Legal

Brian Laundrie is brazenly attempting to check into Canadian hotels while on the run ... at least that's what one TikToker's suggesting, based on a sighting earlier this week.

According to the woman ... Gabby Petito's fiance -- or at least someone who looks like him -- was at a hotel in Toronto last Monday. She says she saw the guy "getting flustered" as he left the hotel and got into a car with another man.

The woman -- who is TikTok user @cwlynnn and also apparently a flight attendant -- claims she informed the hotel staff it may have been Laundrie, and was told whoever it was ... he didn't have the right hotel and didn't know where he was going.

She also posted a blurry photo of the man ... with a facemask around his chin. It's unclear if the woman reported the sighting to the authorities along with the hotel staff.

As we reported ... there was another potential Laundrie sighting earlier this week in Baker, FL -- about 500 miles from his home -- on a man's trail camera in the wilderness. Police later confirmed it was NOT Brian ... and the search is still on.

Laundrie is officially a wanted man after the feds issued an arrest warrant Wednesday and charged him with one count of use of unauthorized access devices. Specifically, prosecutors claim Laundrie used a Capital One Bank debit card belonging to Gabby, but made it clear that the warrant is "related to Mr. Laundrie’s activities following the death of Gabrielle Petito."

21 Savage's notorious ICE case from 2019 is circling back again ... the rapper's now facing gun and drugs charges in connection with the original incident with ICE agents.

According to the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office ... Savage is facing 2 new charges related to his arrest in Atlanta back in Feb. 2019 -- possession of a schedule II controlled substance, and possession of a gun.

The rapper turned himself in to authorities Thursday and bonded out right away. According to 21's lawyer, Charles Kuck, this is a state law charge related to his incident with ICE 2.5 years ago.

Kuck tells us, "Last night’s manufactured charges are yet another example of how our justice system, from ICE down to the local level, unjustly targets young Black men who seek to exercise their rights. There is no legitimate basis for these charges nor for ICE’s continued antics, and we will fight until Mr. Joseph is justly vindicated.”

As we reported back then ... Savage was arrested and placed in ICE custody because it was discovered that his visa expired and he's been here illegally for years. ICE is still trying to deport Savage to England ... something the rapper has been fighting.

What TMZ has now learned, is that during the Feb. 2019 arrest ... authorities allege 21 threw a bottle of liquid that had codeine in it out of his car, and a handgun was found inside the vehicle.

Hence, he's now been formally charged with drug and gun possession as his upcoming hearing in immigration court approaches. It's set for November.

Universal Music is on the verge of commemorating the 30th anniversary of Nirvana's "Nevermind" with several multi-format reissues ... but the grown-up baby on the iconic album cover has one message -- don't use the damn genitalia pic!!!

Spencer Elden -- the man who was the naked baby pictured in a swimming pool on Nirvana's 1991 iconic album cover -- has already sued over the image. His lawyer, Maggie Mabie, tells TMZ ... she's demanding Universal redact the image of Elden's genitalia from all future album covers.

What's more ... Mabie says it's time to "end this child exploitation and violation of privacy." She says every year, during the anniversary of the release of "Nevermind" ... Elden has to brace himself for renewed, unwanted attention from the media and fans alike.

She says with the 30th anniversary of the album release slated for Friday, Elden's once again fears he'll be subjected to public scorn and ridicule.

Then there's this ... Universal is planning to release several multi-format reissues beginning November 12. There will be a total of 94 audio and video tracks -- including 70 previously unreleased -- made available in digital, CD and single-disc vinyl with a bonus 7-inch. The reissues have all been digitally remastered. The video tracks are CD and Blu-ray.

That's all fine and dandy ... but Elden wants Universal to quit using the famous naked baby on future album covers.

Jennifer Hough -- the attempted rape victim of Nicki Minaj's husband, Kenneth Petty -- says she's been bombarded with hate-filled messages from Nicki's fans ever since giving her first on-camera interview about her lawsuit against the couple.

