NashvilleGab - Country music news and Nashville celebrity gossip

Kellie Pickler's little brother sparks investigation into misconduct by county official

Ooooh, possible corruption and intrigue at the county office. 

Charlotte, North Carolina television station WSOC TV has had an ongoing investigation into allegations that a Stanly County court official illegally obtained a copy of a certified birth certificate for Kellie Pickler's little brother Eric Pickler.

The station learned that in June of '09, Stanly County trial court coordinator Susan Honeycutt applied for a certified copy of a birth certificate for Eric for unclear reasons. 

According to UNC School of Government professor Charles Szypszak, "Certified copies are used to prove your identity. You get drivers licenses, passports, things like that, so that's why they're restricted."

The Stanly County Register of Deeds Suzanne Lowder discovered that Honeycutt had applied for the birth certificate and emailed the professor with questions rather than going to the higher ups to question the odd application by a fellow county employee. 

LeAnn Rimes blames cyber bullies for problems, files suit for invasion of privacy

Okay, so before I start this post I have to get this off my chest...I call bullshit on this whole story. 

Whew. I feel better. 

The whole LeAnn Rimes went to a treatment facility for stress and anxiety story announced today just got even weirder, but maybe a bit more clear.

This is going to be long. Sorry. 

Back on August 20th, I brought you this story of how I had gotten some audio from a reader of LeAnn and a Twitter foe arguing over Brandi Glanville and some other crap. I had said it then and I say it still, it was the oddest piece of email I had ever gotten about LeAnn Rimes. I just thought the whole audio was immature and silly and kind of tame by argument standards and I admit that I found it entertaining to listen to just because it was so off the wall and bizarre. 

The audio has since been removed from YouTube, but I listened to both videos (they were YouTube videos but it was purely audio, no actual video) and didn't hear anything that painted LeAnn in a bad light other than she was on the phone arguing with a random person she only knew from Twitter, that definitely seemed strange to me but whatever. The entire audio was LeAnn and the girl she was talking to on the phone trying and failing miserably to talk over each other. LeAnn said something about Brandi but it wasn't out of line and I don't think LeAnn sounded crazy in the least, just frustrated, as did the girl she was arguing with. It was all really just stupid but didn't seem criminal to me. 

Randy Travis' girlfriend's husband seeks restraining order

Photo of Randy Travis and Mary Beougher via National Enquirer

I think I smell a lawsuit coming. 

Yesterday I told you about the TMZ story about Randy Travis getting ticketed for assaulting some guy in the parking lot of a church while drunk after butting into a family dispute. Then later came the People.com story that says that Randy wasn't actually drunk and the guy he was ticketed for assaulting was the estranged husband of Randy's girlfriend. 

Neither of those stories mentioned who the alleged assault victim was or who Randy's girlfriend was that he was reportedly defending. 

Well late last night I got an unexpected email from Randy's sparring partner's attorney, a Mr. Gregory Shamoun of Dallas, who seemed a bit peeved that Randy was being portrayed as the knight in shining armor. 

The story told about Randy Travis defending his paramour is a total fabrication.

I am the victims attorney. Travis assaulted my client and threatened to kill him. The "knight in shining armor" although wearing cloths at night this time, acted out with a violent rage. A TRO hearing is set on Monday with an Injunction trial on Friday next week. Perhaps "the knight" can find his clothes and rest assured he will desperately need some "armor" when on the witness stand under oath.

A passionate fella indeed. 

A TRO hearing is a hearing for a temporary restraining order. Not sure about an injunction trial is and I'm pretty much too lazy to go and figure it out. 

Since none of the stories I had read yesterday mentioned the wife and estranged husband's name, I asked Mr. Shamoun and he confirmed that Dallas cosmetic dentist, Dr. Ritchie Beougher, is his client and his estranged wife Mary Beougher is Randy's girlfriend he was reportedly defending. 

He agreed to give me an update or possibly a statement from Dr. Beougher if he released one so we'll see if that happens.

Despite the above, my thoughts on all of this still remain the same....I hope Randy gets some help soon. 

