Paparazzi

Lamar Odom has just dodged a bullet -- he will NOT be prosecuted for trashing a photog's equipment ... TMZ has learned.

The L.A. City Attorney will not file criminal vandalism charges against Khloe's hubby for destroying a camera guy's equipment last month in Hollywood. Instead, as TMZ reported several days ago, the matter will be set for an informal hearing in the City Attorney's office.

The hearing is basically a sit down with both Lamar and the photog. The hearing office will explain the ground rules when there's a dispute between a celeb and the paparazzi. It's possible ... at the end of the hearing, Lamar could be ordered to attend anger management classes.

But short story ... victory for Lamar.

Kanye West left an innocent photog in crutches after a brutal assault at LAX last month -- when Kanye attempted to wrestle away the pap's camera -- so says the photog himself, and now he's filed a lawsuit against the rapper.

Daniel Ramos appeared with his lawyer Gloria Allred at a news conference Wednesday, where Gloria announced the lawsuit for assault, battery, and interference with Daniel's civil rights (in this case free speech).

Daniel -- who called himself a "filmmaker" -- says he spent two weeks on crutches after the attack, and has been walking with a cane for some time. He says he's still in pain.

Gloria argued the attack sets a dangerous precedent for celebrity-on-photog violence, especially now that various celebs are actually celebrating unprovoked attacks on photogs.

At one point, Gloria went after Kirstie Alley, Cher, and even Kylie Jenner for applauding Kanye's attack on Twitter.

Gloria says she's also asking the court to issue a restraining order against Kanye.

Kanye West is about to get pounded by a woman -- Gloria Allred.

Allred just said she's repping the photog Kanye attacked at LAX last month and says she's filing a lawsuit against the rapper.

What's complicating things for Kanye -- the L.A. City Attorney is currently mulling over whether to prosecute Kim K's baby daddy for vandalism and battery in connection with the attack. Up to this point the likely outcome was that -- even if a criminal case were filed -- the photog would make a financial settlement and the case would go away.

It's possible Allred will try to score a big payday for the photog and the case would still be dropped, but let's be honest ... this case will be high profile ... which is Allred's sweet spot. Short story -- the chances Kanye will be prosecuted just got way bigger.

Gloria's holding a news conference at 1 PM PT. We'll be livestreaming.

It happened. Again.

A photog DARED to actually talk while in Kanye West's presence ... despite KW's infamous "Don't ever talk" edict of 2013.

He talked to Kanye. He talked to himself. He talked.

And what happened? Something crazy ... something out of character ... something non-violent.

Kanye actually smiled.

It's the second time we've seen Kanye smile this month. Maybe he's turned a corner.

We'd ask him ... but that would require us to talk ... and we've probably said enough already.

Lamar Odom has dodged a bullet ... the NBA superstar will not be prosecuted for going berserk on a paparazzi in the middle of an L.A. street last month and breaking some of the guy's gear, TMZ has learned.

The cops had originally sent the case to the L.A. County D.A. for possible felony charges ... and the D.A. referred it to the L.A. City Attorney for possible misdemeanor vandalism charge.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Odom has agreed to pay for breaking the snapper's gear in the July 10 rampage. So we're told the City Attorney will hold an office hearing -- an alternative to a prosecution -- in which Lamar and the photog will have a chit chat with the hearing officer about rights and responsibilities ... and that's about it.

As we previously reported, Lamar blew a gasket that day after the photog (not a TMZ guy) blasted him with questions about rumors he was cheating on Khloe.

So in conclusion, Lamar went from possible felony ... to possible slap on the wrist ... to actual check (that's really just a drop in the bucket for a pro athlete/reality star).

Lamar wins.

Looks like Kim Kardashian wasn't lying about a photog trespassing onto Kardashian family territory this week -- we found out ... 1 cop car rolled up to their Calabasas mansion Wednesday ... and we're told police were nosing around about the incident.

As we reported, on Monday Kim posted video online, showing her mother Kris Jenner racing into her backyard in hot pursuit of a paparazzo who had trespassed on her grounds.

It smelled like BS at the time -- after all, why would Kris put herself in that kind of danger??? But sources close to the Kardashians say police already have a solid lead on a suspect, and dropped by Kris' house to speak with her about the incident.

Kristen Stewart tore a paparazzo a new a-hole yesterday... dropping f-bombs and screaming, "You don't deserve to breathe the same air I do."

The video's intense ... Kristen is seen hiding behind a gate, waiting for a ride outside some building in Los Angeles, when the photog -- not TMZ -- asks, "Why are you saying f**k off?"

Obviously, Kristen was pissed even before the camera rolled ... but it's unclear what took place BEFORE the paparazzo started recording.

Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner have beefed up security at their Calabasas estate after a paparazzo allegedly trespassed onto their property, TMZ has learned -- but video footage of the incident makes the whole thing smell kinda fishy.

Kim posted the Blair-Witch-style video online yesterday, showing her mom running into their backyard ... in hot pursuit of the rogue photog. They say they even called the cops.

Sources close to the K-Klan tell us, the family has since hired round-the-clock security ... pretty crazy considering they already live in a gated community.

Now the fishy part ... If someone really was creeping around their property, why would a defenseless woman like Kim's mom run out to confront him ... especially a really rich defenseless woman?

