TimesOnline Reports
An actor who appears in the Harry Potter films today admitted growing cannabis.
Jamie Waylett, 19, who plays bully Vincent Crabbe, pleaded guilty to growing 10 plants in tents at his mother’s home.
The teenager and his friend, John Innis, 20, were arrested when Waylett took a photograph of police as the pair drove past officers.
Innis’s black Audi was then searched and police discovered a knife and eight bags of cannabis. They also discovered pictures of the cannabis plants on the digital camera that led them to Waylett’s mother’s house in Kilburn, northwest London.
After searching the premises they found 10 cannabis plants.
They also found another three bags of cannabis in Innis’s possession.
Appearing at City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Waylett, of Kilburn, North London, admitted production of cannabis during his first court appearance.
Innis, from Barnet, North London, admitted possession of a knife and having 11 bags of cannabis. The pair are due to be sentenced next week.
Victoria Oja, for the prosecution, said: “He admitted purchasing seeds and growing them into plants. He confirmed it was for personal use at the time.”
Dressed in a black suit and sky-blue shirt, he sat with his head bowed in the dock after admitting the offence. His lawyer pleaded with the judge not to send him to jail for the sake of his career.
Adjourning the hearing, the chief magistrate, Timothy Workman, said: “Clearly the possession of cannabis is a serious matter and indeed the possession of knives is serious as well.
“At the moment I’m not giving you any promises as to how the court will deal with this case.”
Cheryl Rudden, for the defence, told the court: “He has co-operated fully. He is a young man in the public eye and he has of course done something which is far from approved of in society.
“What I would not want you to do is make an example of him in that way. The effect on him is such that there are possible issues as to his future within his field.”
She said that he had been videoing the road side for a music compilation when he caught the attention of officers.
Waylett played a sidekick of the villain Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter films.
The latest instalment in the series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, went on general release yesterday.
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XXL Reports
After placing fourth on Forbes magazine’s Hip-Hop Cash Kings list, G-Unit leader 50 Cent predicts a return to number one spot next year.
In an interview with XXLMag.com, the Queens rapper says he’s not sweating the drop from the top slot this go-round.
“I’m on deck,” Fif told XXL. “I’m loaded. Call me ‘four’ this year, and then you call me ‘one’ next year, because I’m really preparing for my cycle.”
While 50 attributes his place on the list to his fourth solo album, Before I Self Destruct, getting pushed back, the rapper shrugs off his ranking.
“They’re fine,” he says of Jay-Z, Diddy, and Kanye West, who held the top three spots, respectively. “What kind of person would be upset at what position they fall when they’re on the Forbes list. That person would be a complete idiot.
“Ask me to show you a person who’s happy, and I’ll show you someone who’s content,” 50 continues. “And if you ask me to show you a guy who’s piss-poor with really nice things around him, I’ll show you the guy that’s on that list that’s worried about being number one. And [the person] won’t stay there, trust me.”
50 Cent raked in an estimated $150 million between June 2007 and June 2008, to top the 2008 Forbes charts, besting Jay-Z’s $82 million earnings. This year, Jay stacked $35 million, $15 million more than Fif’.
Before I Self Destruct is slated for a late 2009 release. –John Kennedy
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The lack of hardcore hip-hop has seemingly coincided with rappers being exposed in the last two years.
Though not a rapper per se, Akon’s street credibility took a hit when thesmokinggun.com reported that the hookman’s rap sheet was fabricated back in April 2008. Kon had reportedly only spent a few months in prison for stealing one BMW rather than serve a 4 1/2 years term for being the ring leader of a car theft ring. Meanwhile, three months later, Plies, hip-hop’s self-proclaimed “goon” came under fire for allegedly being a college kid who lied about his criminal past. Last but not least, Rick Ross was outted for being a correctional officer the same month. Presently on a campaign to bring hardcore hip-hop back, 50 Cent weigh in on the correlation between rappers’s questionable street creds and the lack of interest in gangsta rap.
