is an isolated incident, our sources say DCFS might be inclined to let the court handle any sort of punishment. It's further complicated by the fact there's no reason -- at least so far -- to remove the child from his mother's custody, and it appears Hall and the mother live together.

Post Malone made it clear the only spirits he's messing with this October are gonna be in bottles ... 'cause he's had enough haunted adventures to last a lifetime.

We got Post Thursday at LAX and asked if he's planning to conjure any more entities on Halloween ... and, based on his answer, the rapper had booze on the brain.

Can't blame him. Post looks a bit stressed signing a seemingly endless amount of autographs as he's being mobbed by fans.

Then again, Post could still be on edge after his scary encounter with the world's most haunted object ... even though he swears the supposed curse is behind him.

Regardless of what's really stressing him out, Post shares his master plan to cut down on giving out his John Hancock.

Cher's home has been doubling as a drug den ... but apparently without her knowledge.

We broke the story ... Cher's Malibu mansion was swarmed by cops last Thursday and they executed a search warrant, which led to the arrest of Donovan Ruiz, the 23-year-old son of one of her assistants, who lives at her residence.

According to that search warrant -- obtained by TMZ -- cops found a plethora of narcotics and drug paraphernalia both on Ruiz and in his room ... along with boxes of .22 caliber bullets.

Cops searched Ruiz's pants and allegedly found 1.3 grams of fentanyl powder, a Xanax pill, an unknown white pill, tin foil and a pink straw with brown residue.

Ruiz's room was then searched, where cops say they found 16 yellow pills marked "215," 2 pink pills marked "K40," 3 Suboxone strips, 4 fentanyl patches, 2 boxes of .22 caliber ammunition and a Gucci box containing burnt foil and a straw.

The ammo is interesting because as we reported, cops called in paramedics during the search ... anticipating things might turn violent.

According to the docs, cops had reason to believe Ruiz was selling narcotics and sold heroin to a Ventura County resident in September who overdosed and died ... which is why they got the search warrant.

Ruiz was arrested on a felony charge for supplying narcotics to someone who dies.

8:50 PM PT -- A spokesperson for Lil Peep's family denies Jones having any connection to the rapper.

6:57 PM PT -- In a joint statement to TMZ from Matt Miller (Wicca Phase Manager), Tom Chiari (Run For Cover Records) and Adam Mcillwee (Wicca Phase Springs Eternal) we're told "Michael Jones is not and has never been a member of Gothboiclique. Any statements to the contrary are 100% false."

Lil Peep's death was not a wake-up call to at least one of his fans, according to cops who arrested the guy for giving a young woman a fatal dose of drugs ... shortly after Peep's funeral.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the DEA, assisted by NYPD, arrested and charged Michael Jones Wednesday for distributing heroin and fentanyl. We're told the drugs resulted in the death of a woman named Diana Haikova.

Jones, who was part of Peep's group called Goth Boi Clique, was ID'd in a newly unsealed federal indictment.

Law enforcement sources say Jones and many other friends of Peep were in Long Island for his funeral on December 2, 2017. They partied in Manhattan for 3 days to honor their friend and on Dec. 5 we're told Mike met Diana -- who wasn't a member of the crew -- at a hotel party ... then allegedly gave her heroin and fentanyl back at her apartment.

Cops say she was found dead at her place a couple days later, and they believe Jones was the one who supplied the drugs. We're told an indictment against him also claims he distributed heroin a couple months later.

As you'll recall ... Peep died after overdosing on Xanax and fentanyl. Many other drugs were discovered in his system as well. He was only 21.

The Rockies were the WORST houseguests Tuesday night ... 'cause after they booted the Cubs from the playoffs -- they SOAKED their Wrigley Field locker room in bubbly and beer!!!

Colorado scored in the top of the 13th in the NL Wild Card game and slammed the door on Chicago in the bottom of the frame ... and then it was time for champagne and Budweiser.

The team sprayed down the whole locker room -- although they were at least kind enough to put up the tarps beforehand.

There was an MVP chant for Charlie Blackmon ... Nolan Arenado made sure to bring the tunes ... and Tony Wolters (dude with the game-winning RBI) had a great dance. Good times were had by all.

It's the Brewers up next for the Rockies in the NLDS. Series starts Thursday.

Donald Trump was bitching about due process Tuesday, but just hours later made a mockery of his FBI investigation by essentially calling Dr. Christine Blasey Ford a fraud.

POTUS mocked Dr. Ford at a rally in Mississippi Tuesday night, before intimating she belongs to a group of "really evil people" set out to destroy other people's lives ... like Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

Trump was egged on by his Mississippi supporters, as he repeatedly made fun of Ford's testimony about being sexually assaulted by Kavanaugh ... specifically her claim that she only had one beer at the party where it allegedly took place.

Trump's point -- we think -- is Ford's claims aren't credible because she can't remember many details about the alleged incident.

Earlier in the day, Trump bemoaned what he says has become the marching orders in the #MeToo movement -- guilty until proven innocent.