Legal news
Fyre Fest’s Billy McFarland Released Early from Prison
Fyre Fest co-founder Billy McFarland has been released early from prison and is currently living in a halfway house, according to Billboard. McFarland was sentenced to six years in prison in 2018 for the fraudulent festival, which promised attendees a luxurious Bahamas experience complete with catered meals, luxury villas, and performances from the likes of Migos and Blink-182. Instead, guests were stranded in a tent city offering little more than school lunch food. McFarland pleaded guilty to bank fraud, wire fraud, and lying to investigators. In October 2020, the con artist was placed in 23-hour-a-day solitary confinement after recording a tell-all podcast from prison. Six months later, he was released from solitary in Lisbon, Ohio’s FCI Elkton prison and transferred to FTC Oklahoma City...
Mac Miller Drug Dealer Sentenced to 17.5 Years in Prison for Fentanyl Sale
Stephen Walter, one of the three men charged in the overdose death of Mac Miller, has received a 17.5-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to federal charges of distribution of fentanyl, reports Rolling Stone. The sentence came after US District Judge Otis D. Wright, II rejected a plea agreement that Walter struck with federal prosecutors in October 2021 for a flat 17-year sentence. Since prosecutors claimed Walter continued to sell cocaine and counterfeit oxycodone pills even after Miller’s untimely passing, Judge Wright said he couldn’t accept the deal’s terms. “The court has elected not to accept that plea agreement. So, sir, if you want, at this point, you can withdraw your guilty plea and go to trial,” Judge Wright said. “I may as well lay it out, okay. When you continue to enga...
Young Thug, Racketeering, and RICO, Explained
Musical superstar Young Thug, his close associate Gunna, and 26 others have been charged with violating Georgia’s criminal racketeering laws. In a 56-count indictment, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis alleged that Thugger’s label Young Stoner Life Records acted as a criminal street gang with ties to the national Bloods organization. He was arrested on Monday, while Gunna was booked Wednesday morning. The defendants have been charged with conspiracy to violate Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO Act, which was closely modeled on the federal RICO Act. To make those charges stick, the DA’s office will have to prove that Young Thug served as the head of a criminal enterprise whose illegal activities came as part of an organized scheme. RICO Acts are...
Andy Dick Charged with Felony Sexual Battery, Arrest Caught on Livestream
Andy Dick has been arrested in Orange County, California on suspicion of felony sexual battery. The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that police were called this morning, May 11th, to a campground in O’Neill Regional Park in Trabuco Canyon after a man alleged he was sexually assaulted. Dick, 56, was arrested, and the victim was taken to a hospital for examination. According to TMZ, Dick and a group of live streamers had been living in the RV park. The arrest was broadcast on creator Captain Content’s RV YouTube channel. Related Video This is far from the first time Dick has been accused of sexual misconduct. In 2019, the actor and comedian was accused of groping his Uber driver, and before that, he was fired from the films Raising Buchanan and Vampire Dad for “groping people’s genitals, u...
Young Thug Facing Seven Additional Felony Charges After Guns and Drugs Found in Home Raid
After being arrested on gang activity and racketeering charges in Atlanta earlier this week, Young Thug (born Jeffery Lamar Williams) is facing even more legal trouble. A search of Fulton County jail records has revealed seven more felony charges stemming from guns and drugs that were found in a police raid of his home in the Buckhead area of Atlanta. Specifically, the charges include Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Distribute; Possession of a Schedule III, Iv or V Controlled Substance with Intent to Distribute; Possession of Firearm During Commission of a Felony; and Possession of Sawed-Off Shotgun, Sawed-Off Rifle, Machine Gun, dangerous Weapon, or Silencer. There are also three separate charges of Unlawful for Person Employed By/Associated with Criminal Street Gang to Conduc...
Mario Batali Found Not Guilty of Sexual Misconduct
Mario Batali has been found not guilty of indecent assault and battery charges dating back to May 2019. The verdict was delivered on Tuesday, May 10th, in Boston Municipal Court by Judge James Stanton after the celebrity chef waived his right to a jury decision. Judge Stanton made the ruling after a day and a half of testimony, primarily from the woman who accused the former Food Network personality of groping and kissing her without consent at a Boston bar in April 2017. “It’s an understatement to say that Mr. Batali did not cover himself in glory on the night in question,” the judge said (via The New York Times), while acknowledging the accuser “has significant credibility issues.” Batali did not testify. He was facing up to two and a half years in jail and would have been required to re...
Young Thug Arrested on Gang Activity, Racketeering Charges
Young Thug was arrested on gang activity and racketeering charges in Atlanta on Monday. According to the New York Times, Young Thug was charged with one count each of participation in street gang activity and conspiracy to violate the RICO Act as part of a 56-count indictment filed against the rapper and 27 of his associates. YSL (short for Young Slime Life) is the name of Young Thug’s record label. However, in its indictment the Fulton County District Attorney alleges that the Atlanta-based YSL also engages in criminal gang activities, including murder and armed robbery. Related Video As the co-founder of YSL, Young Thug is specifically accused of renting a car which was used in the 2015 murder of a rival gang member named Donovan Thomas, Jr. Prosecutors also say that members of YSL sough...
