Legal

Many wonder why nobody working security at Astroworld Fest didn't do more to stop the show as the tragedy unfolded  ... and one guard says it's because they were woefully unprepared.

Darius Williams was one of the hundreds of people who were hired to work security for the festival by a company called Contemporary Services Corporation (CSC) ... which appears to have been contracted by either folks running NRG Park, or perhaps by the promoters themselves.

In any case, Williams tells us he was hired just a few days prior to the start of the festival -- and he claims his role was vague and not properly explained. As a matter of fact, the guy says he actually completed his training just a day before Astroworld Fest began -- and he tells us he felt inadequately briefed or coached for the task at hand.

As a result ... Williams tells us he bailed on the job entirely on the day he was supposed to work -- because he was that uncomfortable with the incompetence he says he witnessed.

Here's just a taste of what Williams says he and other guards were put through (or not rather) in order to pass CSC's smell test for the gig. For starters, Williams tells us he and the others had to take a licensing exam for a level 2 security officer -- but alleges the training for the test was brief, and all the answers they needed were being provided ... via open book and even from the instructor themselves, who were blurting out the answers.

Tired and hungry ... Williams showed up Friday for his first shift, and says he immediately realized they were understaffed and not equipped to handle the massive crowds. He says he expressed concerns to supervisors, and after they tried moving him from front gate duty to another role ... the dude just threw up his hands and left as he felt it was unsafe.

Williams claims other guards working that day also wanted to up and quit -- but he didn't stick around long enough to see if they did. BTW ... he also tells us there was virtually no security experience required to apply for this, evidenced in the company's own job listing.

There was another horrific injury on the set of the Alec Baldwin movie "Rust" ... a film worker was bitten by a poisonous spider ... and the wounds look disgusting and painful.

Seriously, these grisly images of the man's injuries are not for the faint of heart ... because you can literally see the insides of his arm and shoulder, muscles and all.

The film worker, Jason Miller, says he was hired to help shut down the movie set at the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico ... and that's where he was bitten by a venomous brown recluse spider.

The spider bite sent Jason to the hospital, where he's having his left arm treated ... and you can see just how bad things look ... and why he's potentially staring down a lengthy rehab process.

Jason's mother says he might need to have his left arm amputated ... and she claims he's lawyering up to sue for workers' compensation.

He's also said to be very sick from the spider bite and doctors say he will need a skin graft to cover the open wound, once it finally starts to heal.

Adam "Pacman" Jones will be back behind bars again ... TMZ Sports has learned he's just been sentenced to jail for his role in a huge bar fight earlier this year.

As we previously reported, the former NFL star was at Clutch OTR in Cincinnati, Ohio on Feb. 15 ... when law enforcement claims the dude snapped on venue staffers.

Authorities say Jones got into a wild brawl with the establishment's employees -- claiming the ex-football player knocked out a bouncer during the fracas.

We obtained video of part of the fight ... and you can see it was complete chaos -- with barstools being thrown and people crashing to the ground left and right.

Jones -- who at the time claimed he was just acting in self-defense and "did what I needed to do" -- was arrested and later hit with two misdemeanor assault charges over it all.

Officials tell us, though, the 38-year-old closed out the case this week.

Jones pleaded no contest to the two charges -- and was sentenced to 180 days in jail ... but 150 of those days are suspended, meaning Jones will only have to go behind bars for 30 total days if he keeps his nose clean.

We're told he's slated to report to jail on Nov. 29.

Jones was also sentenced to nine months of probation -- with a judge ordering him to follow a 9 p.m. curfew as well as abstain from drinking alcohol. Jones was also hit with a $100 fine.

Of course, this is not the first time Jones has been sentenced to jail recently ... you'll recall, back in 2019, he was ordered to spend 10 days behind bars for his role in a meltdown at a casino.

Drake is speaking out for the first time since joining Travis Scott on stage at Astroworld the same night 8 concertgoers lost their lives ... saying he's devastated and vowing to be of service in any way he can.

Drake posted a lengthy statement Monday, saying, I've spent the past few days trying to wrap my mind around this devastating tragedy. I hate resorting to this platform to express an emotion as delicate as grief but this is where I find myself."

He continues, "My heart is broken for the families and friends of those who lost their lives and for anyone who is suffering. I will continue to pray for all of them, and will be of service in any way I can. May God be with you all."

Drake was a surprise performer at Friday's festival in Houston, jumping on stage to perform "Sicko Mode" and other hits with Travis.

Sources close to both Drake and Travis tell us neither had any idea of the severity of what was happening in the crowd ... with waves of fans pushing forward, and suffocating others.

While it wasn't his event, Drake has still been named a defendant in injury lawsuits from those claiming the concert left them in serious physical and emotional stress.

