Legal

As if Dr. Dre's week wasn't rough enough ... he's agreed to pay his estranged wife $2 million in temporary spousal support -- but he's not coughing up the $5 mil she wants for her divorce attorneys.

The music mogul and Nicole Young struck the deal that calls for Dre to write a one-time check for the $2 mil. That's all he'll pay ... at least until the next divorce hearing in April. Now it will be up to Nicole to decide how much of that amount she forks over to her lawyers.

As we reported, Nicole was demanding $2 mil per month, PLUS another $5 million in attorney's fees.

Our sources say Dre will continue to cover Nicole's living expenses at her Malibu pad, as well as her mother's Pacific Palisades home for the next several months. However, Dre will NOT cover Nicole's security costs ... she'll have to pay that from the $2 mil.

Dre and Young's lawyers struck the deal in court, but we're told Dre had to sign the agreement from his bed at Cedars Sinai Hospital.

Remember ... he's been dishing out $293,306 a month in temporary support. Now, he can focus on his recovery.

TMZ broke the story ... Dre suffered a brain aneurysm earlier this week and he was rushed by ambulance to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in L.A. He was taken directly to ICU. Dre later thanked his fans for their support and said he's doing great and getting excellent care.

TMZ Sports has obtained dashcam footage of Rashard "Hollywood" Higgins' recent traffic stop ... which shows cops ordering the Cleveland Browns receiver to destroy an alleged marijuana joint on camera.

As we previously reported, Higgins and teammate Jedrick Wills were cited for drag racing in Ohio at around 9:30 AM on Tuesday.

In video of Higgins' traffic stop ... you can see a Westlake PD responding officer ask the 26-year-old about his car smelling like weed.

The player told the officers he had smoked in the car the day before ... but in video, you can see one of the cops says he found a joint in Higgins' pocket.

What happens next is crazy ... one of the cops mentions getting busted for weed could be "bad for press" -- so he ordered the player to crush the joint with his foot and kick it into the sewer.

"You guys are celebrities around here, so you don't want that hittin' the news, OK?" the officer said ... adding he'd only hit Higgins with a ticket for drag racing.

Higgins compiled throughout the stop ... and even admitted to cops he's "better than that."

As for Wills, his interaction with officers was much less eventful.

A cop scolded the 21-year-old for the alleged racing ... and Wills admitted he and Higgins were "just being d*ckheads."

Both Higgins and Wills are due in court later this month.

Joe Exotic's father has died ... and Joe's loss is now dovetailing with a trip to D.C. for a pardon that would allow Joe to attend his dad's funeral.

We've learned Joe's father, Francis Schreibvogel, recently died following complications from COVID ... The funeral is set for Saturday in Oklahoma, and Joe desperately wants to go.

TMZ broke the story ... Joe's legal team will be flying to Washington D.C. today pushing for that pardon, but now there's an added urgency since the clock is ticking for the funeral.

As we reported, Joe's legal team, headed up by Eric Love, hopped on a friend's jet with a Joe/'Tiger King' wrap that they're flying to D.C. ... making it a show. Love has told TMZ he has a big meeting with someone White House/pardon-related, but he's not saying who.

If Trump doesn't grant the pardon, they have a plan B ... going to a judge and asking for a day pass -- essentially a temporary release -- so Joe can attend his dad's funeral.

The week from hell continues to get worse for the Cleveland Browns ... this time, wide receiver Rashard "Hollywood" Higgins has been cited for drag racing in Ohio.

26-year-old Higgins -- who has 4 TDs and nearly 600 yards receiving this season -- was pulled over along with another vehicle on Tuesday around 9:36 AM in Westlake, according to an incident report obtained by the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram.

Both drivers were cited for drag racing, TMZ Sports has confirmed.

The report also states a suspected marijuana joint was found in one of the cars, but the report doesn't say who the cops allege it belonged to.

Hollywood jokingly tweeted about the incident Tuesday afternoon, saying, "Foot slipped srry."

"Was tryna get away from Covid," he added.

The Browns released a statement to the Chronicle ... saying, "We are aware of the incident, will gather more information and handle this matter appropriately."

