Legal

Dorit Kemsley was the victim of a terrifying home invasion, after 3 men stormed her bedroom, threatened her life and fled with a ton of very expensive possessions.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ the "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star was asleep around 11 PM Wednesday when the men broke into her L.A. area home. We're told Dorit begged for her life, shouting, "Don't Kill Me!"

Our sources say Dorit gave up everything, including expensive purses and jewelry -- once the men took off, she called the police.

As for the value of the things taken, our sources say it was at least $100k.

At this time, there have not been any arrests and there are no suspects ... it's unknown if the men were captured on camera. Daily Mail was the first to publish the story.

A source close to Dorit says she and her kids are all safe. Her husband, Paul, was out of town on a business trip, but he's traveling home now. We're told "RHOBH" is currently in production, so the incident will likely play out, to some degree, on the show.

The LAPD Robbery Homicide division is now handling the investigation.

Britney Spears has a new ally ... a Prince -- son of the late King of Pop.

Prince Jackson says he knows his dad Michael would have "wholeheartedly" supported Britney's move to end her 13-year-long conservatorship.

Prince appeared on Good Morning Britain Thursday and made it clear ... he believes his dad would have advocated freedom for his fellow pop star, saying he would want Britney to maintain control over her life.

As you may know -- but maybe not -- Michael and Britney were buds. They also had a professional intersection as well ... the 2 appeared together in a Madison Square Garden concert back in 2001 and sang "The Way You Make Me Feel."

And Brit introed MJ at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards, saying, "So, he's my idol, the best guy in the whole world. I'm really kind of excited. I'm really nervous."

Prince hedged a bit on the #FreeBritney movement, saying, "That is a very tough question just because I don't like to put words in my father's mouth. But, knowing my father and the compassion that he had for individuals who wanted to remain in control of their own life - as it was his goal to be in control of his own life - I would think that he would be very supportive of her cause."

Alec Baldwin is seemingly declaring his innocence in the accident that killed Halyna Hutchins by pointing out he was told it was a "cold" gun ... when it was actually loaded with a live round.

Baldwin retweeted an article Wednesday night about the most recent search warrant filed in the death investigation. The NYT story -- headlined, "Gun Handed to Alec Baldwin Was Not Thoroughly Checked" -- focused on the documents TMZ first told you about, which highlight several safety failures.

In the affidavit filed Wednesday, Assistant Director Dave Halls admitted to cops he had not thoroughly checked the weapon for live rounds before handing it to Baldwin.

While Alec hasn't said anything publicly since his first tweet the day after Hutchins was killed, his actions on social media speak volumes, retweeting multiple articles saying he was told the weapon was safe.

Head armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, told authorities prior to the scene, and during the movie's lunch break, the gun was locked in a safe and very few people had access to it.

The question that remains ... how did live ammo not only get on set, but into the gun's chamber? We spoke with several people from the set who told us outside of filming, the gun was sometimes used for recreational use and target practice.

Both the Santa Fe Co. Sheriff's Office and District Attorney held a press conference Wednesday where they said charges are technically still on the table for everyone involved.

The family of the 6-year-old boy in Michigan who was shot outside their neighbors' home while retrieving his bicycle has lawyered up ... and they're dragging the neighbors to court.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Coby Daniel's father says his son is struggling to recover from the shooting, and the fam is anticipating some hefty medical bills in the future.

In his suit, Arnold Daniel claims his son is still in pain and shock from the incident, and will need to get professional help in the form of trauma counseling ... as well as psychiatric and psychological counseling.

Coby's dad says the neighbors, Ryan Le-Nguyen and Michael Inhmathong, should be liable for the damage because they knew children in the neighborhood played near their yard and had a duty to keep it safe for them ... and further claims Le-Nguyen had shown "aggressive behavior" toward the kids numerous times in the past.

As we reported ... Le-Nguyen allegedly shot young Coby in the arm after chasing him around with a sledgehammer. The neighbor was reportedly pissed Coby and a buddy left their bicycles on the sidewalk in front of his home.

Coby's dad is going after the neighbors for at least $4 million in damages.

Kevin Hart's finally putting his old sex tape scandal totally in his rearview mirror ... now that his former friend, J.T. Jackson, has been cleared of all criminal wrongdoing in the case.

Kevin posted a video announcing the good news for Jackson, saying he couldn't speak about the case previously because the legal process was still playing out. He admits, "I'm happy that that chapter in my life is over. I'm happy that we're able to put a period on that sentence."

