Legal

Top NFL prospect Jalen Carter -- the potential No. 1 overall pick in next month's draft -- turned himself in to police on Wednesday night ... posing for a mug shot -- before quickly being released.

The former Univ. of Georgia star defensive lineman was booked at 11:33 PM, according to jail records -- just hours after the Athens-Clarke County Police Department issued warrants for his arrest for his alleged role in a January car crash that killed two people.

The records show Carter was released just 16 minutes after he was initially booked. He's facing misdemeanor charges of reckless driving and racing.

In his mug shot, Carter -- wearing a white tank top -- appeared to be emotionless and stoic.

As we reported, cops have accused Carter of racing UGA staffer Chandler LeCroy in a 2021 Jeep Trackhawk ... before LeCroy's 2021 Ford Expedition veered off the road and crashed into power poles and trees.

Police said in a statement Wednesday morning, an investigation into the crash showed both Carter and LeCroy "switched between lanes, drove in the center turn lane, drove in opposite lanes of travel" -- adding that LeCroy reached speeds of 104 MPH before the accident.

Carter, who was at the NFL's combine in Indianapolis when the arrest warrant was made public, immediately left the league's scouting event to head back to Georgia. He later said in a statement, "There is no question in my mind that when all of the facts are known that I will be fully exonerated of any criminal wrongdoing."

Fyre Festival creator Billy McFarland is getting back into the cheese sandwich game -- but don't worry, these won't come in styrofoam while you're getting screwed out of a concert in the Bahamas.

Sources close to Billy tell TMZ he recently had a reunion, for the first time in 5 years, with Andy King. Yes, that Andy King from the Netflix documentary about Fyre ... the guy who says Billy asked him to give oral sex to a customs officer to get shipments of Evian water released!!!

Seems all is well between them now, though, because they shot a video together promoting their newest venture ... selling grilled cheeses at 7th Street Burger in NYC, and the clip is pretty funny.

The video features Andy makin' the sandwiches -- a tongue-in-cheek take on the ridiculous cheese-on-bread meals served at the doomed Bahamas festival back in 2017.

He's also taking swigs from Evian bottles -- yeah, they go there!

We're told 100% of the sales from the April 7 event will go to the workers in the Bahamas who are still owed money from Fyre Fest. They also tease a Coachella trip in the video, but we're told that hasn't been set in stone yet.

As you know, Billy was released early from his 6-year sentence a year ago, and he's already working on PYRT -- another tropical festival, only based in virtual reality this time around.

"Real Housewives of Potomac" star, Michael Darby is taking Candiace Dillard Bassett to court for defamation ... after she claimed he offered up cash to have sexual relations with another man.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Ashley Darby's hubby is suing Candiace over comments she made during the latest season of the reality series -- where she didn't hold back during one of her many arguments with Ashley.

On the show, Candiace tells Ashley, "Your husband likes to leave you and go to a man named [censored]'s house and suck his ****." She never says who the guy is, but Candiace later claimed Michael paid for sex.

Michael's calling BS on all of it ... adding he sent her a cease and desist earlier this year regarding her comments -- but claims she has yet to retract any of her allegations.

He wants $2 mil in damages to make things right.

Fans of the show know Candiace and the Darbys have had long-standing beef ... with her calling Michael and Ashley out numerous times. Looks like the latest incident took things too far, though ... at least according to Michael.

Drew Sidora is laying out exactly why she's calling it quits with her estranged husband, Ralph Pittman, accusing him of cheating, abuse and messing with her finances.

In an amended divorce complaint, obtained by TMZ, Drew says she simply cannot take Ralph's "continued blatant disrespect and mental abuse any longer."

She goes on to accuse Ralph of being a serial cheater during their marriage -- even claiming some of the women he's allegedly had affairs with have rubbed it in her face -- sending her screenshots of their "sexts" with Ralph.

That's not all ... Drew also says Ralph has recently gotten physical with her, claiming last month he grabbed her phone out of her hand, causing her to fall to the floor. She says Ralph yelled at her, saying he pays the cell phone bill so the phone belongs to him.

She says when Ralph got physically aggressive, she even considered leaving Atlanta and flying with her 3 minor children to Chicago where they'd feel safe.

She also says at one point, he withdrew a "large sum of money" from her account.

Drew says she and Ralph tried counseling, but it didn't work. In fact, she states after leaving a counseling session, Ralph asked her to give him a "heads up" before filing for divorce and that no matter what happened, he'd let her file first.

