11:51 AM EDT 11/20/2009
Crime & Courts
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Judge Pleased with Chris Brown's Progress
Originally posted 11/19/2009 05:35PM
Chris Brown has received "an extremely favorable" report from officials overseeing his probation, a Los Angeles judge said Thursday.
Judge Patricia M. Schnegg acknowledged that Brown has completed more than 100 hours of community labor so far, and seven domestic violence counseling sessions.
"We have a progress report and it's extremely favorable," Judge Schnegg said. "That's excellent."
Brown, 20, who attended the hearing, was sentenced in August to six months of community labor for his felony assault on Rihanna, 21.
That amounts to more than 1,400 hours of washing cars, removing graffiti and cleaning and maintaining grounds in his home state of Virginia.
Permalink | Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Chris Brown, Rihanna
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John Kerry: My Daughter Was Not Legally Drunk
Originally posted 11/19/2009 05:10PM
Sen. John Kerry's daughter Alexandra, who was arrested and booked for a possible DUI, was released after a breathalyzer test fell under the legal limit for intoxication, according to the senator's spokesman.
Alexandra Kerry, 36, who works as a film director/producer, was arrested in Los Angeles early Thursday morning and released at 5:25 a.m. after posting $5,000 bail, police records show.
"Alexandra Kerry was pulled over for an expired registration and was released after the results of a breathalyzer test at the police station were under the legal limit," says Jodi Seth, spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Democrat. "Senator Kerry supports his daughter and will have no further comment on a private matter."
Permalink | Filed Under: Crime & Courts, DUIs, John Kerry
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John Kerry's Daughter Arrested for DUI
Originally posted 11/19/2009 10:50AM
Senator John Kerry's daughter Alexandra was arrested on suspicion of DUI early Thursday morning in Los Angeles, police say.
"She was stopped by officers for a DUI investigation," Sgt. Enrique Mendoza tells PEOPLE. "She was brought to the Hollywood station where she was booked. She identified herself as Senator Kerry's daughter."
Kerry, 36, who works as a film director/producer, was arrested shortly after midnight and released at 5:25 a.m. after posting $5,000 bail, police records show.
A court date is set for Dec. 10.
Permalink | Filed Under: Crime & Courts
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Accountant: Nicolas Cage Was 'Compulsive' Spender
Originally posted 11/17/2009 07:00PM
While Nicholas Cage is claiming that bad money management is behind his financial collapse, the former accountant who worked with the star claims that it's Cage who is to blame for his own ruin.
In documents filed in L.A. Superior Court, Samuel J. Levin, Cage's former financial advisor, paints a portrait of the 45-year-old star as an out-of-control and debt ridden spender who bucked any attempt to reign in his over-the-top lifestyle.
Cage claims in his filing that "Samuel J. Levin, "lined his [own] pockets with several million dollars in business management fees while sending Cage down a path toward financial ruin." Levin denies the claims, saying he was paid a standard fee for a business manager.
Among the accusations laid out in Levin's the 12 page cross-complaint to Cage's lawsuit against are the below:
Permalink | Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Nicolas Cage
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Woman Who Helped Kidnap Elizabeth Smart Pleads Guilty
Originally posted 11/17/2009 01:55PM
The wife of the man who is on trial for kidnapping Elizabeth Smart in Utah in 2002 pleaded guilty in a federal court Tuesday, and will testify against her husband at his trial.
Wanda Barzee admitted to her role in the charges of kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor across state lines to engage in sexual activity. Authorities alleged that Smart was held for nine months by Barzee and Brian David Mitchell, a self-avowed prophet who is accused of snatching the girl from her bedroom one night to make her his "second wife."
"I'm greatly humbled as I realize how much Elizabeth Smart has been victimized and the role I played in it," Barzee said after her plea, according to the Deseret News. "I'm so sorry, Elizabeth, for all the pain and suffering I caused you and your family. It is my hope that you find it in your heart to forgive me."
Permalink | Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Elizabeth Smart
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Accused Cindy Crawford Blackmailer Surrenders
Originally posted 11/17/2009 12:15PM
The former male model whom police allege tried to blackmail Cindy Crawford of $100,000 has turned himself in to police in his native Germany.
According to authorities, Edis "Eddie" Kayalar, 26, obtained a photograph of Crawford and husband Rande Gerber's then-7-year-old daughter tied to a chair in revealing clothing, taken by her nanny during a game of cops and robbers. Kayalar then allegedly tried to parlay the photo into a payout from the celebrity couple – lest he give the photo to the media. He was charged last week with one count of extortion despite having already been deported to Germany, where he allegedly continued to try blackmailing the couple.
On Monday, Kalayar went to a Stuttgart police station and surrendered himself, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Permalink | Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Cindy Crawford
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Sarah Jessica Parker-Matthew Broderick Burglary Trial Begins
Originally posted 11/16/2009 09:30AM
This week sees the start of the criminal trial of one of two Ohio police chiefs accused of breaking into the home of the surrogate mother for Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick's twins and trying to sell her personal belongings to a freelance photographer.
"On a daily basis, on an hourly basis, I am greatly concerned for her health and safety and the safe delivery of our children," Parker, 44, said in May, shortly after the arrests.
Permalink | Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Matthew Broderick, Sarah Jessica Parker
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Stephanie Pratt to Enter 30-Day Rehab
Originally posted 11/13/2009 08:20PM
Stephanie Pratt pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor DUI in a Los Angeles court Friday and will enroll in a 30-day residential rehab facility.
The Hills star, 23, was arrested last month in Hollywood after driving home from Holly Montag's birthday party.
She recently told PEOPLE that the arrest "was the worst thing to happen to me and, at the same time, it was the biggest blessing" as a life lesson.
Permalink | Filed Under: Crime & Courts
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INSIDE STORY: Critical Clues in Case of the Murdered Yale Student
Originally posted 11/13/2009 01:15PM
How did cops at Yale Univeristy find their suspect in the murder of medical student Annie Marie Le?
Newly released documents provide a vivid description of the suspicious actions that led them to university lab technician, Raymond Clark, 24, who was arrested after Le's body was found stuffed into a ceiling duct at the building of the New Haven, Conn., campus where she worked.
On Sept. 10, two days after Le went missing days before her wedding, Rachel Roth, a graduate student she had worked with, approached Yale Police Officer Sabrina Wood and showed her a box of sanitary wipes that appeared to have a blood spatter on it, according to arrest warrant affidavits.
Permalink | Filed Under: Crime & Courts
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Balloon Boy's Parents Plead Guilty
Originally posted 11/13/2009 12:30PM
Appearing in a Ft. Collins, Colo., courtroom Friday, Richard and Mayumi Heene – the parents of "Balloon Boy" Falcon Heene – pled guilty to charges related to the Oct. 15 hoax involving Falcon's fake "flight" aboard a saucer-shaped balloon.
"This whole deal is designed to keep the family together," says Richard's attorney David Lane. The couple's kids – Falcon, 6, Bradford, 10, and Ryo, 8 – "seem like happy, well-adjusted kids," says Lane. "[They have] huddled together as a family. These are well cared for and well-loved kids."
Lane says the children would have been most traumatized if "they would have seen their parents taken away in cuffs." Although the judge raised the possibility that Mayumi – a Japanese citizen – could still be deported, Lane says, "only the Feds have the power to deport ... the judge was just being cautious."
Permalink | Filed Under: Crime & Courts
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