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![Dave Chappelle Attacker Charged with Four Misdemeanors, Won’t Face Felony Charges [UPDATED]](https://www.wazupnaija.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/dave-chappelle-attacker-charged-with-four-misdemeanors-wont-face-felony-charges-updated-80x80.jpg)
Dave Chappelle Attacker Charged with Four Misdemeanors, Won’t Face Felony Charges [UPDATED]
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office has declined to press felony charges against the man who attacked Dave Chappelle on stage at the Hollywood Bowl on Tuesday night. “After reviewing the evidence, prosecutors determined that while criminal conduct occurred, the evidence as presented did not constitute felony conduct,” a spokesperson for the department said in a statement provided to The Hollywood Reporter. “The District Attorney’s Office does not prosecute misdemeanor crimes within the city of Los Angeles.” Police say the man, 23-year-old Isaiah Lee, had a replica gun with a real knife inside. According to the Los Angeles Times, however, Lee did not use the weapon during the assault; it was inside a bag he was carrying. The case has been referred to the Los Ang...
Judge Rejects Amber Heard’s Motion to Dismiss Johnny Depp Defamation Lawsuit
The judge presiding over Johnny Depp’s defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard has rejected Heard’s motion to dismiss the case. The motion was filed by Heard’s attorneys after Depp’s legal team concluded their case on Tuesday. After hearing arguments from both sides, Judge Penny Azcarate said there is sufficient evidence for the case to continue. Instead, Heard’s attorneys will now have to convince a jury that the actress did not defame her ex-husband when she wrote a Washington Post in which she discussed being a victim of domestic abuse. Although Heard did not refer to Depp by name or go into any details of the abuse, Depp claims the op-ed damaged his personal reputation and career in Hollywood. He subsequently sued Heard for $50 million, which led Heard to file a $100 million count...
DaBaby Charged with Felony Battery Following Alleged Music Video Set Attack
The L.A. County District Attorney’s Office has charged DaBaby with felony battery after a man claimed he was physically assaulted when he tried to stop the rapper’s entourage from shooting a music video on his property back in December. According to TMZ, the incident occurred while DaBaby (born Jonathan Kirk) and his team were renting out a mansion managed by the plaintiff, Gary Pagar. Pagar says he was told Kirk and his friends would be using the house as a vacation spot. Pagar claims that Kirk’s management team agreed to the 12-guest limit outlined in a rental agreement, but at one point during their week-long stay, Pagar says he noticed that more than 12 people were at the house. Pagar visited the property himself on December 2nd, and allegedly found upwards of 40 people in attenda...
![Olivia Wilde Served Custody Papers from Jason Sudeikis at CinemaCon [UPDATED]](https://www.wazupnaija.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/olivia-wilde-served-custody-papers-from-jason-sudeikis-at-cinemacon-updated-1050x600.jpg)
![Olivia Wilde Served Custody Papers from Jason Sudeikis at CinemaCon [UPDATED]](https://www.wazupnaija.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/olivia-wilde-served-custody-papers-from-jason-sudeikis-at-cinemacon-updated-80x80.jpg)
Olivia Wilde Served Custody Papers from Jason Sudeikis at CinemaCon [UPDATED]
Olivia Wilde was served custody papers from her ex-fiancé, Jason Sudeikis, while presenting the trailer for her upcoming film Don’t Worry Darling at CinemaCon, Deadline reports. The actress/director was previewing her upcoming project, which stars Florence Pugh and Harry Styles, at the gathering of movie theater owners when an unidentified person approached the stage and slid her a manila envelope marked personal and confidential. “This is for me?” Wilde asked, according to Deadline. It was later confirmed by Deadline that the envelope contained legal documents. Update: According to a source close to Sudeikis, the documents were drawn up to establish jurisdiction relating to the couple’s children. The source also said Sudeikis “had no prior knowledge of the time or place that the enve...
New Footage Casts Doubt on DaBaby’s Self-Defense Claim in Deadly 2018 Walmart Shooting
Just months before signing to Interscope Records, now-embattled rapper DaBaby (born Jonathan Kirk) shot and killed a man named Jaylin Craig at a Charlotte-area Walmart in November 2018. Kirk claimed he was acting in self-defense, and proceeded to reference the shooting in many of his songs. New security footage obtained by Rolling Stone, however, casts a different light on the incident, appearing to show Kirk initiated the fight that led to the shooting. In the footage, Kirk enters the frame while sucker-punching Craig’s friend Henry Douglas. After the initial attack, Craig appears to reach for a gun in his waistband, but it’s unclear whether or not he put it back based on a subsequent angle of the altercation. The remaining footage shows Kirk pulling out his own gun before shooting and ki...