Interestingly enough, both Drew and Ralph filed for divorce on the same day -- February 27 -- she beat him by just one hour in filing.

Drew's asking for primary physical and joint legal custody of their 2 kids.

Willie McGinest is now facing serious time behind bars for his role in a December restaurant beatdown ... TMZ Sports has learned the ex-NFL star has just been charged with two felonies.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office filed the charges this week ... hitting the New England Patriots legend with one count of assault with a deadly weapon, and one count of assault by means of force likely to cause great bodily injury.

Each charge carries up to four years in prison.

McGinest's arraignment in the case has been set for April.

We broke the story, McGinest was initially arrested in the case back in late December ... after video showed him and several others beating the hell out of a man on Dec. 9 at Delilah in West Hollywood.

The footage appears to show McGinest socking the guy in the face ... before later picking up a bottle and smashing it into the man's head.

McGinest eventually apologized for his role in the brawl -- calling everything a "lapse in judgment and behavior."

"To my family, community, friends and youth I mentor," the 51-year-old said, "please know I feel horrible for my actions and take full responsibility."

Travis Scott is the suspect in a police investigation into an alleged assault at a NYC nightclub ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us around 3 AM Wednesday the rapper got into it with someone at Nebula, a club on 41st Street. We're told Scott allegedly punched that person and damaged property -- possibly a cell phone.

At this time, cops want to talk to Travis and his reps, but the official report is for an assault and criminal mischief.

As for why he was in town, it appears Don Toliver had a show in NYC Tuesday night, bringing out Travis -- much to the delight of fans.

Travis is set to headline Rolling Loud California in Los Angeles Saturday night ... unclear if that appearance will be impacted at all because of the investigation.

We've reached out to Travis' team ... so far, no word back.

Ray J is making it very clear, both publicly and now legally, he isn't ready to give up on his marriage with Princess Love ... asking the court to once again throw out his divorce.

According to the legal docs obtained by TMZ, Ray filed docs Thursday in Los Angeles asking a court to dismiss his divorce from his estranged wife.

If you've been following along, there's been a ton of ups and downs between the two over the years, but now, it looks like they may be attempting to work things out once again.

You'll recall, Princess and Ray J celebrated his 42nd birthday back in January in Vegas ... despite the fact they were going through the divorce. At the time, RJ said he was looking forward to being a happy family and starting "fresh" with Princess.

TMZ broke the story in October 2021 ... Ray first filed for divorce from Princess and cited the usual irreconcilable differences. We spoke to PL a short time after the docs were filed, and she didn't seem like the door was completely closed.

Michael Irvin has scored yet another big W in his civil case with Marriott ... a second judge -- this time a federal one -- has ruled the hotel giant must turn over any video it has that shows the NFL legend with his misconduct accuser on one of its properties last month.

The ruling was just handed down on Wednesday afternoon ... marking the second time in two weeks that a court has ordered Marriott to turn over the footage.

Initially, on Feb. 16, a state judge made the ruling ... but Marriott argued it should be allowed to take its time in handing over the clips, essentially saying Irvin was being disingenuous about the need to rush things. The case was ultimately kicked over to federal court to mete out.

The judge there, though, backed the ruling ... saying Irvin had the right to obtain the video in an expeditious manner -- because of the reputational and economic damage he said he's suffering by not having it.

The judge did rule, however, that Marriott can protect the identity of Irvin's accuser, saying the company's concern for her privacy "is well founded."

Irvin's attorney, Levi McCathern, tells TMZ Sports he's happy with the new order ... saying, once again, he believes the videos will show Irvin did nothing wrong when he interacted with the female hotel worker on Feb. 5 in Arizona.

"Michael and I are pleased with the ruling, and we thank the Court for ruling so quickly and equitably," McCathern said. "We look forward to receiving the information that we believe will prove that Michael was engaged in no wrongdoing."

New troubling allegations surrounding the alleged pickup basketball brawl between Ja Morant and a teenage boy in July ... with the young hooper claiming the Memphis Grizzlies superstar flashed a gun at him during the altercation.

TMZ Sports broke the story in January -- Morant is accused of punching a 17-year-old boy after getting in an argument during a game at Ja's residence in Tennessee ... which resulted in a lawsuit filed in September.

According to the docs, the boy claimed he "accidentally" hit Ja in the face after throwing the ball in his direction ... and the All-Star guard retaliated by hitting him with a closed fist and knocking him to the ground.

