Legal

Pretty Ricky's Baby Blue is now a free man, kind of, after serving a little over a year in his PPP fraud case, and his bandmates were there to greet him upon release.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons tells TMZ Hip Hop ... Baby Blue was released Tuesday from the Federal Correctional Institution Coleman Low in Florida.

The 38-year-old pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in August 2020, and was sentenced to 20 months in prison ... which he started serving in February 2022.

Blue was transferred to the BOP's Miami Residential Reentry Management Office, which oversees inmates transitioning back to public life. He will stay in community confinement -- either home detention or a halfway house -- until he is officially released from custody on April 4.

Upon his release, Blue was surprised by Pleasure P and Spectacular, Blue's actual brother, who both excitedly live streamed the moment as they promised to celebrate in various ways ... but Baby Blue isn't completely out of the woods yet.

Baby Blue has another 3 years of supervised release, and still has to pay $1,111,345.23 in restitution as part of his sentence.

According to court docs, he forfeited a 2010 Ferrari 458 Italia about a year ago, but that only knocked around $65K off his tab -- so he still owes well over $1 million.

Gunna's being told to refund the $250K he allegedly got for a verse recorded prior to the YSL Rico case ... all because his collaborator believes Gunna snitched on Young Thug to get out of jail.

Florida-based rapper Bandman Kevo says he paid Gunna to get on a song they did together many months ago, but his incarceration delayed the rollout.

Now that Gunna is free, Kevo says he's ashamed of the collab and it's not happening.

As a result, he's now demanding Gunna return the 6-figure check to sender -- and if he doesn't, Kevo says he'll sue.

The song's titled "Alone" and they even shot a video with YSL rapper Lil Duke -- who was also arrested, and took the same Alford plea as Gunna -- so, Kevo's entire record is kaput as far as he's concerned.

Kevo's reimbursement demand is a total 180° from his thoughts shared in an interview a little over a month ago, when he gave Gunna the benefit of the doubt,  assuming the "Pushin' P" rapper had an elaborate legal scheme that did not involve snitching.

Gabby Petito's family just released a photo that they say backs their wrongful death suit -- namely, what they claim is an alarming selfie taken minutes before cops stopped her -- and proof officers should've taken action.

Attorneys for Gabby's parents -- who filed suit against the Moab Police Dept. in Utah for not intervening to protect their daughter before she was killed by her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie -- distributed a picture they claim was taken on her phone minutes before she and Brian encountered MPD officers on the road ... following a call from a concerned citizen.

The photo appears to show Gabby with a bruised eye and red marks on her face ... something that didn't look nearly as visible in body cam footage taken during the actual traffic stop.

Interestingly, the cop talking to Gabby did point out something on her face ... asking if she'd been hit. He also pointed out what he seemed to think was an injury on her shoulder.

The Petito family says a timestamp from Gabby's selfie shows it was taken at 4:37 PM on August 12. Moab PD's body cam footage started rolling shortly after at around 4:53 PM.

Gabby's parents feel this shows she was obviously injured at the hands of Brian ... and that law enforcement had a duty to step in and shield her. As we now know, the two officers on the scene made a decision not to arrest anyone at the time ... something the Petitos feel warrants at least $50 million in damages.

"That's So Raven" star, Orlando Brown is going to get his head checked to see if he's fit to stand trial in his Ohio criminal case ... opening the door to a possible plea of not guilty by reason of insanity.

According to legal docs obtained by TMZ, Brown's attorney is asking for a mental evaluation to see if the disgraced actor is mentally fit for trial.

Orlando's charged with aggravated menacing, a first-degree misdemeanor in Ohio, for his December arrest. The former Disney star previously pled not guilty, but the results of the evaluation could lead to Orlando changing that plea.

In the meantime, Orlando's on house arrest ... he was released from custody Friday after posting bond of about $25,000.