TMZ broke the story ... Travis will cover the funeral expenses of the 8 people who died at the show -- without question -- and is teaming up with BetterHelp to offer mental health services to anyone who may need them.

The jury in the Ahmaud Arbery case looks more like the accused murderers than the victim, pigment-wise, anyway -- but that won't automatically affect the verdict, according to Chilli from TLC.

We got Rozonda Thomas -- aka, Chilli -- at LAX and asked for her take on the outrage over the jury's racial makeup ... namely, the fact 11 white folks and one Black person were selected to hear testimony in the murder trial, which just started on Monday.

The obvious assumption fueling the uproar is that white jurors might have an inherent racial bias, and end up siding with the father and son defendants, Gregory and Travis McMichael, based on nothing more than skin color.

Of course, that is NOT a foregone conclusion whatsoever -- despite many making that leap -- and Chilli echoes that, saying we have to assume the jurors (black or white) are reasonable people who are out for the truth and justice.

Check out her rationale ... Chilli is optimistic and sees hope for the best in people, a mentality she's applying to this case. Naturally, a lot of people are more cynical -- but Chilli's encouraging folks to have faith in humanity.

Boxing star Rolando Romero -- accused of sexually assaulting multiple women -- is breaking his silence on the disturbing allegations, telling TMZ Sports the claims against him are straight BS, and he will clear his name.

We ran into the 26-year-old, 14-1 boxer leaving the MGM Grand in Las Vegas after Canelo Alvarez knocked out Caleb Plant ... and we asked him to address the allegations.

"If my lawyers not here, I'm not allowed to talk about that, but let's just say it like this, that's some bulls**t. Simple as that," Romero told us.

Rolando later added ... "I am innocent."

Of course, Rolly was scheduled to fight rival Gervonta "Tank" Davis on December 5 ... but was pulled from the Showtime PPV fight after the allegations came to light.

Romero was accused of sexually assaulting multiple women ... including a 24-year-old woman at his Las Vegas apartment in 2019.

He has not been charged criminally in any of the cases.

We also asked Romero if he still wishes to box Tank ... and again, he makes it clear he wants to scrap with Davis ASAP.

"No s**t I wanna fight [Tank]. I can see why none of his f***ing opponents say anything, because the second I say anything miraculously I'm not there anymore."

It was just a few weeks ago, after Wilder-Fury III, that we again got Rolly leaving the arena ... and he predicted a first-round knockout.

Travis Scott and Live Nation continue to have lawsuits pile up against them, with one Houston injury attorney just submitting 7 in the last hour for various clients, and famed attorney Ben Crump is also repping victims.

The docs, obtained by TMZ, are mostly identical -- filed by the Houston law firm of Roberts Markland LLP --  but switch out the petitioner name each time. Each lawsuit claims both Travis and Live Nation failed to provide adequate security and a security plan to protect attendees ... and conditions at Astroworld Festival "caused several stampedes and a crowd compression" that led to the 8 deaths and hundreds of injuries.

The attorney behind these lawsuits -- Sean Roberts, doesn't list specific injuries for his clients, but says they were "seriously and permanently injured."

In the docs, Travis and LN are accused of failing to warn fans of safety risks and failing to provide appropriate medical staff at the event.

Of course, there will certainly be more lawsuits filed by concertgoers, and wrongful death litigation is expected as well. Attorney Ben Crump -- who repped the family of George Floyd -- has also stated he is representing Astroworld attendees.

Miles Teller may see some justice after all -- the guy who allegedly clocked him in a bathroom has officially been charged with assault.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Russell Nielsen got hit with one count of 3rd-degree assault in the County of Maui. Prosecutors say he intentionally, knowingly or recklessly caused bodily injury to Miles.

Now, MT didn't look too roughed up or bothered in the immediate aftermath of the tussle earlier this year -- but it looks like he did bring home a shiner from it, which was clearly visible in photos of him once he touched down in L.A. again. So, yeah ... it would appear prosecutors feel Nielsen left enough of a mark to move forward here.

TMZ broke the story ... Miles says he was confronted by two guys in the bathroom of a restaurant while out dining with his wife, Keleigh, which then allegedly escalated into violence. Miles initially made it out like he'd been cornered and jumped by complete strangers ... as did Keleigh.

Of course, since then ... some of the pieces have fallen into place over what exactly happened and why. We've heard from people familiar with the matter Nielsen knows the Tellers through his own wife, who owns a wedding planning company -- and who apparently worked on Miles and Keleigh's ceremony at one point or another in 2019.

Our sources told us Russ was confronting Miles over money he believed they still owed for wedding planning -- some $60k worth ... and after some talking, allegedly took a swing.

