NashvilleGab - Country music news and Nashville celebrity gossip

Randy Travis sues to stop release of naked arrest video

 

In February of 2012, a video of Randy Travis being arrested (see above) made its way into the hands of the public and the world laughed. Then they moved on because the public has a short attention span.

Squirrel!

Yes, that was an "Up" reference. 

Now Randy has filed suit to keep a second, probably much more embarrassing thing from happening again. 

You probably remember that Randy was arrested last August in Texas for DWI and just happened to be completely naked when police found him. In January, Travis pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated. He ended up receiving two years probation, a $2,000 fine and a 180-day suspended jail sentence. The judge also ordered the country singer to spend at least 30 days in treatment, complete 100 hours of community service, and to have a device installed in any vehicle he drives while on probation.

Unfortunately for Randy there now appear to be news agencies who are anxious to get their hands on the video of his naked arrest. Randy probably thought he was safe when the judge in the case decided the video should be destroyed and the arrest transcript not be released to the public. Unfortunately, the attorney general doesn't agree with the judge and has made the decision that some of the information should be released under a public information act request.

TMZ apparently has friends in high places in Texas. 

On Tuesday, Randy filed suit with the Travis County (what're the chances?) district clerk against the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Office of the Attorney General seeking $100,000 and an order that will keep all information regarding his August arrest from being released to the public. 

You know, I had no desire to see the video but now that he's trying to keep it secret I'm dying to see it. I know that's wrong but it's the truth. I mean it's got to be pretty dang juicy to have Randy siccing his lawyers on public officials to keep it from coming out. Seems to me the video would go away a lot faster if it's just allowed to come out and then disappear into infamy like every other celebrity drunken arrest video.

Billy Currington's mugshot revealed after singer turns himself in to police

Billy Currington mugshot via Taste of Country/Chatham County Sheriff’s Dept.

Billy Currington's exhilarating 24-hour life on the run has officially come to an end.

According to Taste of Country, Billy turned himself in to police today after having a warrant issued for his arrest yesterday stemming from an April 15th incident in which Billy is accused of threatening a 70-year-old boat captain. 

Billy's been charged with making terroristic threats and abuse of an elderly person, both felonies.

According to OnlineAthens.com, before the arrest warrant was issued, police searched Currington's home where they seized four digital video files, 27 digital photos and a memory card. According to an affidavit, police believe Currington might have recorded the confrontation between himself and the senior he's accused of threatening, which would explain why Billy grabbed his camera before chasing the boat captain down.

Billy faces up to 1-5 years in prison if convicted of either of the crimes he's accused of. 

Billy Currington is a terrorist ... or something like that

 

Well this is certainly an unexpected turn of events for country music's most laid back dude.

Yesterday, TMZ broke the news that Billy Currington had taken time away from surfing and harassing sea turtles to allegedly chase down a 70-year-old boat captain who he threatened to f**k up and kill. Now Billy has been charged with making terroristic threats and abuse of an elder person (a felony) and has a bench warrant out for his arrest. 

According to the reports, on Tax Day (April 15th), Billy was chilling at a resort area in Georgia (check it out here) when 70-year-old tour boat captain Charles Ferrelle reportedly passed too close to Billy's dock. According to eye witnesses, an old man on the dock was nearly knocked into the water by the boat's wake.

Garth Brooks sued

Garth Brooks is a paranoid, angry, deceitful man? Who knew?

According to TMZ, Garth's former business partner, Lisa Sanderson, is suing Garth, who she worked with for 20 years, claiming that Garth talked her into jump starting his TV and movie career only to ruin everything by making ridiculous demands. She also says Garth pretends to be "a humble and highly principled 'everyman'" -- he's actually a "paranoid, angry, deceitful and vindictive man who will turn against those closest to him on a dime."

Sanderson says she helped Brooks land roles in movies such as "Saving Private Ryan," but refused to take them because "he wanted to be the star and was unwilling to share the limelight with ... Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, and Edward Burns." He was also, according to the suit, offered a role as a bad guy in "Twister" but didn't want to play second fiddle to a tornado. 

Sanderson is suing for $425,000 in unpaid bonuses and salary, as well as punitive damages. So far Garth hasn't responded publicly to the lawsuit.

