Legal

The family of the woman who was killed in the horrific DUI-related crash at the hands of Las Vegas Raiders star Henry Ruggs says it's impossible to express the grief they're feeling.

The lawyer for Tina Tintor's family released a statement, saying, "Tina's tragic loss has devastated her family beyond a grief they could never comprehend."

The statement goes on to say ... "Family was everything to Tina, and she was the light of her parents' life. Tina lived in Las Vegas since she was a baby. She loved her 3-year-old Golden Retriever, Max, who passed alongside her Tuesday morning."

As we reported, Ruggs was behind the wheel of his Chevy Corvette, allegedly driving 156 MPH when he apparently saw Tintor's vehicle and slammed on the brakes. Authorities say at the point of impact Ruggs' car was going 127 MPH. The impact caused Tintor's car to explode, and witnesses say they heard screams from inside her vehicle but they could not do anything to save her.

Ruggs has been charged with DUI resulting in substantial bodily harm as well as reckless driving. He faces a maximum of more than 40 years in prison if convicted of both charges.

Lance Bass wants to see more of Britney Spears enjoying her life out in the public ... something he hopes will happen when, and if, her conservatorship is dissolved.

We got Lance and his husband, Michael Turchin, Thursday afternoon at Wally's in Bev Hills ... and asked about Britney venturing back into Hollywood for the Immersive Van Gogh Los Angeles exhibit. She went with her sons Wednesday night, and Lance is thinking it's a sign of things to come.

The *NSYNC singer says he misses seeing Britney going out to do fun things ... and he wants to see more of her in public. Of course, she has a huge court hearing next week, when the judge could rule on whether to end the conservatorship.

Perhaps in anticipation of that, Lance reveals that he's already reached out to Brit.

As you know, Lance and Britney go way back to the late '90s when their careers were launching, and they were labelmates at Jive Records.

Remember, sources close to Britney have told us she might never hit the stage again and performing is one of the last things on her mind ... but Lance says he's not giving up hope.

Derek Carr is expressing remorse over the Henry Ruggs accident ... saying he wishes he could've done something to help prevent the crash -- questioning, "Did I not let him know that I could be there for him at 3 AM??"

The Las Vegas Raiders QB spoke with reporters Wednesday about his ex-teammate's situation ... saying, "No one ever wants to see this, whether it's a football player or not. You never wanna see something like this happen and it broke my wife and I's hearts, honestly."

Carr says he actually got a text from Ruggs hours before the tragedy ... with the 22-year-old asking him to critique his swing while at Top Golf in Vegas.

"He literally texted me at midnight a golf swing, hit me and Hunter (Renfrow), 'How's my swing look? You guys need to help me' and just seeing that and then getting the news when we woke up, I just ... I don't even know how I'm supposed to handle that. How am I supposed to react?"

Carr adds his heart goes out to the family of the 23-year-old victim ... and he hasn't reached out to Ruggs yet, but he will in due time.

"I will always be here for him," he added. "That won't change and I prove that over course of time to him, not to anybody else, but he needs people to love him right now."

Raiders interim HC Rich Bisaccia also spoke ... sharing his condolences to the victim's family and saying, "We love Henry Ruggs."

Henry Ruggs sat near a sidewalk just feet away from the Toyota engulfed in flames -- which killed a woman and her dog -- and he and his girlfriend swore and sobbed ... in this new video, obtained by TMZ Sports.

Just seconds after the former Raiders star slammed his Corvette into the back of a Rav4 at around 3:40 AM in Las Vegas ... footage shows Ruggs and Kiara Washington locked in a hug on the ground. In the clip, you can hear parts of their emotional conversation.

"OK. OK, here," she told Ruggs as she grabbed his face. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

He responded, "F***!!! Stop yelling!!!"

Video later shows one witness, who had arrived just minutes after the crash, telling an officer, "That's Henry Ruggs right here. That's Henry Ruggs right here. He plays for the Raiders."

The woman holding Ruggs then was sent into a panic -- as Ruggs appeared to drift in and out of consciousness in her arms.