Hough's getting a flurry of disturbing direct messages and some threats ... according to her attorney, Tyrone Blackburn. He tells TMZ it all started immediately after Jennifer went on "The Real" earlier this week.

We've obtained some of the DMs sent to Jennifer, which include inflammatory insults, someone wishing death upon her, and we're told there was also a concerning tweet in which someone shared her personal contact information.

Blackburn says the scary response from Nicki's fans reinforces what Jennifer expressed in her 'Real' interview -- she's had to live her life in constant fear for years, change her phone, move and quit jobs ... all because of her connection to Petty.

If you aren't familiar, Jennifer was the victim in Petty's 1995 conviction for first-degree attempted rape in NY -- which is why he has to register as a sex offender. You may recall, Petty was charged with not registering in California, and recently took a plea deal.

In August, Hough sued Nicki and Kenneth for allegedly harassing and threatening her to not speak about the incident. On a more positive note, Blackburn says Jennifer's TV appearance has inspired other women to tell their own stories, and they've reached out to say they're standing behind her.

An L.A. Lakers fan is suing an LAPD cop ... claiming the officer shot him in the head with a rubber bullet while he was peacefully celebrating the Lakers championship last year, and now he wants the officer to pay up.

The fan, Kimberly Marroquin, filed the civil lawsuit Thursday in California … claiming she was peacefully and legally celebrating the 'ship against the Miami Heat on October 11, 2020 ... around 9:15 PM.

"Without warning or provocation", the suit reads, the officer "shot [Marroquin] in the head with a less lethal rubber projectile round."

Marroquin was "unarmed and never posed a threat," according to the lawsuit.

She’s going after an unnamed officer, the Captain she claims was responsible for overseeing the area where she was celebrating, and the City of Los Angeles.

As a result of the alleged excessive force, the plaintiff claims she "suffered severe pain and suffering, mental anguish, humiliation, and emotional distress, and incurred economic losses" from mounting medical bills.

The lawsuit also accuses the LAPD of failing to properly train their officers ... as well as refusing to punish cops who screw up.

Marroquin is asking for unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, medical costs, and attorneys' fees. The exact amount she's seeking is unclear.

We've reached out to the LAPD, who told us they don't comment on pending litigation.

The family of Brian Laundrie -- the main person of interest in the death of Gabby Petito -- has not retained the lawyer known for representing other notorious defendants like Casey Anthony and Aaron Hernandez ... despite swirling rumors.

Attorney Jose Baez tells TMZ ... he has not spoken to the Laundrie family or Brian himself. He says, "Therefore, I do not represent him or anyone else related to the case" and tells us his current caseload makes it very unlikely he'd be available for this case "given its current complexities."

Earlier Thursday, Laundrie's parents made a 2-hour trip to Orlando and people online noticed they were close to Baez's office ... which sparked speculation they were looking to hire him. But, we're told that's not the case, and the Laundries' lawyer says they were simply there for business.

As you know ... Baez was responsible for getting Casey Anthony acquitted in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee.

Baez was also the lawyer for NFL star Aaron Hernandez's in both his 2012 double murder case and his 2013 murder appeal ... until Hernandez killed himself in prison.

As we've reported ... Laundrie is still missing roughly a week after his parents first told authorities he took his backpack and went on a hike. Before that, he was named a person of interest in the disappearance of Gabby, his fiancee, after returning home from a cross-country trip on Sept. 1 without her.

Weeks before that, the couple were involved in a domestic dispute in Utah, in which a 911 caller said he saw Brian slapped and hit Gabby.

Martin Luther King Jr.'s name got dragged into R. Kelly's federal trial on multiple sex crimes in a pretty outrageous way -- his attorney says the singer should be acquitted because he's just like MLK.