TMZ broke the story ... Orlando was busted back in December after cops in Ohio say they responded to a call about a fight in progress between 2 men.

Cops say the alleged victim told officers Orlando came at him in a threatening manner while wielding a knife blade and hammer.

Flo Rida just landed a sweet $80 million settlement in his lawsuit against Celsius energy drink, and the "My House" rapper says that means he's about to turn up his charitable efforts in a big way!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught Flo Monday at LAX, fresh off his Grammy weekend where he kept an extra big grin on account of winning his copyright lawsuit against the beverage co. in January.

Flo tells us his musical success allowed for retirement several years ago, but this new influx of cash will enable more philanthropic endeavors ... such as his Big Dreams For Kids charity that powers his own Florida Youth Football league.

Flo says his league is over 10,000 players strong, and he flew several of them out to Cali to train with Snoop Dogg, and his famed football league from the Netflix series.

He's optimistic the players will grow up to be doctors, lawyers or even professional athletes.

In terms of Celsius, Flo says he's still a co-owner, and has no hard feelings in the aftermath of the lawsuit.

The woman who accused Armie Hammer of raping her says he's trying to gain sympathy and manipulate her by now claiming he tried suicide after she spoke out against him.

Effie Angelova took to Instagram Monday and said the actor told her about his attempted suicide before she publicly claimed he raped her in 2021.

Armie broke his silence Saturday about the rape allegations, saying he was hoping to drown or get eaten by a shark in the ocean, but he changed his mind, thinking about his kids.

Hammer has denied her claims and said this was all consensual role-playing and she's the one who suggested they meet at Starbucks, pretending they were strangers ... and then she would go home and leave the door unlocked for him to come in.

TMZ broke the story, law enforcement has already decided no criminal charges will be filed, but the LAPD has not turned the case over to the D.A. ... it's been with LAPD for more than a year and a half.

In several IG posts, Effie said she was so worried about Armie and only wanted to take care of him after he told her about his alleged childhood abuse and had disappeared for a couple days.

"Now he claims his ocean story happened after I spoke out publicly," Effie said.

She added, "It seems so manipulative because he knows his ocean story shut me up last time and evoked sympathy and it's like now he's trying it again."

As we reported, Effie claimed Armie violently raped her for four hours, during which he allegedly slammed her head against a wall and physically abused her in other ways.

NASCAR star Kyle Busch says he was detained by authorities in Mexico last month ... after he says they found a handgun in his bag at an airport.

Busch said it all happened following the conclusion of his vacation with his wife, Samantha, in late January.

According to the 37-year-old driver, he was going through airport security screening ... when he realized he accidentally brought his firearm in his luggage.

Busch claims he has a valid concealed carry permit for it -- but its discovery still alarmed authorities, who detained him over it all.

"I was not aware of Mexican law and had no intention of bringing a handgun into Mexico," he said in a statement on his social media page Monday.

"When it was discovered, I fully cooperated with the authorities, accepted the penalties, and returned to North Carolina."

Prosecutors in Quintana Roo appeared to address the incident in a statement released over the weekend. Officials said the defendant, ID'ed only as "Kyle Thomas 'B'" from the state of Nevada, was detained following the discovery of a firearm on Jan. 27. They noted that following an investigation, he was sentenced to three and a half years in prison as well as a fine.

Busch made no mention of a prison sentence in his statement Monday.

"I apologize for my mistake and appreciate the respect shown by all parties as we resolved the matter," Busch said. "My family and I consider this issue closed."

Joe Mixon allegedly threatened to a shoot woman in a "road rage" incident just one day before the Bengals' playoff game against the Bills ... this according to a police report, obtained by TMZ Sports.

In the Cincinnati Police Dept. documents, cops say the alleged incident happened at 12:49 PM on Jan. 21 -- less than 24 hours before Cincinnati played the Bills in the Divisional Round in Buffalo.