"Can we get help?!?" the woman yelled. "Can you please help him!?!" He is knocked unconscious!"

Ruggs then seemed to come to -- and you can hear in the video, he began crying and sobbing as his girlfriend still held his head.

As we previously reported, cops say Ruggs showed signs of impairment at the scene when they interrogated him -- and, after being checked out at a local hospital, he was arrested and booked on charges of DUI and reckless driving.

In police documents, cops say he was going 156 MPH just before the crash ... and ultimately hit the Toyota at 127 MPH. Prosecutors later said bloodwork showed he had a BAC of .161 -- more than two times the legal limit of .08.

They added the 22-year-old also had a gun in the Corvette.

Ruggs -- who was released by the Raiders after the wreck -- showed up for a hearing on the matter in court on Wednesday in a neck brace and a wheelchair ... and later posted $150,000 bond.

Ronnie Ortiz-Magro is dragging his ex, Jenn Harley, to court ... and he wants to force a sale of the Las Vegas home they used to share.

According to a new lawsuit ... the 'Jersey Shore' star claims he and Jenn borrowed money from a bank to buy the house when they were still together -- but he claims she recently stopped making payments on the loan, even though she's the only one who lives there now that Ronnie moved out.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Ronnie claims Jenn hasn't made a loan payment since July, and he's also not sure if she's paying the HOA dues or utilities.

What's more, Ronnie claims Jenn made some home improvements he didn't know about and failed to pay for the work. As a result, he says there are now liens on the property.

According to the docs, Ronnie wants to sell the place, but claims Jenn refuses to cooperate. So, now he wants a court to force the sale so he can get his cut of the proceeds.

Jenn's lawyer, Michael Cristalli, tells TMZ ... Ronnie and Jenn agreed it's her house and she paid Ronnie for it, plus she pays the mortgage and invested six figures into improvements.

The husband of "Rust" cinematographer Halyna Hutchins has lawyered up, and is preparing to file a wrongful death lawsuit ... TMZ has learned.

Matthew Hutchins retained the services of Panish | Shea | Boyle | Ravipudi ... according to the L.A.-based law firm. The firm's website says its attorneys specialize in personal injury and wrongful death litigation ... so clearly, Halyna's tragic death is in their wheelhouse.

Sources familiar with the situation tell us the lawsuit will be filed on behalf of Halyna's spouse and their child, and there will be multiple defendants.

The Santa Fe County District Attorney and Sheriff's Department continue to investigate Halyna's death, and while no criminal charges have been announced ... they say all options are still on the table.

Halyna is survived by Matthew and their 9-year-old son, Andros. The law firm had no comment beyond saying it was now on the case.

As we reported, attorneys for the head armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, are now theorizing that a disgruntled cast member intentionally put one or more live rounds of ammo in a box of dummy rounds.

They admit Hannah loaded the gun Alec Baldwin eventually fired, accidentally killing Halyna ... but say she had no idea she'd placed a live bullet in the revolver's barrel.

Joe Exotic's health is taking a major turn for the worse as the disgraced zookeeper remains behind bars ... telling fans he has "aggressive cancer."

The 'Tiger King' star says he recently had a biopsy performed on his prostate, and doctors let him know the results Wednesday. He says he doesn't want sympathy, instead, he wants his voice to be heard and for an immediate release so he can get treatment at home.

Joe's attorney, John Phillips, tells TMZ ... he plans to file a motion requesting compassionate release from his federal prison in Texas. It sounds like JE's condition must be pretty bad, because Phillips added that any delay in getting their motion before a judge could prove fatal.

While Joe is hopeful cancer treatment can help, it appears he's also acknowledging the outlook could be grim, noting if treatment doesn't work, he'd like to, "enjoy what life I have left with my loved ones!"

True to form, Joe also mentioned Carole Baskin on Wednesday, saying he's sure "Carole will have her own party over this!"

As we reported, Joe said he was "ready to die" in August after fears his cancer had spread to his pelvis and stomach.