Kanye West must have a really good lawyer, because law enforcement sources tell us it's virtually certain he will NOT be charged with ANY crime in connection with last week's paparazzo attack.

Here's the way we're told it will play out.

LAPD robbery detectives are investigating the photog's allegation that Kanye tried to steal his camera -- but our sources say that dog won't hunt. The D.A. will NEVER charge Kanye with felony attempted robbery, because there's no proof he tried to pilfer the camera at LAX.

We're told cops will send the attempted robbery file to the D.A. and they expect it will be rejected within days.

The next step -- the file goes to the L.A. City Attorney for a possible misdemeanor criminal battery prosecution. But here's why that won't happen. We're told Kanye is willing to ante up some cash to make the case go away, and it's perfectly legal. It's called a civil compromise and it's done everyday.

So Kanye will skate ... and probably attack another photog.

The end.

The photog who was attacked by Kanye West at LAX Friday is the SAME paparazzo who was attacked by Britney Spears in the famous umbrella incident ... TMZ has learned.

The pap -- who goes by the name Dano -- was on the receiving end of crazy Britney's Mary Poppins-style attack back in 2007. The word on the street was that Dano was more than a tad aggressive.

After the umbrella incident ... Dano put the umbrella (she left it on the street and he picked it up) on eBay. He also put the Ford Explorer she dented on the website and the bidding reached more than $30k.

But those figures are small potatoes ... we're told he also raked in a fortune from his video of the incident.

As for Friday's incident ... we broke the story .... Dano wants to press charges and Kanye is now a felony suspect for attempted robbery.

5:28 PM PT -- The victim wants to press charges against Kanye ... law enforcement sources tell TMZ. What's more, our sources say he's been interviewed by cops and they've determined he did indeed suffer injuries during the attack. Cops will refer the case to the D.A. as a felony attempted robbery and not a battery case. The routine is to go after the suspect for the most serious charge.

Kanye West has been named a felony suspect in the LAX attack Friday afternoon ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... police suspect Kanye committed an attempted robbery when he assaulted a photog at the airport and tried to jack his camera.

The case has now been transferred to the Robbery Homicide Unit and cops are currently putting a file together.

Our sources say the case will be referred to the L.A. County D.A. for possible prosecution.

The victim was taken to the hospital after the attack. His condition is unknown.

A lot happened this week ... another Kanye attack, a racist attack against Oprah by a jealous actress and a venomous reaction to a magazine cover. So we gotta ask ...

THIS VIDEO IS CRAZY ... Kanye West viciously attacked another photog at LAX Friday afternoon -- and it was so bad ... paramedics rushed to the scene.

Kanye was on his way out of the airport when he was swarmed with paparazzi, snapping pictures. One photog -- not TMZ -- probed Kanye with a bunch of questions.

Kanye told the man not to ask him questions, but he kept going -- and Kanye attacked, attempting to wrestle the camera from the guy's hands, and the man fell down. Kanye then immediately jumped into a waiting car and took off. Paramedics and police rushed to the scene.

Kanye had been out of the country since last week ... when he laid down his now-infamous anti-pap rules, telling our photog NEVER TO TALK TO HIM EVER. The extent of the photog's injuries are unclear.

Kanye West must have spiked the Kool-Aid that Kris Jenner drank, because only a drunk lady would concoct such a ridiculous justification for Kanye West's violent outburst at LAX last week.

Kris appeared on "The Talk" Thursday and urged people not to come down on Kim Kardashian's baby daddy for breaking our camera -- after our photog dared to speak and compliment the rapper.

Kris feels like it's important to know what happened in the 15 minutes before the attack. As far as our camera guy goes ... the answer is nothing. Beyond that, she's kidding, right?

There's a reason Kanye West hates the paparazzi so much -- it's a terrible reason -- but a reason nonetheless ... and it stems from a few rotten eggs, TMZ has learned.

It's no secret Kanye's been running on a short fuse since at least 2008, when he smashed a TMZ camera at LAX. After that, he vowed to have a more peaceful relationship with the media ... but that all changed in 2012.

Sources close to Kanye tell TMZ ... after he started getting serious with Kim Kardashian, he felt a couple of paps would cross the line and ask him inappropriate questions about their relationship in public. We're told he started to feel like certain paps were "heckling" him.

Things escalated in October 2012 during a trip to Miami ... when a local photog -- not a TMZ guy -- asked Kanye and Kim if they would be inviting Kris Humphries and Reggie Bush to their wedding.

Kanye was pissed ... and, rightfully so, felt the photog was just trying to antagonize him.

Things got worse a few months later, after Kim announced she was pregnant -- when another pap started hammering K&K about whether they would invite Ray J to the baby shower.

That, we're told, was the breaking point -- and from that moment on, Kanye decided to impose his "DON'T EVER TALK" policy on anyone with a camera.

Here's the problem ... if Kanye doesn't want to talk to a pap, that's fine -- he has that right. But when he starts attacking people and smashing camera equipment ... dude, you crossed the line.

Take this example, Kanye -- if a white person walked up to you and said the N-word, would you hate all white people??? Would you try to ATTACK every white person you encountered???

Kanye West's airport outburst on a TMZ photog is just the latest in a string of outlandish and violent behavior. So we gotta ask ...