Celebrity Court

According to Perez Hilton, Jason Wahler, best known for being Lauren Conrad’s ex-boyfriend on the MTV “reality” show The Hills, is in a Seattle jail. Wahler is serving time after his April arrest for assault, criminal trespass and underage drinking. No word on how long he will be in the Seattle jail.

According to Wahler’s representatives, “Jason is taking full responsibility for his previous actions . . . He would like to be an example to young people to make them realize that there are consequences for bad behavior. He is making amends and looks forward to continuing success in his career.”

Fans of The Hills know that Wahler went to a rehabilitation center, reportedly for both drugs and alcohol. He since then has been attending AA meetings and recently became engaged, all well-documented on The Hills.

While the majority of the show is reportedly scripted and not really “real,” clearly Wahler’s alcohol and drug problems were not faked for the show. I am sure that he is finding out that the consequences of his actions and learning that just being on a television show cannot prevent you from having to deal with the consequences. At least from the statement from his rep, it does seem like he is trying to move on and become a better person.

I know that The Hills filming is still going on right now and I wonder if this will be addressed on the show. Maybe Lauren will mention talking to Jason on the phone from jail or maybe they will be at AREA talking about Jason being in jail. Ooh! Maybe Lauren will visit Jason at the jail! Although I don’t think that Lauren leaves California except when she is going to New York City.

Although many expected rapper T.I. to be released on bond following his hearing before a magistrate yesterday, he was instead ordered to remain in jail until Friday on weapons charges. He was arrested after reportedy purchasing several machine guns from a man who was cooperating with federal officials.

According to TMZ, the Friday court hearing will be to determine if there is probable cause to detain T.I. and whether or not he will be given bond. Certainly the judge is going to find probable cause for the arrest, even based on what little we know about the case. It does not take all that much to amount to probable cause, only that at the time of the arrest, there is a “a reasonable belief that a crime has been committed.” Presumably there were a number of police officers watching the buy go down and that is sufficient for probable cause.

The real focus of the hearing will likely be the bond. The prosecutors are reportedly arguing for no bail, presumably because he is a flight risk and because of the potential danger to the community.  Anyone with a lot of money can be a potential flight risk, although typically people with money can make bail, which is probably why they want to get no-bond.

T.I.’s previous convictions, as well as the number of weapons that he allegedly attempted to purchase are things that the judge will considering in deciding whether to grant him bond. Usually no-bond cases are reserved for defendants facing murder charges or other violent crimes. I cannot imagine the judge giving him no-bond, no matter how menacing the cache of weapons looks.

The photo above, courtesy of TMZ, shows the weapons that T.I. allegedly purchased.

T.I., weapons charges

Lou Pearlman, the leader behind boy bands The Backstreet Boys and N’Sync may have had more than a fatherly-mentor role with the young men in his band. According to allegations by The New York Post, Pearlman reportedly made inappropriate sexual advances toward the teens in his groups.

Jane Carter, the mother of Backstreet Boy Nick Carter said that “certain things” happened and she had to warn the mothers of the other boys about what Pearlman was really like.

Steve Mooney, a former assistant to Pearlman and wanna-be singer, asked Pearlman what he needed to do in order to get a shot in one of his groups. According to Mooney, Pearlman “leaned back in his chair, in his white terry cloth robe and white underwear, and spread his legs and said, ‘You’re a smart boy. Figure it out.’”

Other allegations have also come from members of former groups Take 5 and LFO, which appear to indicate that Pearlman’s predatory actions were not limited to one or two people.

What surprises me about these allegations is that they were not made public at the time that they happened and that charges were not filed against him. Perhaps those involved wanted to spare themselves public humiliation and wanted to keep it a secret. This is a normal response when someone is abused, but I would imagine the fear and shame would be greater when you know that the entire country will know about what happened to you.

Pearlman is currently in jail awating trial on bank fraud, after he allegedly duped investors out of $315 million. He has not been charged in connection with any sex related offenses.

Lou Pearlman, Nick Carter, Steve Mooney, Backstreet Boys, N’Sync, LFO, Take5

Foxy Brown was ordered to serve a year in jail following a probation violation. Her original offense, for which she received the probation, involved an assault on two women at a nail salon.

She was also indicted for an alleged attack on a Brooklyn woman with a BlackBerry and for battery in connection with an incident at a Florida hair salon in February.

Brown, who is three months pregnant, is repotedly eligible for parole in eight months. If she is not let out early, she will have to give birth in jail and her child will be taken from her until her release.

Source

In what has to be one of the shortest jail stints on record, Nicole Richie disposed of her jail obligations yesterday by spending just 82 minutes in jail. According to TMZ, Nicole was in a jail cell for only 35 minutes! She was scheduled to serve 96 hours after pleading guilty to driving under the influence as a result of her arrest following her trip the wrong way down the highway.

Nicole Richie, DUI