The most recent news adds to the Browns' troubles as they prepare for their first playoff appearance since 2002 -- a COVID-19 outbreak has forced head coach Kevin Stefanski, Pro Bowl guard Joel Bitonio and more to miss this Sunday's AFC Wild Card game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Higgins is due back in court for the case later this month.

Miya Ponsetto falsely accusing a Black teen of stealing her iPhone and attacking him had nothing to do with racism ... at least according to her lawyer, who says she was having a panic attack.

Attorney Sharen H. Ghatan is representing Miya and her mother, Nicole Ponsetto, and Ghatan tells TMZ ... the NYC incident that led to Miya getting labeled "SoHo Karen" is not what everyone is making it out to be.

Her lawyer says she was in NYC visiting her father for Christmas, and like everyone else -- her whole life is on her phone and she needed it to navigate the city. He says she started feeling anxious when she realized she'd lost it.

Ghatan claims Miya has a history of anxiety attacks and was experiencing one when she accused Keyon Harrold's 14-year-old son of stealing her phone and went after him. Ghatan isn't excusing her aggression -- she says that wasn't right, but insists it was anxiety-induced ... not racially charged.

All of that is, no doubt, info NYPD will want to hear. Detectives investigating the iPhone incident are flying to L.A. this week to speak with Miya ... but that could become an issue, because Miya's off the grid.

Ghatan says Miya left home and turned off her phone -- she's not responding to messages from her mother or her attorney, who say they're concerned about her well-being.

They say strangers have shown up at their L.A.-area home, followed them and made threats.

Assuming everything is alright, Ghatan says Miya and Nicole are open to speaking with the Harrold family to gain closure. As for NYPD ... Ghatan tells us detectives will need to talk to her first before getting to Miya.

As we first reported, Miya and her mother have other legal troubles -- they were both arrested in February 2020 for allegedly being drunk in public at the Peninsula hotel in Bev Hills.

The white police officer who shot Jacob Blake -- an unarmed Black man -- at point-blank range seven times won't be criminally charged ... and neither will any of the other cops involved.

Kenosha County District Attorney Michael D. Graveley announced his decision Tuesday, saying Kenosha PD officer Rusten Sheskey would NOT be charged for shooting Blake in August during an attempted arrest.

Graveley explained his decision, saying that after careful review and investigation ... officials simply couldn't find a law he'd broken under the circumstances. D.A. Graveley basically chalked his decision up to self-defense, and it was necessary for Officer Sheskey to use lethal force to stop Jacob from potentially harming him (Sheskey) or others.

According to Wisconsin law, that decision is based on a reasonable belief that Jacob might've done any of that if Sheskey hadn't acted ... and Graveley explains that in their state, that belief falls under the discretion of said officer, who has to make a snap decision.

Graveley goes on to explain that if prosecutors were to go after Sheskey, the burden would be on them in court to disprove a need for self-defense ... which he suggests would've been a losing battle in this case.

He also mentioned this ... Jacob Blake won't face any new criminal charges stemming from this incident either.

Remember, Sheskey, a 7-year vet, chased Blake down as he walked away from him and refused to obey orders to halt. The officer pursued around the other side of his SUV, and when Blake tried opening the door ... Sheskey opened fire into his back from around two feet away. He unloaded seven shots, and somehow Blake survived.

He wasn't unscathed though ... Blake is now paralyzed from the waist down, and spent a good amount of time recovering in the hospital. He's now undergoing spinal cord rehab and has since gained some upper body strength as he navigates his painful new life situation.

Blake's shooting sparked renewed racial justice protests across the country, and it seems like authorities are ramping up for the second wave of unrest. Just this week, Wisconsin's governor, Tony Evers, mobilized 500 National Guard troops to help local law enforcement.

Kenosha's Common Council passed a resolution to enforce a pre-emptive curfew for up to 8 days after Graveley's announcement. There are other measures going into effect too ... reduced bus service, road closures, designated spaces for demonstrations, concrete barricades and fences going up to protect certain buildings ... and, of course, businesses are boarding up.

Dr. Dre's full of it if he says he doesn't have the cash to keep supporting his estranged wife's lifestyle ... at least that's what her accountant says in new legal docs.

