Legal

The SoulCycle instructor who described herself as an "educator" in order to get the COVID-19 vaccine may have committed a crime ... but we've learned it's unlikely she'll be charged.

Stacey Griffith's looking at a possible perjury charge -- or a charge of offering a false instrument for filing -- if it's shown she knowingly submitted a false statement on the vaccine eligibility form ... this according to the New York State Dept. of Health.

Both charges are misdemeanors, and if convicted ... she'd face up to 1 year in prison and a fine of up to $1,000.

A law enforcement source connected to the matter tells TMZ ... it would be rare for prosecutors to charge someone with a crime under these circumstances.

Our source says Griffith could easily make the case she thought she legitimately qualified for the vaccine. In other words, she is a teacher ... and although her conduct clearly violates the spirit of the rules ... it probably falls short of criminality.

As we reported ... Griffith caught flak after sharing a since-deleted photo of herself getting the first dose of the Moderna vaccine, while most school teachers have still not been vaccinated in NY.

She apologized afterward, claiming to have made a "terrible error in judgment."

Casey Anthony will mark the 10-year anniversary of her acquittal by partnering up with a couple of producers for a documentary about her daughter's murder.

Casey -- along with producers Tamra Simmons and Ebony Porter-Ike -- is currently developing a documentary about the notorious Florida vs. Casey Anthony trial.

Casey will be an executive producer for what's being dubbed an "authorized" documentary in which Casey will offer her viewpoint of the gruesome death of her 2-year-old Caylee Anthony in 2008.

Of course, Caylee's mother was charged with her murder, but was acquitted in 2011 ... sparking outrage and condemnation throughout the country.

Casey and her co-producers say she's "finally ready to clear her name, bring justice to her daughter and begin the process of establishing her daughter's legacy in a different light."

The producers claim "many of the revelations will be shocking," and will answer questions much of the nation has had since the trial. Remember, Casey did not take the stand.

They don't teach this in law school, but they do in playas school -- a Florida man turning on the charm with an attractive judge only to fall flat on his face.

Demetrius Lewis appeared in Judge Tabitha Blackmon's Fort Lauderdale courtroom Thursday for his bail hearing. Due to COVID, it was held remotely, but Lewis was still determined to kick some game to the Judge.

He opened with, "Judge you so gorgeous. I just had to tell you. I love you, I love you." Yeah, Lewis poured it on pretty thick, and actually got a smile out of Judge Blackmon ... who seemed receptive. But, watch the video ... seconds later she totally burst his bubble.

Lewis is facing charges of attempted burglary and ecstasy possession, and also got vocal during the prosecutor's remarks, blurting out, "Whaaat??!!" Yes, just like Lil Jon.

Entertaining for sure, but he might wanna let a lawyer do the talking. Judge Blackmon set his bail at $5,000 ... and Romeo's still sitting in jail.

Great news for Josh Jacobs and the Raiders ... the massive gash the NFL star suffered on his forehead after crashing his car in Las Vegas last month is healing up well.

The running back showed off his face in videos on his social media page Wednesday ... and you can see, there's hardly any remnants of the huge cut that was so prevalent on his noggin just four weeks ago.

As we previously reported, Jacobs sustained the wound after wrecking his ride at around 4:42 a.m. on Jan. 4 near the Vegas airport.

Cops say when they came on to the scene ... they saw the 22-year-old was bleeding from a "large laceration" on his forehead. Officers added the injuries were so bad, Jacobs had to be transported to the hospital for treatment.

Jacobs -- who just hours before the crash had dominated in a game against the Denver Broncos -- was ultimately arrested over the wreck ... with cops believing he had been drinking prior to getting behind the wheel.

Prosecutors, though, announced just a few days after the accident they were NOT charging the NFL player with DUI ... and instead, hit him with one misdemeanor count of Duty of Driver to Decrease Speed Under Certain Circumstances.

Panic! At The Disco's original bassist is in a heap of trouble out in Sin City -- because the guy's facing multiple felonies for drugs and possession of a gun.

According to a Las Vegas Metro PD report, obtained by TMZ, Brent Wilson was pulled over on Jan. 22 after cops say he crossed 3 lanes of traffic without a turn signal, cutting off oncoming traffic.

During the stop, the officer says he saw a bag with a white substance inside sitting out in the open in Wilson's center console.

Ya know what that means ... time for a search, and cops say they discovered substances consistent with coke and heroin in his pockets and in the car, as well as a scale and a lot of little baggies.