“With Plies, if you say he’s a college kid, so what?” the Queens rapper told XXLMag.com. “I wish I was a college kid. I wish I didn’t grow up under the circumstances I had to grow up under. I would have liked to just go to college and study business.”
“I see him rap about the girls a lot, so that’s true,” he continued. “From my perspective, Plies, his strong hit records are about females…and ‘Bust It Baby’ and that type of material. To me that’s authentic. He gon get the girls. You see him, decked out, he’s right, girls like him. That’s official.”
As expected, Fif had a different take on the Rick Ross controversy. “What was awkward was being part of law enforcement and completely writing drug dealer material and the biggest drug dealer in the world material,” Fif explained. “That was a little bit fictional. I mean hip-hop in general…I don’t think anybody is actively out, anybody with good sense ain’t actively out doing exactly what they said on the record or they won’t actually last cause you’ll get attention from law enforcement based on what you saying.”
“Can you imagine what it’s like…when you convince the general public that you’re that person, you’re also convincing law enforcement,” Fif added. “This is why you don’t see me out and about as often as you see these other guys at frivolous events, just wherever. I’m not with it.”—Bruce Moses
Source :XXLRead more…
New York Daily News Reports
A made-for-tv gun battle erupted outside a Brooklyn baby shower for the wife of a star of the HBO crime series "The Wire" Sunday, killing one teen and wounding two men, cops said.
Gunmen unloaded nearly 50 bullets outside the party for the wife of actor Jamie Hector - who played violent druglord Marlo Stanfield on the hit series - then tried to finish off one of the wounded men outside a hospital.
"What a gun battle," a police source told the Daily News. "They have been watching too much TV."
Police and paramedics raced to E. 93rd St. in East Flatbush about 1:20 a.m.
Cops found evidence of a running gun battle with at least 46 shell casings dotting about half the block beginning at Avenue B.
Two guns were recovered, but no suspects were arrested after the violence that spilled out from the party.
Linton Williams, 17, of Brooklyn, died at the scene.
As the smoke cleared, someone helped 32-year-old Andrew Filson into a car and raced him to Downstate Medical Center.
When the shooting victim got out of the car at the hospital, another vehicle rolled up and someone inside started firing.
Police sources said Filson was hit at least once at the hospital.
Emergency workers put him into an ambulance and rushed him to Kings County Hospital, a trauma center where he was listed in critical condition yesterday.
Walter Parker, 22, was shot in the leg outside the party. He flagged down an ambulance and was taken to Brookdale University Hospital, where he was in stable condition.
Hector, a Brooklyn native who has also starred in TV shows "Heroes," "Jericho" and "The Game," was said to be at the baby shower for some time.
It was unclear whether the actor was still there when the bullets started flying - or why the gunmen targeted the three victims. Hector's spokesman didn't respond to calls for comment.
Margaret Joseph, who lives near where the shooting started, said she had gone to sleep about 1 a.m., but was awakened by the gunshots.
"I jump out of bed and I hear, 'Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop,'" she said.
Another neighbor, who was also in bed when she heard the shots, said, "I was so scared. I rolled out of bed onto the ground to protect myself. Bullets penetrate windows, you know."
Lisa Bruce, 35, who lives on the corner of E. 94th St. and Avenue B, said she was watching a movie at 1:30 a.m. when she heard gunshots "exploding like firecrackers."
She peered out of her window and saw a bloodied victim hiding in the bushes.
"He was shouting, trying to tell somebody that he needed help," she said.
"Then the ambulance came, and the man limped out of the bushes and said, 'I'm shot, I'm shot,' and pointed to his leg."
"Then they took him away," she said.
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USA Today Reports
Sahel Kazemi placed an ad on Craigslist selling all her furniture on the same day she bought the gun police found at the scene of her death, the Tennessean reports.
Kazemi was found dead with former NFL QB Steve McNair on Saturday, two days after buying the gun on July 2. She had also been arrested on suspicion of drunken driving early in the morning on July 2.
The headline on her Craigslist ad read: "NICE FURNITURE. TV, COUCH, COFFE TABLE AND MORE - $1 (hermitage)." (Here is a link to a Craigslist ad -- from its Nashville site -- that matches that headline.)
