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A blast from Britney Spears' past is going away for a while.

Adnan Ghalib, the paparazzo who dated Spears at the height of her public meltdown two years ago, has been sentenced to 45 days in the slammer today stemming from a hit-and-run incident.

The 37-year-old shutterbug agreed to a plea deal to avoid deportation for running over a process server trying to deliver a restraining order on behalf of Spears' conservatorship. He ultimately wound up being permanently barred from further contact with the "Toxic" songbird.

Ghalib was immediately taken from the courtroom today to begin his jail time. After he gets out, he must complete 45 days of roadside trash pickup and 52 weeks of anger-management classes, as well as pay various fines and fees. And then he still has to deal with a civil suit from the run-in.

To paraphrase his former squeeze: Oops!

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Adnan's not the only one facing legal problems. Check out E! Online's Court Appearances photo gallery.

ABC; AP Photo/Will Powers

The Balloongate case appears to be in a holding pattern.

A spokeswoman for the Larimer County, Colo., district attorney tells E! News exclusively that the sheriff's department has not yet submitted enough evidence to formally press criminal charges against Balloon Boy parents Richard and Mayumi Heene for tricking the world into believing their 6-year-old son had been whisked away on a homemade flying saucer.

"They did bring [the report] over a week ago, and we asked for additional reports and information," says D.A. spokeswoman Linda Jensen. "We're waiting for that from the sheriff's office before we make a final charging decision."

Jensen says she expects the new information "by the end of the week."

Apparently the D.A. needs more than Mayumi's apparent confession to bring down the hammer.

Previously, Sheriff Jim Alderden said he expects Richard and Mayumi to face counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, attempting to influence a public servant and conspiracy.

While they're at it, how about adding a count or two for trying to foist Boxter on us?

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The Balloon Boy saga's a whirlwind. Keep up with it here.

ABC; AP Photo/Will Powers

Is the lawman behind the Balloongate probe full of hot air?

With what appears to be slam-dunk evidence against his clients, the Colorado lawyer of Richard and Mayumi Heene has chosen a novel defense approach: blame Larimer County Sheriff James Alderden for bungling the investigation and jeopardizing the Balloon Brood's shot at a fair trial.

Per the county district attorney's office, Heene attorney David Lane has accused Alderden of violating privacy laws by informing the media that the three Heene kids were being scrutinized by Child Protective Services after the notorious balloon flight.

"The defense attorney submitted a letter to us asking that [the sheriff] be investigated because he made a comment about child protective services investigating the Heene children," says D.A. spokeswoman Linda Jensen. "He was saying that by statute the sheriff should not have said that."

And now the D.A. has brought in a special prosecutor to hear out Lane's claims.

Does that mean the case goes pop?

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The preliminary autopsy results are in, and there was a surprising finding regarding the slaying of Real Housewives of Atlanta's Ashley "A.J." Jewell.

Dr. Kelly Rose of the Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office tells E! News that Kandi Burruss' on-off fiancé may have suffered from the blood disorder sickle-cell anemia, which could have contributed to his death during a bar fight outside an Atlanta strip club.

"Preliminary results are suggestive of [sickle-cell]," said Rose.

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John Paul Filo/CBS; AP Photo/Pool, Marc A. Hermann

David Letterman is no stranger to our living rooms. Now we're getting a peek into his.

Over the objection of prosecutors, a Connecticut judge today agreed to unseal search warrants related to police raids on the home of Letterman's alleged blackmailer.

And boy did they apparently fine some juicy stuff.

According to the document signed by NYPD Dets. Terrence Blake and Anthony Pasquarielao and obtained by E! News, investigators targeted "any and all computers and loose media, floppy disk, hard disc, cassette tapes, magnetic tapes, removable media, tape and/or data cartridges" while searching the residence of Robert "Joe" Halderman.

Looks like they had their own Top 10 list.

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Patrick Swayze is closer to his final resting spot.

The actor's remains have been cremated, according to his death certificate released today and obtained by E! News.

Swayze died Monday at the age of 57 of pancreatic cancer.

His ashes are being stored at his lawyer's office on behalf of his wife of 34 years, Lisa Niemi, per the death certificate.

There has been no comment from Swayze's publicist about any plans for a family memorial service at this time or whether his ashes will be scattered at his beloved New Mexico ranch.

However, fans will be able to pay their respects to Swayze at a public event being organized by the North Carolina town of Lake Lure, whose pristine outdoors doubled for much of Dirty Dancing's Catskills setting, including the cabin where Baby meets Johnny Castle.