Yeah, try to catch your breath. Closing arguments are going down Thursday in the federal court in Brooklyn, NY -- and defense attorney Deveraux Cannick drew the comparison by telling the jury Kelly is demanding prosecutors prove he's guilty beyond a reasonable doubt ... the same way Dr. King fought for Constitutional rights.

He went on to quote a part of MLK's "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech, declaring ... "Somewhere I read of the freedom of speech. Somewhere I read of the freedom of assembly. Somewhere I read of the freedom of the press."

His point seemed to be that Dr. King wanted the government to uphold the Constitution, and Kelly's doing the same ... in his sex crimes trial.

Mind you, Kelly's attorneys only called a handful of witnesses to the stand during the trial -- most of whom merely stated they hadn't seen Kelly doing anything illegal. The singer himself chose not to testify, although that's not uncommon.

Cannick also claimed prosecutors encouraged witnesses to lie on the stand.

Mama June's ex-boyfriend isn't getting any breaks from the judge -- even though he's in rehab, he's in rehab in the wrong state ... which is why he's now a wanted man.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ ... a bench warrant's been issued for Geno Doak in Macon County, Alabama for failing to comply with the terms of his sentencing in his crack cocaine case.

The warrant says Geno's to be taken into custody by any Alabama law enforcement officer and held without bail until he can have a hearing.

The thing is -- as we first told you -- Geno's in South Carolina after checking into a recovery center there earlier this week, and the facility said he made a 120-day commitment to inpatient treatment.

Doak filed docs to loop in the judge from his crack cocaine case about his whereabouts, but unfortunately for him ... he was supposed to be in Alabama as part of his sentence, and failed to relocate there as required.

Angelina Jolie got what she wanted -- a judge just signed off on an agreement with her ex, Brad Pitt, to sell her stake in their rosé business.

We broke the story ... Jolie filed docs in July asking the court to lift a restraining order on the transfer of their assets -- which was put in place early in their divorce -- so she could unload her interest in Nouvel, LLC, their French winery company.

According to new docs, obtained by TMZ, a judge signed off on Brad and Angie's agreement to lift the restraining order -- meaning they worked it out, and she has the green light to sell her part of the company to a third party.

And, it looks like that'll be it for Brangelina ... as far as their joint biz ventures are concerned.

BTW ... Nouvel is the LLC started to operate the Provence chateau and vineyard the former couple bought in 2011 for a reported $60 mil.

Unclear how much it's worth now, but we know Angelina has a prospective buyer on the hook for her portion of it.

Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino had some family drama boil over this week that almost landed someone in handcuffs ... none other than his own sibling.

The "Jersey Shore" star's rep tells TMZ ... Mike had called police on Tuesday evening after his brother, Maximo, showed up to his New Jersey home with a ton of gift bags he was apparently trying to drop off for MS and his newborn son/Maximo's nephew, Romeo.

We're told Maximo excessively rang multiple doorbells, peered inside through the glass, lingered a bit and then turned to leave -- but not before leaving all the presents hanging on the doorknob.

The rep says Mike was watching this from inside -- and instantly called cops, who we're told showed up in less than a minute. They ran into Maximo on his way out and told him he wasn't allowed there unless Mike specifically invited him ... and then let him leave.

We know what you're thinking -- WTF??? Well, Mike and Max have had problems for some time now, and it's become a bit of a legal situation ... according to the rep.

We're told Mike's previously filed harassment claims against Maximo -- most recently in July -- because he feels his brother's been behaving erratically, and he wants a heads up before Maximo comes to the house.

Due to their rocky history, we're told Mike's main priority these days is protecting his wife and kid, and even though they're family ... he thinks what Maximo did crossed a line. That's why he reported it to cops, but he didn't want Max arrested.

As for Maximo's side -- he says he was just dropping off Puma BMW tracksuits for Mike and Romeo. Maximo also says he's saddened by Mike calling the 5-0 on him -- because he'd never do that -- and denies there's any ongoing issues between them ... despite what Mike says. 🤷🏽‍♂️

Linda Evangelista says she's stayed out of the spotlight after a popular cosmetic procedure left her "permanently deformed" and "unrecognizable" ... but she's hiding no more.