Shop owner files police report against Miranda Lambert ... apparently didn't get memo that she's a badass

Violence is never the answer to anything ... however, being threatened with violence by Miranda Lambert is for some reason charming and par for the course to me. 

Shop owner Melanie Peden, who owns a store in Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton's hometown of Tishomingo, Oklahoma, apparently doesn't feel the same way as I do, however, since she's gotten the police involved after she says Miranda went crazy in her shop.    

Peden says that on March 5, Miranda came into her store and had a foul-mouthed meltdown after she was accused of "stealing" her property. It's unclear just who "her" is so I'm not sure if Miranda was accusing Melanie of stealing or Melanie was accusing Miranda.

In any case, Melanie says Miranda "had a complete meltdown and threatened to 'punch me in the mouth' if I kept talking," Peden tells the National Enquirer.

Peden continues, "I was stunned and a little bit scared too, because she was growling and yelling at me like a crazy lady. She's got a real anger problem and needs help. But I stood my ground and asked her to leave my store."

The most interesting part of the story is that Peden's shop is just a few doors down from Miranda's Pink Pistol boutique. Talk about having trouble with the neighbors. 

Peden filed a police report against Lambert the following day, although it's not clear if the police are pursuing the accusations. 

{Radar}

Former (I hope) Josh Thompson band banjo player arrested for seeking sex with child, pleads guilty to enticement

What a creep. Let's hope this guy is out of public rotation for a long, long while.

30-year-old Abraham Eugene Spear is/was a banjo player for Josh Thompson's band. While in Dallas to perform at a Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill in the area, Spear was arrested after the FBI had monitored him contacting adults in hopes of having sex with young children. 

Last Friday, February 15th, Abraham pleaded guilty in a Dallas federal court to one count of attempted enticement of a minor and faces 10 years to life in prison, a $250,000 fine, and a lifetime of supervised release. He faces sentencing on June 7.

According to Crime Blog, Abraham had been in contact "with someone he believed to be the mother of 7- and 9-year-old girls in hopes of engaging in sexual acts with them." The mother he thought he was speaking with was thankfully an undercover FBI agent. According to a release from U.S. Attorney Sarah Saldana, Abraham was expecting to meet the “mother” that day but instead the FBI arrested him at a local deli.

Reportedly, Spear admitted that this wasn't the first time he had approached mothers of young children and had even offered to pay $200 for sex with one minor girl.

Scary that there's people like this out there. Let's just hope he gets some help while in prison and receives a sentence on the higher end of the 10 years to life possible. 

{Dallas News Crime Blog}

Emmylou Harris being investigated for hit and run

The gray-haired beauty that is Emmylou Harris is unfortunately in a bit of trouble in California. 

According to TMZ, back in October someone allegedly hit a car on the Los Angeles freeway and then took off. Now we've learned that the someone being investigated is none other than Emmylou Harris. 

Law enforcement sources tell us ... the alleged incident occurred on October 1 at around 10:00 PM.  They say Emmylou was driving a rental car on the 405 Freeway when she struck a car and took off without stopping or exchanging info.

We're told the CHP opened a hit and run investigation after the other driver filed a report.  The investigation is now complete and we're told the file was sent to the D.A., who will decide if the country legend should be prosecuted.

Luckily no one was injured in the accident and Emmylou's rep says it was just "minor traffic accident," adding "she unintentionally rubbed bumpers with another vehicle," something that, "happens everyday on the 405."

Which is probably true, but it's still against the law to take off without exchanging info anytime property damage occurs. Emmylou has apparently turned the matter over to her insurance company.

Since no one was hurt it seems kind of silly to be talking about prosecution, but I guess breaking the law is breaking the law no matter how minor the incident.

So does this mean I should stop playing bumper tag with people who piss me off in traffic? Nahhhh.   

(TMZ / photo courtesy YouTube)

Taylor Swift's birthday fence-jumping, trespassing, love nugget has the best defense ever

Remember Jacob Kulke, the cute little lovestruck fella who hopped a bus in Wisconsin last week and headed to Nashville in hopes of having a special rendezvous with Taylor Swift for her birthday and then ended up getting arrested after hopping the fence at a home reportedly owned by the birthday girl? 