Nicole Young filed docs detailing how much she claims the couple spent over a 3-year period and how much dough Dre has on hand right now ... and it's impressive.

According to the docs ... Young's CPA says Dre has a whopping $262 MILLION available right now in cash and Apple stock. The accountant says selling Apple stock was the primary source of funding their lifestyle from 2017-19, and believes that will continue to be the case.

So, just how much were they spending during that time? The CPA claims their marital living expenses were $2.3 mil PER MONTH -- and despite spending about $245 mil over that 3-year period ... their available cash still increased by $26 million. Hey, Apple's been a good investment.

Based on these figures, Nicole's accountant insists Dre's got plenty of funds to contribute to Nicole's attorney fees, and "maintain the status quo" of their lifestyle.

Of course, that's a big part of the spousal support battle in their divorce. We broke the story ... Dre has warned Nicole she needs to learn to start spending less and claims he's giving her more than enough to live on for now.

As we reported ... he says he's been dishing out $293,306 a month to her while their divorce plays out, but she's filed docs seeking $2 million a month in temporary spousal support.

The family of the Southern California man who died after being arrested at a grocery store is following through with a lawsuit that describes the incident in eerily similar detail to George Floyd's death.

Ernie Serrano's mother, Maria Lowrie, has filed a wrongful death suit against the County of Riverside and its Sheriff's Dept -- along with the Stater Bros. Market where the incident occurred -- claiming they killed her son.

According to the legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- Lowrie claims Serrano was shopping on December 15 when store security began to pester him and then physically confronted him.

Serrano's mom says the security contacted the sheriff's office and falsely accused him of assault with a deadly weapon -- she claims he was unarmed. The store claims he had reached for the security guard's weapon.

According to the suit ... when deputies showed up they immediately were hostile toward Serrano and "escalated a very minor situation, into a fatal situation."

Lowrie claims her son was not aggressive toward the officers, but they responded with unreasonable brute force -- including beating him and using a Taser.

According to the suit ... the deputies were not satisfied with tasing and beating Serrano with a baton, so they took him down and pummeled him with their fists. Lowrie claims they continued to torture him for nearly 7 minutes, including slamming him on his stomach on a checkout stand and cutting off his air supply.

Lowrie says while her son was pinned down, he screamed out "I can't breathe man" and pleaded for help. Instead, a spit mask was placed on him, which allegedly restricted his breathing even more ... and Serrano's mom claims he was spitting blood into it as he begged them to take it off.

According to the suit ... after 6 minutes and 40 seconds of being pinned down forcefully, a deputy realized he wasn't breathing and had lost consciousness. Lowrie believes he was likely already dead by the time of this discovery.

Serrano's mom's accusing the deputies of ignoring all of the factors that can lead to death by asphyxia, denying him proper medical care, and assault and battery leading to his death. She wants the Stater Bros. held accountable for negligence as well.

Justin Combs just wanted to party, but he didn't obey Miami's rules of the water -- so instead, he ended up getting ticketed and towed away from the party. Bad form.

Miami Beach PD tells TMZ ... Diddy's son got busted for operating a jet ski more than 30 minutes after sunset Monday night on Biscayne Bay, and to make matters worse -- we're told neither he nor 2 passengers riding with him were wearing life jackets.

Both things are against the law, so police tell us Justin was issued multiple citations and the Miami Beach PD Marine Patrol towed him back to land to ensure his safety.

We're told this went down around 8 PM, and a witness on the scene tells us Justin was on the jet ski with 2 women heading to a yacht off Star Island to hang out.

We're told cops got to them before they could board the boat, though. It's unclear if they found another way to the yacht later on ... or if they had to settle for partying on land.

Miya Ponsetto, the SoHo Karen who attacked a Black teen after falsely accusing him of stealing her iPhone, had a second DUI arrest last year ... and that means a jailhouse jumpsuit could be in her future.

TMZ obtained court records of Ponsetto's DUI arrest from October 3 in Ventura County -- she was charged with DUI, resisting arrest and obstructing or delaying a peace officer or EMT.

She's entered a not guilty plea for that arrest, but the details sound eerily similar to her previous DUI bust. As we first reported, Ponsetto was stopped on May 28 in Malibu and law enforcement sources told us she went wild on cops during the arrest.