The Washington Post reported Wednesday that not only did the teen accuse Morant of punching him at least 12 times, resulting in a "large knot" on his head ... but the 23-year-old also went into his house and returned with a gun in his waistband -- with his hand on the weapon.

The boy told detectives Ja's dad, Tee, then yelled at him ... telling him to go back inside.

When Morant was questioned about the incident, police mentioned the boy's claims of exposing a weapon, but did not explicitly ask if he had a gun. The outlet notes Morant and his attorneys did not deny the claim.

As for the altercation, Morant told detectives he did, in fact, hit the teen ... but claimed it was out of self-defense after he was hit with the ball. In his eyes, "The ball was the first swing to me."

As we previously reported, Morant filed a police report of his own a few weeks later ... claiming the teen threatened to "come back and light this place up like fireworks" and he feared for his safety.

Police investigated the allegations for several weeks ... before they submitted the case to the district attorney's office on Oct. 4. Less than a month later, cops say the D.A. declined prosecution, citing a lack of evidence.

WWE superstar Sonya Deville was arrested for gun possession in New Jersey last month ... after authorities say they found a firearm in her vehicle that didn't have a proper NJ permit.

According to court docs, the incident happened on Feb. 19 in Atlantic City ... when our sources tell us a valet discovered the weapon in her car's glove box and called cops.

Police arrived on scene and arrested Deville -- real name Daria Berenato -- a short time later ... and court records show she's since been charged with one count of unlawful weapon possession -- handgun without permit.

Sources close to the wrestler tell us ... Deville got the weapon for personal protection after a 24-year-old man allegedly attempted to kidnap her during a terrifying home break-in in Florida back in 2020.

We're told the gun is registered in Florida -- but not New Jersey.

Court documents show the 29-year-old is due in court for a hearing on the matter later this month.

We've reached out to Deville and WWE for comment ... but so far, no word back.

Drew Sidora's husband, Ralph Pittman, wants to end their nearly 10-year marriage ... and he's just made it official in court.

The 'Real Housewives of Atlanta' star was on the receiving end of divorce docs that were just filed this past week in Gwinnett County, GA -- where Ralph laid out what he wants out of their split ... touching on how he wants to handle their 2 kids and their shared property.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Ralph -- who says he and Drew separated on Feb. 19 of this year -- makes it clear he wants joint physical and legal custody of their 7-year-old son Machai and 5-year-old daughter Aniya. Drew has another kid from a prior relationship.

While he might not be fighting her on the kid front, he is pushing back on the notion of paying spousal support -- noting Drew makes good enough money from her reality TV job. Although he says she's rolling in Bravo dough ... Ralph claims she hasn't made any financial contributions to the household throughout a majority of their partnership.

Then come the cars ... Ralph says he wants his Porsche Taycan and his 2018 Cadillac -- while calling on Drew to be responsible for her own 2021 Cadillac. No word yet on their crib.

While this is, perhaps, surprising to some ... others who've been following their relationship on the show -- since Drew officially joined in 2020 -- say there's been trouble on the horizon.

Ralph has disappeared from the household on a number of occasions -- some of which were documented on 'RHOA' -- and he and Drew have squabbled over A LOT on camera ... including suspected infidelity, over-involvement from in-laws and a plethora of other issues.

As it turns out, Ralph wasn't hamming it up for the show ... he's actually done now.

Vanessa Bryant just received a heck of a lot more money from L.A. County after her initial $15 million win last year ... another $13 mil or so, in fact, which now accounts for her kids.

Kobe Bryant's widow has settled with L.A. County, amounting to a total of $28.8 million -- this according to her lawyer, who says this resolves both Vanessa's original complaint and subsequent award ... as well as any potential future claims from her surviving daughters.

Unclear when, but it seems Vanessa amended her initial lawsuit to add 20-year-old Natalia, 6-year-old Bianka and 3-year-old Capri. The settlement resolves all claims.

Vanessa's lawyer, Luis Li, says, "Today marks the successful culmination of Mrs. Bryant’s courageous battle to hold accountable those who engaged in this grotesque conduct." He adds, "She fought for her husband, her daughter, and all those in the community whose deceased family were treated with similar disrespect. We hope her victory at trial and this settlement will put an end to this practice."

You'll recall ... Vanessa actually went to trial over this, taking the stand with emotional testimony about how the thought of those photos of Kobe and Gigi's remains possibly being leaked out publicly tortured her -- something a jury agreed with in the end.