The supermodel is finally sounding off about her ordeal and, in part, explaining why her career has stalled all these years while her peers have been thriving.

Linda, one of the hottest supermodels in the '90s who graced Vogue covers, says around 5 years ago she underwent a fat-reduction procedure called CoolSculpting -- no doubt, you've seen and heard the ads.

But, Linda claims instead of freezing fat cells, the procedure did the exact opposite.

She claims the procedure left her "brutally disfigured" and increased, not decreased her fat cells ... and left her "permanently deformed even after undergoing two painful, unsuccessful, corrective surgeries."

Linda added, "I have been left, as the media has described, ‘unrecognizable.'"

Linda says she then developed Paradoxical Adipose Hyperplasia or PAH ... when fat cells grow larger rather than smaller. It's a rare but serious side effect that mostly happens to men.

Linda says she was NOT made aware of this risk before undergoing the procedure. She says PAH "has not only destroyed my livelihood, it has sent me into a cycle of deep depression, profound sadness, and the lowest depths of self-loathing."

She's not only speaking out on social media, Linda filed a federal lawsuit this week against Zeltiq Aesthetics, the company she says created, marketed and distributed the CoolSculpting system. She's seeking no less than $50 million.

Evander Kane did NOT gamble on hockey games ... so says the NHL, which announced Wednesday it has cleared the star after a probe into the allegations turned up "no evidence to support" the claims.

The league launched the investigation several weeks ago ... after Evander's estranged wife, Anna Kane, said the 30-year-old San Jose Sharks player had bet on games in his career.

In her claims, she accused Evander of "throwing games" in order to win cash.

The league, though, said it could not prove any of those allegations after a lengthy dive into the claims.

"The investigation uncovered no evidence to corroborate Ms. Kane's accusations that Mr. Kane bet or otherwise participated in gambling on NHL games, and no evidence to corroborate the allegations that Mr. Kane 'threw' games or did not put forward his best effort to help the Sharks win games," league officials said.

"To the contrary, the evidence raises doubts about the veracity of the allegations."

They continued, "While Mr. Kane denied the accusations, our findings are not based on these denials but instead on other evidence uncovered during the investigation."

The NHL said it probed deep into Kane's public and private history to make sure the hockey player committed no wrongdoing.

It should be noted, though, the league did say Anna "refused to participate in the investigation."

The NHL did say it will still investigate Wednesday's claims that Evander both physically and sexually abused Anna during their relationship -- allegations Evander has already vehemently denied.

Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie had an aggressive and public dispute days before she allegedly disappeared -- and things got so bad, the couple was booted from a Wyoming restaurant ... according to a possible witness.

A woman named Nina Celie Angelo says she and her boyfriend were at The Merry Piglets, a restaurant in Jackson Hole, August 27 and spotted the couple in a "blowout of a situation." Angelo says Gabby and Brian were sitting at the table next to hers.

Angelo claims Gabby was hysterically crying, and at one point Brian and Gabby were even fighting with the restaurant hostess before Gabby went out and stood on the sidewalk.

Angelo says she doesn't know what started the fight, but thought it had to do with the bill.

Brian allegedly came back into the restaurant several times to argue with staff after Gabby left, and Angelo claims he had an "aggressive" demeanor.

We called Merry Piglets to ask about the incident, but they had no comment. They would not specify if they've spoken to authorities, but Nina said she's reported all this to law enforcement.

Brian allegedly returned to his parents' Florida home on September 1 ... without Gabby.

As we've reported, Gabby's body was discovered by investigators Sunday afternoon in Wyoming. After an autopsy, the coroner ruled her death a homicide, but has not released a cause of death yet.

If Jamie Spears opened the door to end his daughter's 13-year-long conservatorship, then Britney and her lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, have just barreled through that door, because they've just filed documents setting the stage to end the conservatorship this Fall.