We've gotten video of Russell and his wedding planner wife in other heated situations with folks in the past -- and there, too, he appeared to fly off the handle with his boo egging him on.

Blueface is a wanted man -- there's a warrant out for his arrest, related to the on-camera beatdown of a nightclub bouncer ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us felony arrest warrants were recently issued for Blueface and 2 other men who allegedly carried out the brutal attack of the bouncer, back in September in L.A.'s San Fernando Valley.

We're told Blueface and his pals have each been hit with 2 felony charges ... one for assault, and another for robbery. Our sources say the robbery charge stems from an accusation that one of the men took a chain from the bouncer.

TMZ broke the story ... video captured the brutal incident, which appears to show Blueface and 3 other men stomping, kicking and punching the doorman.

The man had to be taken to a hospital by ambulance, and needed stitches.

We obtained photos of his alleged injuries -- the guy looked to have been beaten pretty badly -- and we knew the police had taken a battery report after the incident.

Now cops will be on the lookout to arrest Blueface and co. ... if they don't surrender on their own.

The legal floodgates are starting to open -- Travis Scott and Live Nation have just been sued by somebody alleging they were injured during Astroworld ... the first claim of what may prove to be many more to come.

A guy named Manuel Souza already lawyered up and reportedly filed suit Saturday in Harris County District Court -- claiming he was hurt during the madness that unfolded ... and alleging both negligence and gross negligence on behalf of Trav, LN and others he lists as defendants.

In his docs, obtained by Billboard, Souza says the tragedy was "predictable and preventable" -- due, in part, to what he characterizes as warning signs earlier in the day that he says should've been red flags to festival organizers ... but were allegedly ignored.

Souza describes how people first stampeded their way into NRG Park when things were first opening up ... with folks allegedly climbing over security gates and trampling over one another. Despite this, Souza claims nothing was done to further address or curtail things.

He goes on to allege that concert organizers made a conscious effort to let the show go on, despite clear evidence all around them that people were in serious distress ... and suffering "serious obvious injury." Souza believes they purposely chose this route, claiming they were well aware of the rising risk that was escalating by the minute during the night.

As for why Souza thinks Travis is at fault here ... it's not entirely clear what he's claiming Trav did or didn't do during the show that led to what Souza believes was avoidable. He does cite Travis' history of allegedly encouraging violence among fans at past concerts of his, which Souza says has led to people getting hurt. But beyond that ... it doesn't appear he connects specific dots in this instance as to why TS, specifically, is to blame.

It's also not entirely clear what injuries Souza is claiming were inflected against himself, but he does repeatedly cite the 8 dead and dozens of others who were also hurt ... while going on to claim that profit was chosen over the safety and well-being of concertgoers.

Souza is suing for at least a million dollars in damages. We're working on getting a copy of the lawsuit ourselves -- we've reached out to Live Nation and Travis for comment.

Donald Trump believes Alec Baldwin may have had more to do with the "Rust" shooting case than his obvious pulling of the trigger -- baselessly suggesting he might've loaded it too.

The ex-Prez shared his unhinged thoughts on the "Rust" shooting that claimed Halyna Hutchins' life this past week on the 'Chris Stigall Show' podcast -- where he called Alec a "troubled guy" and then went on to recklessly theorize he may have put the live round in there in the first place ... something we know definitively is NOT true in the slightest.

It's a wild hypothesis, and one that doesn't seem to be grounded in any facts or reality. And yet, DT did it anyway -- while Stigall didn't bother correcting him.

In any case, there's more Trump had to say on the situation ... recounting Alec's past run-ins with paparazzi and reporters -- some of which were tense and leaned toward aggression -- and went on to connect that to what happened here ... again, not really fair at all.

What Trump couldn't wrap his mind around was the idea that Alec, for some reason, thought it'd be okay to point the gun at someone who was not in the scene with him and pull the trigger. That's actually reasonable criticism ... a lot of people don't get it either, as it violates one of the biggest rules of onset gun safety -- keep folks out of the line of fire.

Trump did get the placement wrong on where this happened -- he says it was outside, but it was obviously inside a church, as we've reported.

Still, he notes that whether the gun was improperly managed before it got to Baldwin -- which appears to be the case based on everything we've seen thus far -- DT says it still shouldn't have been aimed at anyone ... let alone a cinematographer who was off-camera.

Henry Ruggs is now facing FIVE total charges stemming from his fatal car crash this week ... including four felonies, TMZ Sports has learned.

Court records show the former Las Vegas Raiders star has been hit with DUI resulting in death, DUI resulting in substantial bodily harm (presumably for the injuries caused to his GF, the passenger), and two reckless driving charges -- all felonies.

Ruggs was also hit Friday with a misdemeanor charge of possessing a gun under the influence of alcohol.