Update on Randy Travis: He was simply defending his girlfriend from her husband

As I posted about earlier today, Randy Travis was in a scuffle early this morning in a church parking lot in Texas. According to TMZ, Randy was extremely intoxicated and was taken to the hospital. 

Now People.com has further details that at least make the incident sound less like a sad country song and more like a guy defending his girlfriend from her estranged husband. 

Okay, still sounds like a sad country song, but defending someone's girlfriend is at least better than being drunk and butting into some stranger's argument. 

From People.com:

"We got a phone call at around 10 or 10:30 [Thursday] night about a personal family issue occurring between an estranged husband and wife. The wife was reportedly the girlfriend of Randy Travis," Officer David Tilley, of the Plano, Texas, Police Department, told PEOPLE on Friday morning. 

"Randy intervened and reportedly an assault took place between Randy and husband. There were no injuries reported," said Tilley.

The beleaguered country singer was cited for a Class C simple assault, "which is a minor misdemeanor offense similar to a traffic violation," Tilley told PEOPLE. 

Afterward, he says, everyone refused transportation to the hospital. 

As for speculation that Travis might have been under the influence of alcohol, Tilley said, "There was no indication that he was intoxicated on the report. I'm not sure where these stories are coming from. It's nothing more than what we run into on a regular basis." 

A rep for the musician could not be reached for comment. 

 

So Randy Travis is in trouble again

Unfortunately it appears that his DUI arrest two weeks ago and the possibility of facing a few years in prison WASN'T rock bottom for Randy Travis. 

Dang.  

TMZ is now reporting that a very intoxicated Randy was in a fight in a church parking lot of all places early this morning in Texas. And here's the kicker, the fight appears to be one that he got involved in that didn't even have anything to do with him. 

From TMZ:

Law enforcement sources tell us ... cops responded to the church around 1 AM after receiving a tip about two men fighting in the parking lot. 

We're told Travis was taken to the hospital after the fight. One source tells us Randy appeared to be "extremely intoxicated."

We're told the fight was over a girl. 

TMZ later learned that Randy was cited for "simple assault" and that police believe Randy was the primary aggressor. Cops also say this was a family argument that Randy butted into.

Anyone else starting to think that maybe Randy needs some prison time in order to save him from himself? The only good thing about this whole incident is that it doesn't appear that Randy drove himself to the scene of the fight. 

UPDATE: Apparently I missed the part that said Randy was hospitalized after the fight, probably due to the extreme intoxication. 

The fact that this is Randy's second police incident in a church parking lot is pretty significant. I hope he finds what he appears to be searching for soon before it's too late. 

UPDATE #2: Randy was actually defending his girlfriend, probably not drunk, and didn't go to the hospital. Oh, and it was 10 p.m. not 1 a.m.

Settlement rejected in Indiana State Fair stage collapse

(AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Monday was the first anniversary of the devastating stage collapse at the Indiana State Fair and those injured and the families of those killed are still trying to agree to a settlement. 

Two weeks ago, it was announced that a settlement had been reached between victims and the state and stage owner, but now that settlement has stalled after not enough victims came forward to accept the offer. 

According to KansasCity.com, Mid-America Sound officials, owners of the stage, said that since only 51 of the 62 claimants in the lawsuit had come forward by the August 1 deadline, the company wouldn't be able to agree to the settlement. 

The settlement would have protected Mid-America and the state of Indiana from further lawsuits.

Mid-America spokeswoman Myra Borshoff Cook released a statement saying "the minimum participation requirements" specified in the proposed settlement weren't met, although the company failed to say how many people were required in order to move forward with the proposed settlement. 

Following the company's announcement this week, Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller said that he would move forward with dispersing the $6 million that lawmakers had approved earlier this year for victims.

Hopefully a settlement can be reached soon so that victims and their families can finally put this tragedy behind them as much as possible.  

Randy Travis apparently walked into a convenience store naked....could possibly face 10 years in prison

KTEN.com - No One Gets You Closer

This story just keeps getting weirder and weirder. 

KTEN has video explaining everything that's known about Randy Travis' wild and naked escapades on Tuesday that ended when he was arrested on retaliation and DWI charges. 