According to the docs, a 43-year-old woman told cops that an "unknown suspect" -- later believed to be Mixon -- "brandished a firearm and threatened to shoot her."

She added, per the report, that it was all "a result of a 'road rage' incident."

A warrant for Mixon's arrest was eventually filed last week for one count of misdemeanor aggravated menacing. In court documents, authorities said Mixon told the alleged victim at the time, "You should be popped in the face, I should shoot you, the police can't get me."

The case, however, was dismissed on Friday after prosecutors said they needed "additional investigation before we would move forward with this case." Officials said there was still a chance it could all be refiled in the future.

Joe Exotic isn't sure how much time he has left on this Earth, so he signed a new will -- leaving everything to his latest fiancé ... while also ordering first responders not to revive him if things go south.

In a prison-recorded phone call obtained by TMZ, Joe lays out what's what if he's to pass away ... saying his entire estate is going to Seth Posey, who he met over the internet ... and to whom he's currently engaged. If Seth dies, it all goes to the guy's son, Cameron.

Joe makes a point to say he doesn't want anybody else getting their grubby paws on any of his assets or valuables -- including Jeff Lowe, his family members or anyone else. Previously, he'd nixed his ex-husband, Dillon Passage. So, at this point, it's all going to Seth.

He also mentions a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) order he's put in his will in the off chance that he goes into cardiac arrest or anything that might require life-saving measures. JE sounds frustrated with the fact that he's been in prison for this long ... and says "he's done."

Joe further tells TMZ ... "I am sick of people standing in line waiting to collect my stuff," which is why he's taking this preemptive measure. Rather than leave things for what he considers vultures, who he says are standing by to collect, Joe wants this cut and dried.

On top of this, the 'Tiger King' has very specific funeral plans ... listen for yourself.

As we first told you ... Joe and Seth reunited in June after first meeting in 2021, when Seth won Joe's online 'Bachelor King' competition to be Joe's new boyfriend. They ultimately grew apart, and then Joe was planning to marry his fellow inmate, John Graham ... but when Graham got out of prison, Joe ended up getting back with Seth. Yeah, Joe's got a crazy love life.

Anyways, 59-year-old Joe's still got around 20 years left on his prison sentence for his murder-for-hire conviction, and he tells us he believes the feds hope he dies in prison "so they don't have to admit they were wrong."

Ryan Grantham, who played Jeffery Augustine in "Riverdale", is being held in a prison hospital and is receiving counseling ... as he tries to cope with the guilt of murdering his own mother.

Grantham's attorney, Chris Johnson, tells TMZ ... "Mr. Grantham recently advised me that he’s doing well, getting the help he needs, and has gained some insight into what happened and why. He regrets what he did to his mother."

Sources with direct knowledge tell us, Grantham is getting counseling from the prison psychologist and is occasionally seen by a psychiatrist.

You'll recall, Grantham's attorney was extremely concerned the 24-year-old would be placed in a maximum security prison, as he could be "physically, psychologically and sexually intimidated" due to his frail stature.

Following the attorney's plea to have Grantham relocated, authorities decided to keep the "Riverdale" actor at a prison hospital in British Columbia, Canada, while they decide where he'll serve the remainder of his sentence.

Grantham seems to be taking his treatment seriously ... his attorney tells us, "He realizes that he has a lot of personal work to do, but he’s dedicating himself to that, so that he can hopefully be a mentally healthy and contributing member of society at some point in time in the future.”

Armie Hammer has broken his silence over the sexual assault allegations that have dogged him for 2 years, flatly denying he raped or sexually assaulted anyone, but conceding he was "emotionally abusive" to some of the women with whom he had sexual encounters.

Hammer, who has been categorically canceled since the allegations surfaced 2 years ago, said he not only contemplated suicide, he took action back in February 2021, shortly after the story broke. He says he was in the Cayman Islands and swam out as far as he could, hoping "that either I drowned or was hit by a boat or eaten by a shark. Then I realized that my kids were still on shore, and that I couldn't do that to my kids."