If convicted on all counts, prosecutors say Ruggs is facing up to 46 years behind bars.

As we previously reported, Ruggs is accused of speeding in his Corvette while drunk on Tuesday morning in Las Vegas ... all while carrying a loaded gun in his car.

Officials say Ruggs reached a speed of 156 MPH ... and eventually slammed into the back of a Toyota at 127 MPH -- killing a woman and her dog.

In video, obtained by TMZ Sports, you can see in the moments after the crash, Ruggs was swearing and sobbing just feet away from the wreckage.

Ruggs ultimately showed up to court on Wednesday in a neck brace and a wheelchair -- though he did not enter a plea.

Fetty Wap is about to get out of jail as he awaits trial in his federal drug case ... TMZ has learned.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the rapper's bail has been set at $500,000.

When Fetty is officially sprung from jail, he'll have a few conditions for his release. The docs say he must wear a GPS monitoring device, submit to drug testing, surrender his passport and get prior approval from authorities to travel for any professional tours.

As we reported ... the feds grabbed Fetty last month before he was set to hit the stage at Rolling Loud in New York, arresting him on drug charges.

Prosecutors allege Fetty and others distributed more than 100 kilograms of cocaine, fentanyl, heroin and crack cocaine across New Jersey and Long Island ... and claim the drugs were first obtained on the West Coast and smuggled East using secret compartments in USPS vehicles.

During their investigation, the feds say they obtained $1.5 million in cash, firearms, 16 kilos of cocaine, 2 kilos of heroin, plus fentanyl pills.

Britney Spears' former business managers have some deep, dark secrets they don't want the public to know about ... at least that's how her attorney interprets their radio silence.

Mathew Rosengart fired off a letter to Tri Star Sports & Entertainment Group earlier this week ... repeating his demand for them to turn over a bunch of documents. Specifically, he's investigating exactly how Lou Taylor's company ran Britney's life ... financially and otherwise.

In the letter TMZ obtained in a court filing, Rosengart says one thing he's demanded -- but not received -- for more than 6 weeks is the total amount of fees Tri Star's taken from Britney since 2008. He says, "Tri Star's ongoing failure to answer this question speaks volumes and leads to the unfortunate and inexorable conclusion that Tri Star has much to hide."

Some sources intimately familiar with her finances tell TMZ ... they believe Britney's net worth -- estimated at $60 million -- should be 2 to 3 times more than that, and they attribute that shortfall to misappropriation by people associated with the conservatorship.

Rosengart's concern goes beyond money, though. He's also keyed in on the allegation Tri Star had a hand in spying on Britney by placing listening devices in her bedroom ... as reported in the most recent NY Times documentary about Brit and the conservatorship.

He claims that reporting is more than enough to warrant Britney's desire to comb through any and all Tri Star docs related to the alleged electronic surveillance.

A fight is brewing -- and maybe even a war -- between Britney Spears and her former business manager, who now says she had nothing to do with allegations of bugging Brit's bedroom or controlling her medical treatment.

Tri Star Sports and Entertainment Group -- run by Lou Taylor -- has just filed legal docs asking the judge in the conservatorship case to put the brakes on Britney's lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, who wants a full accounting over the last 13 years of Taylor's involvement. Rosengart has already said he believes money has been mishandled.

Taylor and co. say Rosengart should not be allowed to go back that far. They say Tri Star submitted regular accountings without any objection from Spears over the 11 years Taylor was involved in the conservatorship. Rosengart has said the whole deck was stacked against Britney and even her own lawyer at the time didn't protect her or her money.

Beyond that, Taylor's partner, Robin Greenhill, submitted a declaration saying "No one at Tri Star is aware of any hidden electronic surveillance device placed in Ms. Spears' bedroom."  She goes on to say, "No one at Tri Star has ever had any control over Ms. Spears' medical treatment."

What Greenhill did not address ... reports that she controlled Britney's ability to live the way she wants ... allegedly telling Spears on occasion she couldn't go on vacation or buy certain things because she reached her spending limit.

Britney has broken from Tri Star and is angry over the way Lou Taylor and co. handled her affairs.

Yella Beezy is in police custody in Texas, where he's been arrested on weapon and sexual assault charges ... TMZ has learned.

The rapper was busted Friday in Collin County, where he's currently in jail.

A law enforcement source tells TMZ … Beezy is behind bars after being booked on 3 different charges -- felony sexual assault, felony abandoned endangered child and misdemeanor unlawful carrying a weapon.

Yella Beezy is no stranger to getting in trouble in Texas ... this marks his third arrest in the Lone Star State this year alone.

TMZ broke the story ... YB was arrested back in August on weapons and drug charges, and the police say he was in possession of over 40 grams of a controlled substance plus a rifle and 4 handguns.