On top of that, the police say they found a loaded handgun too. Plus, they say Wilson was already on probation for a previous offense. They hauled him off to jail, and he's been charged with possession with intent to sell and possession of a gun by a prohibited person.

His attorney, Dustin Marcello, tells us it's too early to make a call on the merits of the case.

O.J. Simpson is still DEEEEEEEP in the hole to the Goldman Family -- only paying $132,849.53 ... despite reportedly owing more than $70 MILLION.

... it's all according to new court documents filed by Fred Goldman in Nevada in the hopes of collecting from the ex-NFL star in the state where Simpson now lives.

Of course, back in 1997 ... O.J. was ordered to pay $33.5 million to the Goldman family after he was found liable in the killing of Ron Goldman, who was slashed to the death along with Nicole Brown Simpson in Brentwood, CA in 1994.

Interest has caused the initial $33.5 million to balloon -- it was at $57 mil in 2015, according to Goldman and there are reports that number has now cracked $70 mil.

Simpson spent several years in prison for a 2007 armed robbery -- but in 2018, after he was released, Fred Goldman claimed O.J. had resumed making money from signing autographs for collectors and he wasn't handing over the proceeds to satisfy the judgment.

So, he's filed new court docs in Nevada to keep the heat on Simpson, who regularly flaunts a carefree life on social media which shows him bouncing from golf course to golf course in the Las Vegas area, instead of hunting for "the real killer."

Former Ohio police officer Adam Coy, who shot and killed Andre Hill in his own garage, has been indicted for murder.

A grand jury just indicted Coy for murder in the commission of a felony and felonious assault, plus two counts of dereliction of duty and failing to turn on his body cam.

Coy was arrested Wednesday and his first court appearance is set for Thursday.

As we reported ... Coy, a 19-year veteran of the Columbus Police Department, fatally shot an unarmed Hill inside his own garage Dec. 22 while responding to a non-emergency call.

Coy and the other responding officer allegedly did not turn on their body cams before the fatal shooting, but the body cams have a feature capturing the minute before it's turned on ... and that's how the shooting was recorded, though there's no audio.

The body cam video shows Coy and the other officer waiting 10 minutes before helping a dying Hill.

Taylor Swift's new album is creating a major mix-up between folks looking for her tunes, and those looking to get their goblin on ... at least according to a fantasy park.

The owners of the Utah-based park called Evermore are suing Tay-Tay for trademark infringement -- claiming they own the rights to the name “evermore,” and saying Swift trampled said rights when she started selling merch with that branding to promote her album by the same name.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, the Evermore park camp claims it's poured many millions of dollars into building the facility, branding and selling its own gear since the park was conceived in 2014 and, of course, when it opened in 2018.

The park owners say they've got 'Evermore' trademarked for a number of different purposes -- including clothing and other merchandise they sell ... all of which they claim was diluted once TS dropped 'evermore' in late 2020.

Evermore park brass alleges since the record came out, their search results are way down in Google, and that it's legitimately causing confusion in the marketplace ... which they say is hurting their bottom line.

They also allege Tay's team was aware that the trademark for 'Evermore' was snatched up, but proceeded with their own campaign anyway ... figuring they'd drown out the park.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is getting hit with one of the side effects of holding elected office in the 21st century -- she's getting sued for blocking someone on Twitter.

The freshman Republican congresswoman from Georgia just got slapped with a lawsuit by a political action committee that's actually pretty popular online. It's called MeidasTouch, and they're known for criticizing politicians -- especially right-leaning ones -- and getting unique hashtags trending every now and then ... much like The Lincoln Project or Really American.

Anyway, according to the docs -- obtained by TMZ and filed by Ben Meiselas and Michael Popok -- Meidas says Greene blocked them at some point after Jan. 6 ... which they believe was in direct response to her being ticked off about their scrutiny/commentary of her for allegedly posting conspiracy theories.

As a result, Meidas says it's unable to view any of her tweets from her official account -- @mtgreenee from which she more often tweets personal views -- which they claim is unconstitutional, because she's a public political figure.

In the suit, Meidas claims she can't ice someone out just because she disagrees with them.

It's interesting ... they cite another famous example of political Twitter blocking involving Trump ... who was sued a few years ago for blocking someone in a similar situation. In that case, the federal court ruled it was unconstitutional to block specific viewpoints in this way ... although Trump's lawyers are trying to appeal the case to the Supreme Court.