As you know, several women have claimed they were sexually assaulted by him during BDSM sex. One woman in particular, known as Effie, claimed he raped her and the LAPD has been investigating this case for more than a year and a half. As TMZ has reported, law enforcement sources say no charges will be filed, yet the case has languished at LAPD and has still not been referred over to the D.A. for a final decision.

As for the alleged rape, Hammer told Air Mail it was a rape "scene" ... all planned out in advance and fully consensual.  He says it was planned with every detail ... meeting at a Starbucks, following her home, walking in the open front door and engaging in a "consensual non-consent scene." He says, "Every single thing was discussed beforehand. I have never thrust this on someone unexpectedly. Never."

Hammer was asked if he was emotionally abusive to these women. He answered, "One million percent," adding, "I'm here to admit my own mistakes, take accountability for the fact that I was an asshole, that I was selfish, that I used people to make me feel better, and when that was done, moved on."

The allegations of BDSM fantasies and cannibalistic fetishism became a centerpiece for the streamer, "House of Hammer."  The actor was dropped by his talent agency, and publicist, dropped from film projects ... fully canceled.

He has spent time in the Caymans ... selling timeshares to pass the time and make some money.

Hammer says he's done a lot of work to regain sobriety and peace, referring back to what he says started him down a bad path. He says he was molested by a youth pastor when he was 13, explaining, "What that did for me was it introduced sexuality into my life in a way that it was completely out of my control."

He went on ... "I was powerless in the situation. I had no agency in the situation. Sexuality was introduced to me in a scary way where I had no control. My interests then went to, I want to have control in the situation sexually."

Howard Rosenman, a producer on "Call Me By Your Name," also appeared in the Air Mail story, saying "All of [the allegations are] just pure bulls**t, and yes, he deserves a second chance."  He called the reaction to the Armie story, "kink shaming."

Meanwhile, the LAPD still has the case. A law enforcement source told TMZ they were having trouble with some "3rd party witness" that was resisting cooperation. We're told that 3rd party is a company, not a person. We asked our sources why they didn't just get a subpoena to get whatever it needed from the company, but we did not get an answer.

We have asked our LAPD sources when the case will be wrapped up and sent to the D.A. but never got a clear answer. One source who formerly worked closely with Hammer but no longer does tells TMZ, "The fact that LAPD has had this case for 2 years and still hasn't cleared him is f**king insane."

Preston Hemphill, the white Memphis police officer involved in the Tyre Nichols arrest who is heard on body cam footage wishing Tyre harm, has just been fired.

The Memphis Police Department announced Hemphill's firing in a Friday news dump ... and he has not been criminally charged in connection with Tyre's death.

Hemphill was one of the first officers to confront Tyre during the fateful January. 7 traffic stop ... and he's alleged to have used his Taser on Tyre.

Hemphill's body cam footage shows him chasing Nichols on foot ... and he's twice heard saying, "I hope they stomp his a**."

As you know ... Tyre was later confronted by 5 Black cops, who used pepper spray and beat him so badly he complained of shortness of breath and ended up in a hospital, where 3 days later he died.

The 5 Black officers ... Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith ... were fired before Hemphill, and they've been charged with second-degree murder.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Tyre's family, has been questioning why Hemphill is not being prosecuted.

In a statement, Memphis PD says they conducted a thorough review of Tyre's arrest and determined Hemphill violated multiple department policies, including personal conduct, truthfulness and not using his Taser properly.

Meanwhile, a 7th Memphis PD officer who was involved in the arrest is on administrative leave ... but the officer's identity has not been publicly revealed.

Marquise Brown pleaded guilty to an excessive speeding charge on Wednesday ... six months after cops accused the NFL star of going 126 MPH in a 65 MPH zone.