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed -- the armorer on for "Rust" -- didn't hear or see anything that would make her think target practice (with live rounds) was taking place ... so insists her attorney.

Jason Bowles joined us Wednesday on "TMZ Live" to clarify a few things he said earlier in the day -- the most important of which being his suggestion sabotage might've been at play here ... and that someone slipped a live bullet in a dummy rounds box on purpose.

We pressed him on that, asking what evidence -- if any -- he and/or his partners had to make a claim like that ... and Bowles seems to take a somewhat softer stance here.

Watch ... he explains they don't have a smoking gun, per se, and aren't pointing the finger at one person -- the possibility itself is there -- clear in the fact that a live round somehow made its way into a case that presumably only carried dummies, which are considered safe.

Of course, we also had to ask why the ammo was just out in the open if the weapons themselves were being guarded -- and Bowles has an explanation ... which makes sense.

He makes the point that dummies aren't dangerous, and don't necessarily need to be under a watchful eye at all times -- especially if no one is expecting a live round to enter the situation ... which he says is the case here. Namely, he's saying Hannah had no knowledge whatsoever of real bullets being anywhere near the set.

That leads to the final puzzling mystery of ... if target practice was, indeed, going down as frequently as we've heard it was during off-hours, how is it she didn't hear it or hear about it???

Bowles response is this ... if that was actually happening, it must've been taking place very far away from where she ever was, because he's firm that Hannah knows nothing about it.

Henry Ruggs was traveling 156 MPH seconds before Tuesday's crash, slamming into the back of a Toyota at 127 MPH, with a blood alcohol level twice the legal limit, killing a 23-year-old woman, officials say.

Ruggs appeared in court this morning for the first time with a gash on his face, wearing a neck brace, to answer charges he caused the fatal car wreck in Las Vegas.

The details are disturbing. Officials, in new documents obtained by TMZ Sports, say they examined the computer in Ruggs' car and determined he was going incredibly fast just moments before he plowed into the Toyota.

Law enforcement said in the docs he was only able to slow to 127 MPH at the time of impact.

Officials says both Ruggs' car and the Toyota rolled over 500 feet after the initial impact ... where the Rav4 caught on fire.

In addition to the 23-year-old woman who perished, she also had a dog in the car that died.

Officers say Ruggs -- who appeared to be impaired at the scene -- refused to participate in field sobriety tests ... before he was eventually transported to the hospital.

Police say during an investigation following the crash, they located a gun in Ruggs' Corvette.

Officials added at Ruggs' hearing that bloodwork revealed the NFL player had a BAC of .161 -- more than two times the legal limit of .08.

Ruggs' injuries are unknown at this time -- though police did say the wounds were "serious" in documents. His mug shot shows the gash on his face was deep.

Ruggs has been charged with DUI resulting in substantial bodily harm, and reckless driving. His bail was set at $150,000.

The judge banned Ruggs from consuming alcohol ... and also ordered him to abstain from driving. He also must wear an electronic monitoring device as part of his bail.

At the hearing, the judge noted he'd never seen a case where the defendant was traveling at such a high rate of speed.

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed -- the armorer for "Rust" -- is making the bombshell suggestion that perhaps somebody intentionally put a live round in a box of dummy ammunition.

Gutierrez-Reed's attorneys Jason Bowles and Robert Gorence appeared Wednesday on "Today" to outline their "sabotage" theory, and went so far as to consider potential would-be culprits.

They revealed the person who could have slipped in the live bullet would have had access and opportunity to do so between 11 AM and 1 PM ... when the ammunition was left unattended outside on a tray.

They also say Hannah wasn't even in the church during the incident because it wasn't a filming session, nor a rehearsal, but an opportunity to figure out camera angles.

What they did admit, though, was that the gun's chamber was indeed inspected and spun by their client -- and they say she put in 6 rounds (thinking they were all dummies) ... and did not realize a live round had been placed in the mix. After that, she pawned it off to assistant director David Halls ... who then went into the church with Alec Baldwin and the rest of the crew.