It's a big win for Jackson, who Kevin once believed had tried to extort him over the 2017 video recorded in a Las Vegas hotel room. Jackson had been hit with 4 charges -- attempted extortion, attempted concealing and selling stolen property, unauthorized use of personal ID and identity theft.

The first 3 had been dropped, due to insufficient evidence, back in 2019 ... and now the final charge for identity theft has gone the same way.

The Chicago Blackhawks were just slapped with a massive $2,000,000 fine ... after the NHL said the organization failed to adequately investigate an alleged sexual assault involving a team coach and a young player back in 2010.

The NHL announced the financial penalty on Tuesday ... and it all dates back over a decade ago, when word got back to Hawks team brass that a player on their team -- who hasn't been identified publicly -- claimed he was sexually assaulted by the team's video coach.

The player -- identified as "John Doe" in a civil suit he filed in May 2021 -- claimed the coach, Brad Aldrich, said he wouldn't play in the NHL if he were to turn down the coaches sexual advances ... so, fearing losing his career, the player says he had a sexual encounter with Aldrich.

It's important to note ... Aldrich hasn't denied having a relationship with Doe, however, he's steadfastly said the encounter was consensual.

After the team found out, they assembled all of the bigwigs, including the president, senior VP, general manager, and head coach, among others, to discuss how to handle the situation.

Shockingly, despite the serious allegation, team officials decided to focus their attention on the team's play on the ice ... as they'd just advanced to the Stanley Cup finals.

The "investigation" was kicked to human resources ... though the NHL says it doesn't appear enough was ever done to address it.

FYI, the Blackhawks ended up winning the Stanley Cup that season.

Fast forward to June 2021 ... a Chicago area law firm was hired to look into the organizations handling of the situation, and their investigation determined the organization screwed up, essentially failing to investigate, despite the extremely troubling allegation.

Enter the NHL ... who as a result, levied the multi-million fine against the Blackhawks.

"Today’s fine represents a direct and necessary response to the failure of the Club to follow-up and address the 2010 incident in a timely and appropriate manner,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement.

“And, this response should send a clear message to all NHL Clubs and all NHL personnel that inappropriate acts must be addressed in a timely fashion."

Bettman says the organization knows they screwed up, and they've taken a number of steps to ensure they're better in the future.

“We acknowledge that the Blackhawks have taken responsibility and ownership for what transpired, and have already implemented new preventative measures."

Those changes include hiring outside counsel to dig into the 2010 incident, overhauling the club's policies, and educating staff on how to properly handle similar allegations.

The commissioner also noted that should any of the senior-level staff wish to return to the league (none of them are currently in the NHL), they will require approval directly from Bettman prior to their hiring.

The Blackhawks also released a statement accepting responsibility for the screwup, writing, "It is clear the organization and its executives at that time did not live up to our own standards or values in handling these disturbing incidents."

"We deeply regret the harm caused to John Doe and the other individuals who were affected and the failure to promptly respond. As an organization, we extend our profound apologies to the individuals who suffered from these experiences. We must -- and will -- do better."

As for the alleged victim ... Doe's civil lawsuit remains open.

It's time to drop the curtain on the Alec Baldwin movie "Rust" after the fatal shooting on set ... at least according to one of the principal actors.

Ian A. Hudson, a New Mexico-based principal cast member who plays an outlaw in the film, tells TMZ ... the show can't go on because slain cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was the vision behind the movie.

While Ian says it's ultimately up to director Joel Souza and the rest of the creative minds, he thinks the movie just wouldn't be the same without Halyna and Joel working in tandem ... and it's time to throw in the towel.

Remember ... Ian was smack in the center of some of the gun scenes in the movie, and he told us his shootout scene felt "life-threatening" because real firearms were firing blanks at him, resulting in him being struck by small bits of cardboard and a rush of air.

As you know ... Alec pulled the trigger on a gun that fired the fatal live round of ammo that killed Halyna and injured Joel.

Assistant director Dave Halls gave Alec the gun used in the scene, telling him it was a "cold gun" ... meaning it was not loaded.

There's an ongoing investigation into the incident and authorities say criminal charges are still on the table for all involved ... which could make it even harder for the movie to continue.

We covered it all on the latest episode of The TMZ Podcast.

The head armorer on the set of "Rust" told authorities she took all the necessary steps to secure the gun that killed the cinematographer ... but the assistant director confessed the gun was not thoroughly checked before Alec Baldwin fired the fatal round.