The Cardinals receiver showed up to an Arizona courtroom to enter the plea ... and you can see in video of the hearing, obtained by TMZ Sports, he was wearing a black sweatshirt and black pants for the proceedings.

He didn't speak much while in court, though he and his attorney did tell the judge he was changing his initial plea of not guilty and pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of excessive speed.

Brown is now facing a fine of up to $500, 30 days in jail, and/or 1 year probation as punishment. He'll learn his fate at a sentencing hearing next month.

The 25-year-old was initially pulled over on Aug. 3, 2022 ... after cops say they caught him going 61 MPH over the speed limit in a 2020 Mercedes on a highway in Maricopa County.

Brown was arrested and booked into jail.

At practice in the days after the incident, Brown apologized for his actions ... calling them "disappointing."

There's been a lot of blame placed on the armorer on the set of "Rust" -- by both the public and law enforcement -- but her attorney says she did everything in her power to ensure everyone working on the project was safe.

We had Jason Bowles, the attorney for Hannah Gutierrez-Reed on "TMZ Live" Friday who talked at length about his client's case ... and shared what he believes were some of the failures that led to the death of Halyna Hutchins.

Bowles says Hannah asked assistant director, Dave Halls, to let her know when Alec Baldwin was going to handle the gun that fired the fatal shot so she could inspect it and give Baldwin proper instruction on how to handle the weapon.

Bowles says Halls never gave Hannah a heads up, simply handing the gun over to Alec without following any sort of safety procedure.

What's more -- Bowles claims Hannah was stretched very thin on set -- taking up both the duties as armorer and handling props.

Bowles tells us at one point, Hannah sent an email to production letting them know she needed to focus more of her time on the armorer duties ... a request he says was denied.

Joe Mixon is in the clear in his aggravated menacing case -- at least, for now -- prosecutors dismissed the charge against the Cincinnati Bengals star on Friday ... though there is still a chance they could re-file it at a later date.

Officials from the Cincinnati City Prosecutor's Office asked a judge to sign off on the case's dismissal early Friday morning ... and just minutes ago in a Cincinnati courtroom, Hamilton County Judge Curt Kissinger did just that.

"I will sign the entry of dismissal," the judge said at the hearing. "And the warrant will be recalled subject to further filing by the City of Cincinnati."

Prosecutors said in the courtroom they were asking for dismissal because they needed "additional investigation before we would move forward with this case."

They noted the alleged victim would like to still go forward with the charge "if we do decide to refile it."

As we reported, an arrest warrant for a misdemeanor count of aggravated menacing was issued for Mixon on Thursday ... after officials alleged he pointed a firearm at a woman on Jan. 21 and told her, "You should be popped in the face, I should shoot you, the police can't get me."

Mixon's rep, Peter Schaffer, said in a statement following the court filing, "It was a rush to judgment."

"I really feel that police have an obligation before they file charges -- because of the damage that can be done to the person's reputation -- to do their work," Schaffer added.

Tyre Nichols, who loved to skateboard, could soon have his name emblazoned on skate parks in Memphis and Sacramento ... TMZ has learned.

Chief of Communications for the City of Memphis, Allison Fouche tells TMZ ... leaders are having preliminary conversations about naming a park after Tyre. Mayor Jim Strickland is floating the idea to the City Council.

We're told the Mayor is meeting internally with his team Friday to discuss plans, including whether they'll build a new park in Tyre's honor, or rename an existing one.

Since Tyre's tragic death, videos have been circulating online of him showing off his skateboarding skills. Most of the footage is from his time in Sacramento, CA before moving to Memphis.

Tim Swanson, media and communications manager for the City of Sacramento, tells TMZ ... councilmember Lisa Kaplan, Mayor Darrell Steinberg and City staff are working with Tyre's family to explore the best ways to honor his legacy, which could include renaming a skate park after him.

Tyre's parents are crowdfunding a memorial fund, and his mom says she'd like to use some of the money to build a memorial skate park for Tyre.