This is way more info than what she initially offered last week -- when she delivered relatively brief remarks that expressed condolences for Hutchins' family ... but insisted she did not know how live rounds of ammo made their way onto the set.

Gutierrez-Reed also insisted she and the head prop master gained control of all the guns on set each day, while saying she never saw anyone use the guns or put live rounds in them either. She says she never would've allowed that, as safety is her top priority on the job.

What's interesting about that claim is live rounds and dummy rounds do look the same from the front. In fact, the purpose of a dummy round is to be shown on camera when a scene calls for showing someone holding a bullet or to show a bullet in the chamber of a gun.

Gutierrez-Reed has also pointed out she was tapped for 2 positions on "Rust" -- which she says made it difficult to focus on her armorer duties ... something her attorneys say she fought back against, but was overruled by production.

Her attorneys made no bones about where the blame lies -- arguing it is NOT with Hannah. They say, "The whole production set became unsafe due to various factors, including lack of safety meetings. This was not the fault of Hannah."

Of course, there are a lot of eyeballs in her direction -- especially seeing how many believe she should've been the one to personally hand Alec the gun, and to also properly check it.

There's also the fact that she'd recently appeared to express some doubt about her abilities when it comes to the gig itself ... acknowledging she was pretty green to being a head armorer.

Britney Spears made it clear Tuesday night ... her animosity for her mom runs at least as deep as it does toward her dad.

Britney raged against Lynne Spears, calling her the brains behind the conservatorship. In a shot that hits both parents, Britney said, "My dad is not smart enough to ever think of a conservatorship," adding, "...what people don't know is that my mom is the one who gave him the idea."

It's true ... Lynne was the one who actually engineered the temporary conservatorship after Britney's second 5150 involuntary psychiatric hold.

And, keeping with her theme over the last few months that her family was leeching off her, she said, "It's been 13 years ... It was a family business before, it's no longer that anymore."

And then, she looks to the future ... "I was BORN today cause I get to SMILE ... so thank you for exiting out of my life and finally allowing me to live mine! PS do I know how mean I sound? Yes ... I 100 billion percent I do."

She railed not just on her mom, but on her former business manager, Lou Taylor, whom many on the inside say was the one pulling the strings ... "She secretly ruined my life, and yes, I will call her and Lou Taylor out on it. So take your whole 'I have NO IDEA what's going on' attitude and go f**k yourself. You know exactly what you did."

Britney deleted the post several hours later, but that's the oldest trick in the book once it's out there.

Stores selling Las Vegas Raiders merchandise are yanking Henry Ruggs items from their shelves ... with several outlets already removing the receiver's jerseys, shirts and memorabilia after his fatal DUI incident.

TMZ Sports spoke with an employee at the Locker Room by Lids in Vegas, who told us they were given direct orders to cease all sales of Ruggs-related merch just hours after the tragic incident.

The Raider Image -- the team's official online store -- has completely scrubbed Ruggs from its site ... and a search for "Ruggs" or "Henry Ruggs III" comes back with zero results.

To compare, a search for Ruggs' backup, Bryan Edwards, shows his jersey is available for purchase.

We also spoke with another local shop that sells Raiders merch ... and while they say they haven't been told to pull Ruggs items just yet, we're told it's just a matter of time.

We broke the story ... Ruggs was arrested on charges of DUI with serious bodily harm and reckless driving with death/serious bodily harm after crashing his Corvette into a Toyota RAV4 early Tuesday morning.

A 23-year-old woman died as a result of the accident.

Raiders star wide receiver Henry Ruggs III -- the 12th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft -- was involved in a serious car accident in Las Vegas Tuesday morning.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ Sports ... 22-year-old Ruggs was in a wreck in the central Las Vegas Valley area around 3:40 AM.

No word on if cops believe alcohol or drugs played a factor in the accident. It's still unclear what Ruggs' condition is. There is a local report that says there was at least one fatality in the crash.

Prior to the crash, it appears Ruggs was at a local Top Golf location in Vegas, he posted video from the facility just before midnight.