According to a new search warrant, obtained by TMZ, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed told authorities the day of the shooting she had checked the ammo -- which she called the "dummies," meaning they were not live rounds. She added there were never live rounds on the set.

She went on to say the gun was locked up in a safe in a prop truck during the lunch break and taken out shortly before the fatal scene. The implication -- she's saying the gun appeared safe to her, because it wasn't messed with it during lunch. She did, however, say there were a few people who had access to the safe.

Assistant director David Halls -- the person who handed the weapon to Baldwin and called it a "cold gun" -- confessed when she showed him the firearm before rehearsal he could only remember seeing 3 rounds. He admitted he should have checked all of the rounds, and doesn't remember if Hannah spun the drum before she handed him the gun, and he, in turn, handed it to Baldwin.

After cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and director Joel Souza were shot, Halls says he inspected the chamber and he remembers seeing at least 4 dummy casings with the signature hole on the side, and one without the hole. He said the one without the hole didn't have a cap ... the implication is it was the remains of a live round of ammunition.

This all points to a lapse of safety precautions on the set, and that's something the District Attorney is now looking at in determining if criminal charges should be filed. The D.A. said charges are on the table for everyone involved. Authorities want to speak with Baldwin again and they want to review the employment history of both Halls and Gutierrez-Reed before making a filing decision.

The local sheriff and D.A. investigating the fatal shooting on Alec Baldwin's "Rust" movie set are speaking for the first time about the case ... and they made clear, criminal charges are still on the table for all involved, and the armorer and AD's work history WILL be considered.

Santa Fe County Sheriff, Adan Mendoza, and Santa Fe District Attorney, Mary Carmack-Altwies, were in front of cameras Wednesday to discuss the probe and potentially answer questions -- and while they insisted the investigation was still ongoing, they did offer clarity on what they're looking at in weighing potential criminality ... when they get there.

Mendoza said his deputies recovered about 500 rounds of ammo, which included a mix of blanks, dummies and live bullets. He didn't specify how much of each was found. He also said a whopping 600 pieces of evidence were seized in total, including the gun itself.

The Sheriff said they are still in the process of interviewing people who were working on set -- about 90 people total -- even though he said there was a small crew in the immediate vicinity of the shooting. He also said they want to re-interview a number of people ... including Baldwin, the director, the assistant director as well as the armorer in charge of weapons.

Speaking of those latter two -- who are at the center of this whole drama -- the Sherriff and D.A. noted without ambiguity ... they will take Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and David Halls' rumored incidents and/or conduct on previous sets into account as they consider whether to charge anyone over this. They're encouraging anyone with info to contact them, STAT.

The D.A. also made a point to say ... nobody has been ruled out at this point when it comes to potential charges, and that includes Baldwin himself -- who fired the fatal round.

As you know, Alec pulled the trigger, firing the fatal live round of ammunition that killed director of photography, Halyna Hutchins, and injured director, Joel Souza.

Assistant director Dave Halls handed Alec the weapon used in the scene, and told him it was a "cold gun" ... meaning it was not loaded. Clearly, it had not been adequately inspected beforehand. As we first told you, some crew members were using the same gun for target practice with real bullets.

The movie's chief electrician, Serge Svetnoy, recently shared what he says is the last photo of Hutchins on set, and he's blaming her death on Halls and the film's armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed.

Cleveland ain't big enough for two Guardians -- at least, that's what a local roller derby team is claiming -- 'cause the "original" Cleveland Guardians are suing the MLB franchise in hopes of blocking its name change.

The Cleveland Guardians roller derby team filed the suit this week ... saying the MLB organization is trying to bully its way into using their name, despite the derby team claiming a "common law" trademark for using the branding in northeast Ohio dating back to 2013.

The derby team is accusing the baseball squad of being shady in the months leading up to the rebranding announcement in July ... claiming they "surreptitiously" filed a trademark for the Cleveland Guardians name "in the small, East African island nation of Mauritius, effectively hiding the application unless one knew where to look."

The derby team says the MLB club hit them up months later ... asking for pictures of jerseys and logos to determine if they were interested in acquiring the CG intellectual property.

Shortly after, the derby team claims the MLB team filed a trademark for a logo that looks "remarkably" like their logo.