They awarded her $16M ... but a mil got knocked down afterward due to a clerical error. Vanessa and her team had previously said she'd be donating the money from this to her Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation -- and in light of this, there's more to go around.

Tory Lanez's legal team either has some sort of trick up its sleeve to get him out of jail by this weekend, or the people at Rolling Loud are living under a rock ... 'cause he's still on the festival's Cali roster.

Tory was in court Tuesday in L.A. where his sentencing hearing was pushed yet again, this time to April 10. After the hearing, Lanez -- who was dressed in a jail-issued orange jumpsuit -- remained in custody without even an attempt to convince the judge to let him out on bail.

This would seem to pose a big issue for Rolling Loud organizers, who still have Tory slated on the website's flyer to play the festival Sunday.

We should say, it's possible, and likely, when the actual artist set times are released, Tory's name will be left off completely ... but it's odd he's still on the flyer, considering he was found guilty back in December.

There is, however, fine print on Rolling Loud's site to cover Tory becoming a no-show -- "Opening acts, as well as festival performers, are subject to change or cancellation at any time without notice. No refund will be owed if an opening act or festival performer is changed or cancelled."

Tory is facing a maximum of 22 years behind bars. Outside court Tuesday, his attorney David Kenner said the artist is holding up well. He didn't offer much more detail on their efforts to get him out on appeal.

The Montana hunter who killed and skinned a husky -- apparently thinking it was a wolf -- is getting off easy after copping a plea.

Amber Rose Barnes just pled no contest to misdemeanor animal cruelty ... and the judge gave her a 6-month deferred sentence, meaning the whole case will go away if she meets a few requirements.

Part of her checklist to get this wiped from her record -- Barnes will have to take an online hunter safety class, and she's not allowed to use her hunting rifles for half a year.

As it turns out, that's not much of a punishment when you consider hunting season doesn't come until the fall ... so, it's not like she's missing out.

Remember, Barnes was hit with the animal cruelty charge back in October after the horrific September incident. At the time, she bragged on social media she'd taken down a wild wolf ... but it was just a domesticated husky that was out in the woods.

Not only did she shoot and kill it, but Barnes also took the dog's hide as a trophy ... which she also posted on social media, drawing the ire of the public. Barnes insisted the animal was acting aggressively when she encountered it and claimed self-defense.

Former NFL running back Zac Stacy took a new mug shot on Monday ... before he was officially put behind bars for six months for attacking his ex-girlfriend in 2021.

Stacy posed for the photo at the Orange County Jail in Florida after he was remanded into custody following a judge's ruling at a sentencing hearing on Monday.

In the new picture, obtained by TMZ Sports, Stacy, wearing a striped shirt with a black collar, looked stoic -- and perhaps even a bit emotional.

Stacy was ordered to serve the jail time -- as well as one year of probation -- after he cut deals with prosecutors earlier this month following allegations he was violent with Kristin Evans, the mother of his child, on multiple occasions in '21.

Despite the attacks, though, Evans said Tuesday in a social media post she had hoped Stacy would not serve any jail time.

"Please give me some grace in understanding that I’m not being easy on Zac," she said, "rather I am trying to protect our son from anymore trauma."

The woman accused of beheading her boyfriend who attacked her lawyer in court two weeks ago has a new attorney representing her now ... go figure.

Taylor Schabusiness was appointed a new public defender Monday in her Wisconsin murder case -- this after her original attorney, Quinn Jolly, withdrew. You'll recall ... he was the dude who came under her wrath in court in a wild attack.

A judge signed off on his request, reportedly saying ... "I am satisfied based upon the assertions and obviously I was here in court for the last hearing, I saw the events that transpired." She added, "[M]akes a great deal of sense to me.”

As for what exactly Jolly cited when filing to take his name out of the mix ... he called it an "irretrievably broken state of the attorney-client relationship" after the Valentine's Day mishap.

It's unclear what exactly set Schabusiness off at the time. Jolly was actually successful in buying her more time before she went before a jury on murder charges -- after allegedly mutilating her boyfriend during sex -- and having her mental competency tested.

As soon as a judge agreed, she lunged at Jolly and deputies had to get involved.

Like we said, the presiding judge had no issue letting Jolly out. She also concurs that the swap won't adversely hurt his one-time client's chances at a fair trial. The judge says, "My understanding is that by that time, the new attorney the public defender is appointing will have a chance to meet with Schabusiness and be ready to give the court some direction as to when they will be ready to move forward."