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Monroe County Sheriff's Department

The cast of The Vampire Diaries has the smiling mug shot down pat. Now they just need to work on their timing.

Four female stars of the new hit CW series were nabbed by police for vamping it up and distracting passing motorists during a promotional photo shoot last month in Georgia.

Normally, you'd think news of nubile actresses being naughty would come out before the show debuts to drum up publicity. Instead, word of the arrest hit today—hours after The Vampire Diaries' huge premiere.

Anyhow, here's what went down...

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In Margaritaville, some people claim there's a woman to blame, but in San Diego, Tila Tequila says it's Shawne Merriman's damn fault.

Now it's up to the D.A. to sort out the whole sordid mess.

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department has handed off its evidence in the he-said, she-said case between the 27-year-old Shot at Love babe and the 25-year-old star NFL linebacker, and now it's up to prosecutors to determine whether to press charges.

Even though a tentative court date has been set, district attorney spokesman Steve Walker tells E! News, "We don't really have a timeline."

Meanwhile, Walker would not confirm a report that Tequila (aka Tila Nguyen) would be questioned by investigators today. She claims she was beaten up by Merriman and held against her will. Merriman says he was merely being a gentleman and refusing to let an intoxicated Tequila drive her car after a night of partying.

The D.A. has the power to file or reject charges against Merriman for the two felonies Tequila charged him with over the weekend: battery and false imprisonment.

If Tequila did in fact meet with investigators today, she must have been tired. The girl apparently stayed up all night tweeting!

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Chris Brown is more than willing to take out the trash—that is, as soon as someone assigns him the job.

Any day now the disgraced R&B star is due to begin serving 180 days of community labor in his hometown of Richmond, Va., as mandated by his probation sentence for beating up Rihanna.

A spokeswoman for the Virginia Commonwealth's Department of Corrections would not confirm Brown's exact start date or that he had been assigned to a work detail.

And contrary to a media report, she stated that corrections officials are still reviewing the parameters set up with authorities in California, where he pleaded guilty to assaulting the "Umbrella" singer as part of a deal to avoid prison. 

Here's hoping they figure it out. And soon.

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DJ AM is nearly home.

The celebrity spinner's body has arrived in Los Angeles and is now in the care of a funeral parlor while his family searches for a proper burial spot, E! News has learned.

"[The transfer of the body] was all taken care of by the family," New York-based funeral director Frank E. Campbell tells E! News. "The family just wants everything to be private."

DJ AM, aka Adam Goldstein, was found dead Friday in his Manhattan apartment of a suspected drug overdose. An autopsy was inconclusive, but the New York City Medical Examiner's Office expects to find out what killed him in a few weeks when toxicology tests come back.

After the autopsy was finished this weekend, AM's body was transferred to Campbell's funeral home, which prepared it for the flight back to Los Angeles.

A rep for L.A.'s Groman Mortuaries tells E! News that the Jewish funeral home was contacted a couple of days ago by Goldstein's family—who said they were looking for a suitable final resting spot. But Groman was not selected to help with interment plans.

No word yet on where Goldstein's remains are being held. Despite reports that a funeral will take place Thursday, his family has not confirmed any plans.

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For a tribute in pictures to the late disc jockey, visit our memorial gallery.

Chris Gordon/Getty Images

Did DJ AM kill himself? Maybe. Maybe not.

What we do know is that a rep for the New York City Medical Examiner's Office disputes reports that suicide has been ruled out in the death last Friday of the celebrity spinner.

"We have ruled nothing in and we have ruled nothing out," spokeswoman Ellen Borakove tells E! News. "Everything is still pending. Nothing has changed."

An autopsy Saturday was inconclusive, and investigators are banking on toxicology tests to help figure out the cause of death for the 36-year-old DJ, whose real name is Adam Goldstein. Borakove says it will be "several weeks" before the report comes back, and the medical examiner won't speculate on the cause until then.

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The results of Michael Jackson's autopsy report are in and finally confirm what we've suspected for weeks now.

The Los Angeles County Coroner's Office has officially ruled the King of Pop's June 25 death a homicide brought on by a lethal cocktail of drugs, specifically "acute propofol intoxication" along with benzodiazepine effect as a contributing factor.

Per the report, after an examination of the body and thorough toxicology tests, the L.A. medical examiner found that the primary drugs that killed Jackson were the highly publicized sedative along with lorazepam, which is a benzodiazepine, a class of drugs similar to tranquilizers.

Other medications detected included midazolam, diazepam, lidocaine and ephedrine.

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