Kyle Rittenhouse, the teen charged with homicide in the Kenosha, WI killings, isn't complying with his bond ... according to prosecutors, who want him to pay $200k more.

The State of Wisconsin claims Rittenhouse is no longer living at the address listed with the court, and has failed to update it within 48 hours of moving ... which violates the conditions of his bond.

Prosecutors claim Rittenhouse has not lived where he claims he's living since at least mid-December -- based on an investigation by Kenosha PD -- and has failed to provide the court with his current address for weeks.

According to legal docs ... this means the court can't effectively monitor his whereabouts.

Further, the State claims Rittenhouse has no incentive to comply with his bond conditions because neither he nor his family had to come up with his $2 million bond ... rather the money came from a "dubious Internet fundraising campaign."

Prosecutors claim Rittenhouse, therefore, has no financial stake, and doesn't care to follow the rules ... which they say he demonstrated by hitting up a bar last month, allegedly hanging with Proud Boys members and flashing white supremacy hand signs.

The State of Wisconsin's asking the judge to increase Rittenhouse's bond by another $200k in an attempt to get him to take it more seriously.

As you'll recall ... Rittenhouse is charged over the killing of 2 protesters and wounding a 3rd during the civil unrest in Kenosha that exploded following Jacob Blake's shooting. Video allegedly shows him shooting 2 of the 3 people before walking right past police.

James Marsters -- best known for his role in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" -- is about to be single again ... his wife has filed for divorce.

According to court records ... the actor's wife, Patricia Jasmin Rahman, filed divorce docs Wednesday in L.A. County Court. Their split comes 10 years after the couple tied the knot in a private ceremony in L.A.

Patricia and James had what used to be called a May-September relationship -- he's 23 years older than her -- but that's not all that uncommon in Hollywood these days. They didn't have any children together.

The Pennsylvania State Troopers who shot and killed a suicidal teenager are about to be sued ... and his heartbroken mother has a question for the cops who killed her only son.

Civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and Devon Jacob are representing Christian Hall's family, and they just announced plans to file suit and are calling for an internal investigation into his death at the hands of law enforcement.

As we reported ... PA State Troopers responding to a call about a suicidal man on a highway overpass in Hamilton Township back in December ended up shooting him dead during a standoff that played out before horrified drivers watching from below.

Police say 19-year-old Hall was holding a handgun when troopers arrived and initially obeyed orders to place the weapon on the ground ... but cops say he later reached for the weapon, started walking toward troopers and pointed the gun at them, so they opened fire.

Crump says Hall was having a mental health crisis at the time and was crying out for help, but instead of de-escalating the situation, troopers settled it with a gun.

A champagne company in which Drake's heavily invested claims it got screwed by a distributor that's treating its luxury product like cheap booze ... and it thinks "racial bigotry" is involved.

Mod Selection is suing the retail store Total Wine & More for allegedly conspiring with the distributor Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits to destroy the brand ... and claims the distributor was downright racist when it came to marketing the champagne.

According to docs, Mod entered an agreement with Southern in 2018, but claims the distributor failed to market the high-end champagne the right way ... and it all comes back to the famous rapper.

Drake -- who's not suing or being sued, but is described in the suit as an investor and brand ambassador for Mod Selection -- was holding a bottle of it on stage in 2019 when he accepted his Billboard Music Award for Best Male Artist.

In the docs ... Mod says Drake permitted the company to use his name, image and likeness to promote and market their champagne, but Mod claims Southern Glazer damaged that relationship when it "repeatedly subjected [Drake] to browbeating and dismissive treatment."

Mod claims Drake considered this treatment to be motivated by "racial bigotry" ... and says he was also angry Southern marketed Mod as a "black" or "rapper's" champagne ... suggesting racial insensitivity. Attorneys for Mod tell us they have texts from Drake calling out Southern.

All of this led to Southern terminating its deal with Mod in 2019, but Mod alleges the distributor twisted the knife one last time ... by dumping its remaining Mod supply at Total Wine & More locations for as low as $49-149 per bottle -- when it should be selling for $300-400.

Drake's high-powered attorney, Larry Stein, says he doesn't know if Drake sent angry texts to Mod Selection -- but says he's been involved in all the negotiations and had no idea Mod was even filing this lawsuit.