Turns out this could land Randy in prison for up to 10 years. 

Wow. 

According to the video, Randy's naked adventures began earlier in the evening when he went to a Tiger Mart store in Pilot Point and entered with nothing on where he demanded the clerk give him cigarettes but he had no money to pay. 

"A customer walked in, he was butt (buck) naked and demanded cigarettes. He was asking for Marlboro Light and some other kind of cigarettes," a store employee explained. 

As funny as all the naked stuff is, this is really serious. According to the video, the DWI is a first time offense which makes it a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to 6 months in jail while the retaliation charge could be a third degree felony and punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. 

Let's hope this turns out to be rock bottom for Randy and he gets his life straightened out. 

If the video above doesn't work, you can also watch it here. 

Randy Travis does the walk of shame as he leaves jail....in a lovely paper suit

Photo credit: TMZ

After spending the night in jail on DWI and felony threat charges, TMZ got the first picture of Randy leaving the jail after posting a hefty bail today. 

You would have thought someone could have at least brought Randy some shoes and clothes, but nope, he left the jail barefooted and in a county-provided paper suit after being found and hauled off to jail completely naked. 

Well he did have his hat so that's a good thing. 

As TMZ said so eloquently, "if you're only gonna wear one article of clothing during a naked arrest, might as well make it something that says "Longhorn."

Now that's funny right there, I don't care who you are. 

Randy Travis' scary mugshot released -- star was naked when arrested and threatened to shoot cops

As I told you earlier, Randy Travis was arrested last night in Texas for suspected DWI after crashing his car. 

Now the Grayson County Sheriff's Department has released the scary could-be-from-a-Batman-movie mugshot as well as more of the story, including the fact that Randy was naked when arrested and threatened to shoot police. 

From KTEN:

Country singer Randy Travis was arrested in Grayson County early Wednesday morning after deputies say he was found lying naked in the road.

Deputies say Travis was naked when he was brought in to the Grayson County Jail in Sherman, where records show he was booked in just before 4:30 a.m. on Wednesday on charges of DUI as well as Retaliation.

According to Grayson County District Attorney Joe Brown, Travis's bond will be set by a judge at the jail so there will not be an initial hearing yet.

Brown says the case will probably end up in front of a grand jury and a hearing could be set in a couple of weeks.

The Grayson County Sheriff's Office released the following information:

"On August 7, 2012 the Grayson County Sheriff's Office (Sherman, Tx) received a 911 at call 11:18 p.m. The caller stated there was a man lying in the roadway on F.M. 922 at Clover Road just outside of Tioga, Texas.

Texas Department of Public Safety Troopers responded to the scene. Randy Bruce Travis was arrested for Driving While Intoxicated (misdemeanor) and Retaliation (felony).

According to the book-in sheet, Randy Travis was involved in a one vehicle accident. Travis had a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath and several signs of intoxication. Travis refused a blood and breath test; a search warrant was granted by a judge for a blood specimen, which was taken at a local hospital.

While Travis was being transported Travis made threats to shoot and kill the Troopers working the case. (Thus the Retaliation charge)

Randy Bruce Travis' was arrested for: Driving While Intoxicated – Bond set at $1,500.00

Retaliation – Bond set at $20,000.00"

According to the Sheriff's Office, Travis is expected to be released later today when his bond is made.

Randy Travis involved in one-car crash -- arrested on suspicion of DWI

And the downward spiral continues.

It's being reported that Randy Travis was arrested last night for a suspected DWI after being involved in a one-car accident. From TMZ: 

Country singer Randy Travis was arrested last night in Texas on suspicion of DWI after crashing his car, TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ, Randy was arrested around 11:59PM with minor cuts and bruises. He was also booked on a "retaliation and obstruction" charge ... a felony.

Randy's car was the only vehicle involved in the crash.

Other details surrounding Randy's arrest are unclear. Randy is currently still in custody. 

This will make two arrests for Randy this year. I sure hope this is a wakeup call and he gets help with whatever demons he's obviously dealing with. All I can say is thank God this was a one-car crash. It could have been so much worse.