The Guardians derby team claims the MLB name change has caused serious issues ... in fact, it claims it cannot fulfill merchandise orders due to suppliers believing the baseball team has the rights to the name ... and its website has crashed due to increased traffic.

Gary Sweatt -- the derby team owner -- eventually reached back out to the MLB team's lawyers in hopes of striking a deal over the naming rights, but says the baseball squad "only offered to pay a nominal amount, likely no more than fifteen minutes of annual team revenue."

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed -- the woman at the center of the "Rust" death investigation -- was also recently tied to the death of a close friend, and her insurance company shelled out big bucks to his family.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Reed's friend, Tyler Dyer, was killed in an accident back in August 2020 -- a wreck that also involved her boyfriend, Aaron Butcher. Both men were on motorcycles at the time -- Aaron had borrowed Hannah's.

Tyler's dad tells us all 3 of them had been hanging out at a party prior to the accident -- and Hannah admitted to cops she'd seen both Tyler and Aaron drink 4 to 5 beers each before she opted to give Aaron the keys to her ride.

BTW, Aaron was already on probation for a DUI, and only permitted to operate vehicles with a breathalyzer attached to the ignition ... which Hannah's bike did not have.

According to cops, Tyler was going too fast when he made a turn and crashed his bike into a wall ... while Aaron tried to avoid him, and ended up wrecking Hannah's bike.

Tyler died in the crash, Aaron was arrested for aggravated DUI, and because he was on Hannah's bike ... her insurance company paid Dyer's parents, Joe and Sara, $50,000 in exchange for an agreement not to sue Hannah in the future.

The documents state each of Tyler's parents ended up walking away with $15,481.

TMZ broke the story, 24-year-old Reed revealed just last month she only recently wrapped her first project as a head armorer ... a project she says she almost didn't take on because she was afraid she lacked experience.

Halyna Hutchins' family is almost certainly gearing up for a wrongful death lawsuit -- in the wake of her death on the set of the movie "Rust" -- and TMZ has learned the insurance policy that covered the production is limited to $6 million.

We obtained the certificate of insurance written by Front Row Insurance Brokers. General liability coverage is limited to $1 million per occurrence. There is also a commercial umbrella policy -- which is a supplement to the general liability coverage -- for an additional $5 million.

The production company filed a permit for the film, and the paperwork shows a $1 million policy, but that appears to be the minimum required for shooting in New Mexico. The production company obtained the umbrella, which is quite typical but not referenced in the permit.

It sounds like a lot of money, but it could be woefully inadequate. 42-year-old Hutchins was a rising star with decades of earnings ahead of her. She was also a mother and a wife, which allows her son and husband to collect for loss of affection. And remember, director Joel Souza was also shot and wounded, and he would have a personal injury claim. The total the insurance company would pay for both Hutchins and Souza is limited to $6 mil.

There's a wild card here ... punitive damages. In New Mexico, if there's proof of recklessness or wanton misconduct, a jury could award punitive damages, and that could send any judgment into the stratosphere.

It seems obvious there was serious negligence on the set, to say the least. A real gun was used, something gun experts on movie sets say is a clear violation. The gun fired off a fatal live round of ammunition, and live rounds should never be on a movie set. And, the area in the line of fire should have been cleared of people, which it was not.

And, there's more. The gun in question clearly was not adequately inspected before it was handed over to Alec Baldwin. And, as we reported several days ago, some members of the crew were using that gun for target practice -- with real bullets. And, someone may have been doing just that hours before the shooting on the set.

There's another issue ... Front Row would not discuss the terms of the policy with us, but typically there are numerous requirements insurance companies impose and violations of those requirements could allow the company to deny coverage. For instance, given this was a policy to cover a western with various gun scenes, there may be an exclusion if there was live ammo on the set.

The gaffer from the set of 'Rust' who torched producers and the novice armorer over Halyna Hutchins' death is back in Los Angeles. ... and he's got some support waiting for him.

Serge Svetnoy touched down in L.A. Tuesday just a couple days after his scathing Facebook post squarely blaming Hannah Reed and others working behind the scenes for allowing this tragedy to unfold on set.

As you can see, Serge was greeted by a friend ... who was ready to welcome him with open arms. The 2 embraced in a hug, although the guy still looked pretty somber, and understandably so.

He also appears to be one of the first crew members back on the West Coast after last week's shooting incident in New Mexico. It could be a sign of where cops are in the investigation too -- presumably, the authorities are starting to cut people loose.