Ruggs was a superstar for the Alabama Crimson Tide from 2017-19 ... winning a national championship in 2017. The Montgomery, AL native is having a breakout year for the Raiders ... with 24 receptions, 469 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Ruggs has previously spoken out about his inspiration to play football ... saying it was a childhood friend who encouraged him to try out. The friend tragically passed away at 17 years old, and the receiver has honored him with a salute after every touchdown.

We've reached out to Ruggs' camp and the Raiders for comment. So far, no word back.

Jamie Spears is throwing in the towel on all things related to Britney Spears' conservatorship -- making it crystal clear to the judge in the case that he's tired of fighting ... and is all good with ending the conservatorship STAT.

Brit's father filed new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, in which he lays out his position as clearly as possible. Attorneys for Jamie write, "Jamie unconditionally loves and supports his daughter. Full stop. As he has done for her entire life, Jamie will do everything he can to protect and care for her. For the last 13 years, that included serving as her Conservator. Now, it means ending her Conservatorship."

The filing goes on to explain Jamie is not seeking any further compensation or a release for what went down during the conservatorship, adding that he's willing to be fully transparent in handing over all of his files on the conservatorship in order to officially close the book on this chapter.

With that said, he does insist the way in which he's administered Britney's estate has always been in her best interest -- which is obviously in debate right now -- but in any case ... he's fully on board with getting his daughter out of the legal apparatus now.

One last note from Jamie's side here, which is pretty astounding ... "This conservatorship should end. Now. There is no reason for another second of delay. Jamie is willing to stipulate to the immediate termination of the Conservatorship without reservation or exception."

Alec Baldwin clearly doesn't believe the conditions on the set of "Rust" were chaotic or unsafe leading up to the fatal shooting -- he's shining a light on at least one crew member who insists the film had normal hiccups ... and one major accident.

Baldwin just reposted a long message from a woman claiming to have worked on the film, who's attesting to safety meetings and normal working hours on the set -- as well as defending the hiring of armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed.

The post reads, "The story being spun of us being overworked and surrounded by unsafe, chaotic conditions is bulls**t." As we reported, the film's camera crew had walked off set just days before the accident after complaints of long hours and no provided hotel accommodations.

The crew member Alec reposted claims the crew had hotels, they just didn't think they were "fancy enough."

As for Gutierrez, the post says, "Was she the most experienced person? No. Were her qualifications typical for a Tier One? Yes ... But how do you supposed anyone will get that experience? We all had a first and second job at one point or another."

Finally, the reposted crew member speaks to what she wishes she had done differently that could have saved Halyna Hutchins' life. She says, "I'd call out an AD who was handing a gun to an actor. Not because that's my job, but because I never want to lose someone I love to this again."

Baldwin spoke with photogs over the weekend in Vermont, telling them the Hutchins accident was "one in a trillion" and that the "Rust" set was tight. He also said the Santa Fe Sheriff's Department warned him NOT to speak about the case.

While Alec himself isn't providing this account of the "Rust" set ... he's at the very least cosigning on it by reposting, which could tick off investigators.

Two of the families whose loved ones perished in the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash just agreed to settlements with L.A. County over the alleged sharing of crash site photos of remains -- but Vanessa Bryant is still at war.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved $2.5 million to be split between the families of Christine Mauser and Keri, John and Alyssa Altobelli ... according to docs. Mauser's husband, Matthew, gets $1.25 mil, and the Altobelli's 2 surviving children get the same.

According to the L.A. Times, which first reported the settlement, counsel for the county suggested settling with the families would be the best route as they continue to deal with Vanessa's lawsuit, and one from Chris Chester ... whose wife and child died in the crash.

The outlet says the lawsuits have already cost L.A. County an estimated $1.29 million in legal fees.

Meanwhile, Vanessa and Chris' suits are still playing out in court ... and could be headed for trial in the near future. Speaking of them, a judge denied L.A. County's motion seeking psychiatric evaluations of Vanessa and Chris, ruling it came too late in the case.

The county argued that the psychiatric evaluations would help determine if their emotional distress was actually related to crash photos that she and the public have never seen.