Well slightly delusional Romeo, aka Mr. Kulke, was due in court today but the hearing was rescheduled for December 27th.

Jacob's lawyer, Sean McKinney, says that his client plans on pleading not guilty to the charges for various reasons, but his best defense by far has to be his fence defense. According to Jacob's lawyer, his client hopped the fence because it was too decorative and if it was meant to keep intruders out, it should have been more menacing.

Clever.   

From News Channel 5:

Kulke's attorney Sean McKinney spoke with NewsChannel 5 Wednesday, and said Kulke will plead not guilty during that hearing. He said Kulke believed he was heading to a private meeting with Swift at the Belle Meade home because of text messages and emails traded between him and someone he thought was the superstar.

"It's Mr. Kulke's contention that there was some kind of agreement where they could meet up, almost sounds like a Romeo and Juliet type thing," said McKinney. "It's definitely within the realm of possibility that it was a planned meeting."

Kulke's attorney says they're fighting the criminal trespassing charge because there weren't any "no trespassing" signs around the property, and he says the fence around the home wasn't an obvious enough sign to keep out.

"Usually a high wall can be an indication that a place is not open to the public, but this wall wasn't per se a barbed wire fence, it was more of a decorative wall," McKinney said.

Sadly, Kulke may soon have to leave the hometown of his one true love (Taylor) because a fugitive from justice warrant has been issued in Colorado for the lovesick fool due to a probation violation.

Come on, this all just sounds like a big misunderstanding thanks to a cruel hoaxster on Twitter. Taylor should see past the whole stalkerish feeling of the incident and visit Jacob in jail ... or at least write a song about him. 

BTW, I think I will try robbing my local bank and when they arrest me I'll just tell them they should have had some barbed wire around their vault to warn me that I wasn't allowed to enter. It'll be my Taylor Swift fence defense. 

(Newschannel 5 / Photo courtesy WTSP)

Zac Brown sued for unlawful use of a tree and being a bad boss

Kyle and Zac Brown in happier times - photo via Country Chart Talk

My philosophy is you aren't truly famous until you've been sued at least once or twice by disgruntled people.

Zac Brown and basically all his business entities and partners have had a lawsuit filed against them in Georgia by a man named Kyle Landas for copyright and trademark infringement.

On top of the infringement, which is the main part of the lawsuit, Landas, a former employee of Zac, claims that Zac's company provided unsafe work conditions, Zac's business manager was an asshole, and Zac liked to yell a lot (to paraphrase, of course).

The copyright/trademark infringement part of the lawsuit is in regards to a design that Landas, a designer who specializes in fine art memorialized in hand tooled or painted leather and whose art has been shown at the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Hank Williams Museum, created back in 2008 that he submitted to FarmAid for consideration of having the design used on custom leather guitar straps. 

Landas called this design Unity Tree. 

According to the lawsuit, in 2010, "Landas embossed Unity Tree onto a custom leather guitar strap, and on June 17, 2010, presented it to Brown backstage at a Zac Brown Band concert in Burlington, Iowa." 

Curb Records would like you to know that Tim McGraw may have won the battle but he hasn't won the war

Yesterday, the Tennessee Court of Appeals decided to rule against Curb Records and uphold a lower court's decision to allow Tim McGraw to go about his merry way and sign and record with his new record label Big Machine, meaning Tim is essentially free of Curb. Of course, this was part of the ongoing dispute between Curb and Tim that started last year.    

If you think this is the end of the story, you're unfortunately incorrect. 

Below is a press release Curb sent out basically saying, "Hey, we're not done with you yet, buddy."

I'd rewrite it all nicely and put a cute little bow on it for you, but I'm not very good at all the legal mumbo jumbo. 

Nashville, Tenn. (September 26, 2012) - The fundamental issue in this case is whether Tim McGraw fully performed under his contract with Curb Records. That issue has yet to be ruled on by any court, and will be the subject of a full trial on the merits scheduled for later this year. As to that fundamental issue, however, the Court of Appeals in its ruling yesterday reiterated the earlier sentiment expressed by the trial court that Curb Records has shown some likelihood of success on its breach of contract claims, and that Curb Records will be entitled to seek to recover compensatory damages from Mr. McGraw at the upcoming trial.