Like we told you ... Serge wasn't shy about sharing his criticism of what went wrong and whose actions he thinks cost Halyna her life. He explicitly mentioned the 24-year-old weapons expert ... while also throwing around words like "negligence" and "unprofessionalism."

In addition to his comments, he also posted what's believed to be one of the last photographs of her ... shortly before she died.

She and the rest of the crew were rehearsing a scene in a church, where Alec Baldwin was in full costume ... and where he ultimately did a cross-draw motion and fired the gun, not knowing it had a live round of ammo in one of the chambers. Serge says he was holding Halyna, and was covered in her blood before she was airlifted.

So far, there've been no criminal charges brought forth -- but the investigation is still underway, and this is far from over.

NBA YoungBoy is finally sprung from jail -- after several months behind bars in his federal gun case -- but he had to drop some serious coin to make it happen.

The rapper's attorneys, Drew Findling and Andre Belanger, tell TMZ ... NBA YB was released on bond Tuesday after forking over $500k in cash. The St. Martin Parish Sheriff's Office, which had the rapper in custody since March, confirms they've handed him his walking papers.

YoungBoy might be rejoicing about regaining his freedom until he stands trial ... but he's on a tight leash. He's gotta keep his nose clean -- or else he'll land right back in a cell.

His legal team tells us a condition of YoungBoy's release includes home confinement in Utah, where his location is being monitored. How exactly they'll keep track of him isn't quite clear --  whether it's electronic or physical surveillance -- but we're told the authorities are keeping tabs.

TMZ broke the story ... cops had to use a K-9 unit here in L.A. to wrangle YoungBoy after he allegedly evaded a traffic stop and spurred a police chase.

The man prosecutors say supplied the deadly pills that killed Mac Miller has acknowledged wrongdoing -- copping a plea deal that could see him behind bars for a long while.

According to court docs, obtained by TMZ, Stephen Walter entered a guilty plea with the feds on one count of distribution of fentanyl. The other drug-related charge -- conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance -- was dropped.

Prosecutors alleged Walter was the one who indirectly gave Mac's alleged dealer, Cameron James Pettit, deadly Percocet tablets that ended up causing MM to OD. As we reported, Pettit hit up Walter ... who then sent a runner to drop them off that fateful night.

As far as what's on the table for punishment ... the docs note there's a maximum sentence he could face -- more than 20 years in prison -- plus a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of $1 million. Prosecutors are recommending 17 years in prison and 5 years supervised release.

There's also this ... prosecutors make a point to say that Walter pleading guilty here means he was fully aware of what he was pawning off that night -- counterfeit oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl.

The gun scenes in the Alec Baldwin movie "Rust" were considered dangerous enough to provide certain protections ... but not protections for people, but rather the expensive camera.

Ian A. Hudson, a New Mexico-based principal cast member who plays an outlaw in the film, tells TMZ ... his last scene in the movie on October 8 was a shootout where he was killed, and he says he was terrified that there were 20 rounds from pistols and rifles that were unloading blanks, and the only protection against a mishap was some sort of shield around the camera.

Hudson describes what he says was something like a 3X2 foot shield, with the only part exposed being the lens. He was standing 6 feet in front of the camera, and wondered why there was a need to protect the camera as he stood there exposed. He adds there were people standing behind the camera, something gun experts say should not have happened.

Hudson says he felt the scene was "life-threatening," because real weapons were being pointed at him and blanks discharged, creating a rush of air that struck him multiple times. He also said he was hit by small pieces of cardboard.

The actor told us he didn't complain because he was new in the business and felt he would be viewed as trouble if he voiced concern.

And, Hudson says, he and his fellow actors were alarmed enough to reference the accidental killing of Brandon Lee back in 1993. He told us they discussed the fact that it didn't seem like much has changed in the last 30 years.

Hudson says the other, more experienced actors checked their weapons 2 or 3 times after they received them from the armorer, and it didn't matter whether they were told the gun was "cold" or "hot." Baldwin did not check the weapon, but rather relied on the assistant director who assured him the gun was "cold."

The armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, is now under the microscope because of her inexperience ... something she talked about in a recent podcast. But, Hudson says director, Joel Souza, praised Hannah when Hudson was on set, telling her she was doing a good job.

As we reported, Souza was shot along with director of photography, Halyna Hutchins, who died from her injures after being hit by a live round.

Ian's character was killed in a shootout with Jensen Ackles' character ... and he says it was extremely unsettling.