Now, on September 28, she ended up pleading no contest, and a judge gave her 3 years probation ... the terms of which call for her to stay out of further legal trouble. So, getting arrested just 5 days later for a 2nd DUI is a serious problem for her.

According to court records, a letter of a possible probation violation has already been sent to L.A. County where she's on probation. It'll be up to the D.A.'s Office and a judge, but Ponsetto's now looking at the possibility of doing time for the violation.

She's due back in court Jan. 28, for the 2nd DUI. She also has a pretrial hearing that same day for a drunk in public arrest from last February in Bev Hills -- and of course, NYPD still wants to talk to her about the iPhone incident.

Tyrese's estranged wife filed for divorce more than 3 months before he announced their split, and she claims he changed the locks at their home ... something Tyrese denies.

Samantha Lee Gibson filed divorce docs back in September, and in the petition she alleges Tyrese had, just a few weeks earlier, cut her off financially, and locked her and their 2-year-old daughter, Soraya, out of the family's Georgia home.

Tyrese is calling BS, though ... in docs he filed, he denies leaving them out in the cold. On the other hand, he admits having major issues with Samantha's demand for $20,000 per month in child support. He calls that number "unreasonably high."

As for what led up to their split -- Tyrese says when he flew home from a movie set in late August, Samantha confronted him ... kicking off a tense, 3-hour conversation where she threatened to call cops.

Tyrese says he left the house in an Uber because he wanted no part of a police interaction due to "multiple public incidents involving police brutality and racially motivated killings of unarmed African American people."

Bobby Shmurda's 2021 is off to a good start, because the incarcerated rapper could get sprung early -- as soon as next month -- if he can stay out of trouble.

The Department of Corrections just updated the Miami rapper's conditional release date to February 23, 2021 ... which is about 10 months earlier than when his sentence was expected to end at New York's Clinton Correctional Facility.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... this decision was made by the Time Allowance Committee, which consists of prison staff, but not the parole board. We’re told the Committee reviewed Shmurda's behavior and participation in prison programs and decided to bump up his conditional release date.

If he is released, he'll be under parole supervision, but we're told any mess-ups or bad behavior between now and Feb. 23 could nullify the earlier conditional release date ... and he'd likely have to serve out his full sentence until December 11, 2021.

As we first told you ... Shmurda was denied parole in September due to multiple violations while in prison -- including allegedly having a shank, fighting and drug possession. The possibility of a February release would seem to indicate he's turned things around since the parole board's rejection.

As we reported ... the rapper copped a plea deal back in September 2016 to conspiracy to possess weapons and possession of a weapon.

Uncle Sam is coming after the big cats at Jeff Lowe's zoo, all because of a euthanized tiger cub ... but he says he had no choice.

Here's the deal ... the feds want to seize a bunch of big cats the 'Tiger King' star is looking after at his zoo in Oklahoma, following what they say was an unauthorized euthanasia.

According to new docs, obtained by TMZ, the feds claim Jeff put down a tiger -- which they insist is a big no-no without Uncle Sam's blessing -- so the feds are asking him to hand over all his big cats that are a year old or younger, plus their mothers.

But, Jeff says it's not his fault, telling TMZ ... he noticed a young cub, almost 6 months old, limping around its enclosure. He says the cub was pulled from its mother and taken to a veterinarian for x-rays.

Jeff tells us the vet diagnosed the cub with metabolic bone disease, and said the animal needed to be euthanized ... so they did.

Remember ... the USDA last year claimed the animals at Jeff's zoo were in "serious danger" because they were allegedly getting substandard care.

Nicki Minaj's being sued for more than $200 million over her song "Rich Sex" ... which a Queens rapper claims she ripped off after he played it for her.

Jawara Headley -- a Queens rapper who goes by Brinx Billions -- is suing Nicki, claiming he let her hear his version of "Rich Sex" sometime before 2016. In docs, obtained by TMZ, Brinx claims Nicki told him it would be extremely marketable and become a global hit.

But, Brinx -- who calls himself a songwriter, artist, music producer, composer and rapper -- claims Nicki jacked his song and put it on her "Queen" album. Although, he's not credited as such ... Brinx insists he's the sole author/creator/composer/writer/producer of "Rich Sex."