Rosengart just filed legal docs in which he agrees with Jamie Spears on one point -- the conservatorship no longer serves a legitimate purpose and should end immediately. Furthermore, Rosengart agrees with Jamie that the conservatorship should be terminated without any further medical evaluation ... something Britney expressed to the judge back in June.

Rosengart says there have been changed circumstances that warrant the end of the conservatorship ... namely, the judge already allowed Britney to select her own lawyer ... the point being she has the "capacity and capability to identify, engage, and instruct counsel of her own choice."

In the docs, Rosengart quotes Jamie's document, "If Ms. Spears wants to terminate the conservatorship and believes that she can handle her own life, Mr. Spears believes that she should get that chance." In effect, Brit and her lawyer are saying, True That!

Britney is asking that a "termination plan" be formulated immediately so the conservatorship could wind down in its entirety.

Now, the hearing a week from today is to get Jamie out of the conservatorship immediately, and Rosengart offered a litany of reasons why that must happen. He claims Jamie has raked in millions and he needs to be out immediately.

Rosengart says Jamie never had any business being a conservator ... he has no training in economics or finance and his own finances were in disarray.

Britney's lawyer says the judge should appoint a conservator of her estate on a temporary basis to replace Jamie while a plan is put in place to end the conservatorship altogether.

And, Rosengart confirms TMZ's story earlier this month ... that a family law attorney is already drafting a prenup between Britney and Sam, and the conservatorship of the estate may be needed to validate it.

Gabby Petito's family's going after the lawyer for Brian Laundrie's family for using one of her photos on Yelp ... and they're warning him he better not do it again.

The Petitos' attorney, Richard Benson Stafford, sent a cease-and-desist letter to attorney Steven P. Bertolino demanding that he remove the photo of Gabby from his Yelp business page ... and gave him a deadline of 2 PM Wednesday.

It seems Bertolino complied, because Gabby's pic no longer appears there, but Yelp has added a notice to his page saying his business is being monitored.

In addition, Gabby's family's warning Laundrie's family lawyer to not use any of her photos on any of his other accounts -- social media or otherwise -- to promote his business ... or they'll take legal action.

As of now, it doesn't look like Bertolino has any other accounts featuring photos of her.

Obviously, the situation between the 2 families is very tense ... as the coroner has ruled Gabby's death a homicide and her fiance, Brian -- a person of interest believed to be the last person who saw her alive -- is also missing.

With all that happening, legal issues are inevitable ... and this seems to be just the start.

Donald Trump is suing his niece and the New York Times for publishing deets from his tax returns -- something he says broke a confidentiality agreement she signed with him.

The former President just filed suit against the nation's paper of record as well as one Mary Trump for allegedly getting in cahoots to obtain, share and publish his personal tax info in a wide-ranging story ... which DT says is a big no-no ... considering what he claims Mary agreed to years ago.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Trump alleges Mary agreed to keep the financial info confidential as part of a settlement with Trump and others back in the early 2000s -- and he claims that barred her from sharing such info. He also claims she conspired with the Times to get her hands on the tax info ... claiming they were "motivated by a personal vendetta[.]"

Trump also says this ... a reporter for the Times allegedly approached Mary relentlessly in an effort to seek these documents, which he suggests they knew were off-limits, making them just as responsible as she is for disclosing them. It's a bold claim -- and one that might be difficult to prove.

The First Amendment is wide-reaching and protects publications against this exact sort of thing -- namely, that if they get their hands on material, legally, they have every right to publish.

Trump, however, is alleging the exact opposite ... that they broke the law to obtain this stuff, which he and his lawyers will now be tasked with proving in court.

Mary has since responded to word of the lawsuit, calling her uncle a "loser" and characterized this as a desperate move. NYT says writing their stories on Trump's taxes -- which they claim showed he'd been paying little to no taxes while also absorbing massive losses in his business empire -- were of public interest.