Silento's family is banding together on the heels of his arrest for allegedly murdering his cousin ... and they’re addressing reports the rapper's been battling mental health issues.

A rep for Silento, Chanel Hudson, tells TMZ ... the family's trying to move forward as a close-knit group. As we reported, the rapper's facing a murder charge in Georgia for the fatal shooting of his cousin, Frederick Rooks.

We're told the family is reeling from both events -- Rooks' death on Jan. 21, and then Silento's arrest 11 days later.

Hudson claims Silento's been suffering from a "series of mental health illnesses" for years, including depression and we're told the family echoes her concern about his well-being.

Silento is being held without bail in DeKalb County Jail and his entertainment attorney, Bernie Lawrence-Watkins, tells TMZ ... he needs a psychiatric evaluation ASAP and should be watched closely.

She told us they don't think he would take his life behind bars, but admits "anything is possible," and they want to make sure the jail is taking proper precautions.

Silento had an opportunity to get mental health treatment in 2019 after he appeared on "The Doctors" to talk about depression -- however we're told he never followed through. Folks on his team feel that's when things started to unravel.

Marilyn Manson's record label is dropping the hammer ... cutting him hours after his ex, Evan Rachel Wood, publicly claimed the shock rocker abused her for years.

The "Westworld" star posted a statement Monday morning, calling out her former fiance by name for the first time. She claims ... "The name of my abuser is Brian Warner, also known to the world as Marilyn Manson."

Manson has yet to respond to the allegations, but Loma Vista Recordings has announced, "In light of today’s disturbing allegations by Evan Rachel Wood and other women naming Marilyn Manson as their abuser, Loma Vista will cease to further promote his current album, effective immediately."

The label says it won't be working with Manson in the future either.

In her statement, Wood claimed Manson "started grooming me when I was a teenager and horrifically abused me for years. I was brainwashed and manipulated into submission. I am done living in fear of retaliation, slander, or blackmail."

Wood and Manson were known to be dating in 2007 -- when she was 19 and he was 38 -- and they got engaged in 2010, but split later that year.

In a Rolling Stone article in 2016, Wood began speaking out about being a survivor of sexual abuse and domestic violence and became an activist for other survivors.

She went before Congress in 2018 to describe her struggles as a rape victim, and push for the sexual assault survivor's bill of rights to be passed nationwide. Still, she's never named her alleged abuser until today.

Due to the timing of her public comments, many already believed she was referring to Manson. He'd also made a disturbing comment in 2009 about fantasizing about killing Wood in an interview with Spin.

However, he publicly denied any wrongdoing this past fall.

It took 3 police officers to detain massive NFL lineman Chad Wheeler during a bloody domestic violence rampage at his GF's apartment ... and cops described the battle like they were trying to subdue a bear.

According to multiple police reports, obtained by TMZ Sports, the Kent P.D. officers got a heads up that the suspect in the Jan. 22 incident was Seattle Seahawks OL Chad Wheeler, who was listed at 6'7", 315 pounds.

When they arrived at the scene and saw Chad's GF was badly injured, they said they raced to subdue the 27-year-old ... despite the fact he fights off bigger and stronger men for a living.

One cop said in the docs, "When I grabbed ahold of Chad, I could tell that he was very solid and muscular as he was not easy to move."

The officer said he began to understand the strength of Wheeler when all three responding cops piled on top of him -- and it barely slowed Wheeler down.

"As the three of us (with a combined weight of about 700 pounds) were on top of Chad, I could feel him lifting his body up like he was pushing up to get away," one officer said.

"Chad, whose massive size took up the whole length and width of the bathroom floor, was able to lift his body about three to six inches temporarily with what appeared to be little effort from him."

According to the police report, cops say Wheeler was not cooperative ... so they used a Taser in an effort to detain him -- but it had "little to no effect."

When officers were finally ready to put him in handcuffs, Wheeler's size and strength continued to be a factor.

"Chad was so strong that even with the combined weight of three officers he was able to move around and prevent us from putting his arms behind his back," one officer said.

Ultimately, cops were able to take Wheeler into custody -- but they said he was so big, they were concerned he wouldn't fit in a standard police cruiser ... so they called for the larger jail van to take him to the station.

Wheeler was later arrested and hit with three criminals charges -- including 1st-degree domestic violence assault -- over the incident.

The NFL player -- who blamed all of his actions on a "manic episode" -- pled not guilty to the charges at a hearing in a Washington courtroom on Monday.