Brinx says he's known Nicki since 2007, when they met on MySpace, but he's still pissed his pal allegedly ripped specific lyrics, such as ... "It ain't such a thing as broke and handsome." Beyond lyrics, he says her song also has similar music, musical notes, musical arrangement, musical beats and musical rhythm.

Brinx is suing Minaj, along with Universal Music Group, Young Money, and Cash Money, for more than $200 million in damages. We've reached out for comment, so far no word back.

Miya Ponsetto is doing a really bad job at laying low in her hometown, because she's been out and about ... and not without controversy.

The 22-year-old -- who falsely accused Keyon Harrold's teenage son of stealing her phone -- has surfaced in her SoCal neighborhood, where on Sunday ... her mother called the cops on a few paps who were looking to snap some shots and get interviews with the latest 'Karen.'

Check out these photos ... it's Nicole Ponsetto pulling over on the side of the road and speaking with officers, whom we're told then came over and talked to the paps to figure out what was going on. The cops apparently determined things were on the up and up, so they left.

That's where things get interesting ... one of the paps who spoke to cops said an officer told him Nicole had said they were wasting their time because Miya had left town. Nicole drove off ... alone. Thing is ... around a half-hour later, Miya and her mom pulled up into their driveway. You can see Nicole facing off with paps, who filmed from a distance.

As we reported, the NYPD and the paparazzi, are looking to talk to Miya about her SoHo altercation.

Since leaving NYC, Miya's been spotted in and around Ventura County ... she even had a quick walk-and-a-talk with a photographer a couple days ago on her way outta Mickey D's.

The cameraman asks her point-blank ... does she regret what she did to 14-year-old Keyon Jr. -- namely alleging he'd stolen her phone only to have returned to her from someone else later. Watch ... her answer (or non-answer) is telling -- doesn't sound like she's remorseful.

In fact, Miya even goes so far as to say that she doesn't "know what the problem is here" and adds that she's 22 herself, almost as if that justifies anything. She also points out that she's of Puerto Rican descent without being asked ... again, almost like a cop-out.

She finally ends the interview and slams her car door -- the photog asked all the right questions (including whether she's aware that the NYPD would like a word) but Miya doesn't offer much on that front. She drives off in the same Range Rover as the one Sunday.

In any case ... Miya and her mom are far from out of the woods when it comes to legal woes. As we told you, she and her mother were arrested last year for an incident at the Peninsula in Bev Hills ... one in which her mom allegedly attacked a cop. Both were charged for being drunk in public, while Miya's mother was also charged with battery on an officer.

The Black teenager who was falsely accused of stealing a woman's phone is now in need of therapy because the incident has seriously scarred him ... this according to his parents.

Keyon Harrold tells TMZ ... he and his ex-wife, Kat, are currently vetting therapists and looking to get their son -- 14-year-old Keyon Jr. -- into trauma therapy soon. Keyon (the dad) tells us his son is seriously traumatized ... and a lot has to do with Miya Ponsetto immediately zeroing in on him.

Keyon Jr. asked his dad a simple question that unearths lots of serious issues, including self-doubt ... "Why Me?"

Keyon says he's raised his son to become a proud, Black man, saying, "I have tried to instill dignity in my son. I'm trying to build his ego, because for so long egos of Black men have been shattered."

Keyon feels without professional help, his mission may be torpedoed by Ponsetto's vicious attack on his son. His dad tells us, "He wonders if he's good enough to own an iPhone, or whether he's out of place at a nice hotel." That, Keyon says, must immediately be nipped in the bud.

There's also a practical problem. Both parents are musicians and travel a lot, which means they stay at hotels quite a bit. Keyon says his son is now showing fear about going to hotels. Keyon Jr. has told his dad he's afraid someone will come from behind and tackle him. He's also afraid of being accused of a crime. In fact, he told his dad the day of the incident he felt like a criminal.

Keyon's handling it with broad strokes ... "You definitely belong, everywhere you go."

By the way ... long before the incident, Keyon and his son have talked about social justice issues, and the tragedies of Emmett Till, Michael Brown, George Floyd, and on and on.