The cell number listed in the ad matches the number police got from Kazemi, 20, on July 2 when she was arrested. She bought the gun later that evening, police said.
Family members have said Kazemi was getting rid of her furniture because she was planning to move in with McNair. She listed a flat-screen TV, couch, dining room set and coffee table for sale.
McNair's friend, Robert Gaddy, said Tuesday that the former quarterback was not planning on leaving his wife, Mechelle.
Police have called a news conference at 3:45 p.m. ET on Wednesday to update the case.
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Former Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam artist Tru Life turned himself in to authorities last night (June 23) to face a charge of 1st degree murder, according to reports.
The charge is possibly tied to a brutal stabbing incident last week that left one man seriously injured, and an 18-year old teen dead.
As reported by AllHipHop.com, police were initially investigating Tru Life’s brother for a retaliation attack in the non-fatal shooting of Michael Slater.
The individual, whom police suspect is a drug dealer, was shot in the stomach outside of club Pacha.
Several hours after the crime, police claim five gang members ambushed 30 year old Jason Black and the teen at a Manhattan apartment complex.
Both men were stabbed repeatedly in the chest and face. Black survived the assault, while the unidentified teen succumbed to his wounds.
At the time, police theorized that the back and forth violence was the result of a feud between Jason Black and Tru Life’s brother.
1st degree murder carries a maximum sentence of life in prison under New York law.
If an official or witness is not the victim, the distinction can also be decreed for murders involving multiple parties or tortuous killings.
Tru Life’s last music effort, “Wet ‘em Up,” was heard as a selection on the soundtrack to Grand Theft Auto IV.
At press time, Tru Life could not be reached for comment.
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A horrified Belgian woman woke up in a tattoo parlor with 56 stars covering the left side of her face, after, she claims, she only asked for 3, The Daily Mail reports.
Eighteen-year-old Kimberly Vlaeminck is suing Romanian tattoo artist Rouslan Toumaniantz for 10,000 Euros to pay for its removal.
Although Toumaniantz maintains that Vlaeminck asked for all 56 stars and he has the witnesses to prove it, he is willing to split the cost of removal.
"Kimberley is unhappy and it is not my wish to have an unsatisfied client," Toumaniantz said. "There is a way to remove the tattoos with the help of a laser. I accept to pay for half the cost."
Toumaniantz insists that Vlaeminck left his shop happy and satisfied with the job he had done decorating her face. She only started complaining after her father and her boyfriend saw her and were horrified, the Daily Mail says.
Vlaeminck blames the language barrier for the mess up. She asked for the three stars in French and limited English, and she says Toumaniantz didn't understand her.
But the tattoo artist maintains he understood her perfectly.
"She asked for 56 stars and that's what she got," he said.
Source: New York Daily NewsRead more…
For a minute, Lindsay Lohan was pretending to be serious about acting again.
The starlet landed a role in the independent movie, “The Other Side,” and told producer Kent Harper she would be “serious” and “committed” to the project, which starts filming in October.
So what does an attention-craving actress do until fall?
In Lohan’s case: post a semi-nude photo of yourself on the web.
The actress, 22, sent out a topless picture of herself with long, blonde extensions strategically covering her chest on Twitter.
Lohan, who is Fornarina’s summer 2009 spokeswoman, took the self-portrait on her Blackberry during a shoot for the Italian clothing label in January.
"OLD PHOTOS," she tweeted on Monday. "I'm THAT bored."
Lohan may have been bored, but she wasn’t dumb.
She tagged E! correspondent Ben Lyons and gossip blogger Perez Hilton in the photo’s caption.
Lohan’s latest self-exploitation stunt comes after string of mishaps that have followed the actress.
After two unidentified men attempted to unsuccessfully break into her Hollywood residence in May, Lohan’s relationship with on-off gal pal Samantha Ronson finally hit rock bottom.
The actress is now under investigation for the disappearance of $400,000 worth of Dior jewelry that went missing from a magazine photoshoot in London.
Source:New York Daily NewsRead more…
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