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Was Heather Locklear Arrest a Set-Up?

PopEater / Wire Services
posted: 62 DAYS 6 HOURS AGO
comments: 404
filed under: Gut Reactions, Movie News, TV News, Troublemakers, WTF?
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LOS ANGELES (Oct. 2) - A photographer who called 911 to report Heather Locklear allegedly driving erratically runs a paparazzi agency and profited from images she took of the actress's subsequent arrest, the woman's attorney said Wednesday.

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But Nicholas Tepper, who represents photographer Jill Ishkanian, said in a written statement Wednesday that her phone call to authorities was motivated by "civic duty" and a concern for Locklear's safety.
Listen: 911 Call
He also defended Ishkanian's right to then take photos of the arrest.
"The fact she witnessed Ms. Locklear's erratic driving and reported it to the police did not mean she was disqualified from reporting the story, which she in fact did," Tepper wrote.
He said Ishkanian then sold the photos to celebrity gossip site TMZ for $27,000 - but did it through a third party, KM Press Group, because her standing in the industry has been damaged by a lawsuit against her former employer, US Weekly.
In its postings this week, TMZ questioned whether Ishkanian was "up to no good" and claimed she alerted fellow paparazzi to Locklear's impending arrest. TMZ head Harvey Levin said Wednesday that the owner of KM Press Group has repeatedly told him that one of the agency's photographers snapped the photos and that Ishkanian called to tip him off to Locklear's arrest.
Tepper said Ishkanian had been visiting family and friends in the Montecito area when she spotted Locklear's car driving erratically Saturday afternoon, called 911 and was advised by a CHP dispatcher to stop following the car.
But Levin said some of the pictures appear to be taken well before Locklear's arrest, and questioned Tepper's contention that Ishkanian just happened to run into her acting erratically at a market. At least one of the photos shows Locklear coming out of a shop.
Tepper initially said Ishkanian took all the photos after phoning authorities. But when pressed about the image of Locklear appearing to leave a store, he said he wasn't sure about the sequence that the photos were taken in, only that Ishkanian shot them all.

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Levin said he did not consider the photos tainted. "Ultimately, these are photographs of an arrest."
The California Highway Patrol, which would not confirm the identity of the 911 caller, said she didn't identify that the driver was Locklear, but said the actress appeared "drunk" in a market. The CHP said in a news release that Locklear showed "obvious impairment," but alcohol has been ruled out.
Santa Barbara County prosecutors will have to decide whether to pursue charges after test results are returned that could show whether Locklear was under the influence of other substances.
CHP Lt. Dane Lobb said Wednesday that Ishkanian's involvement would not change what was going forward as a regular DUI investigation. "We determined (Locklear) was someone who shouldn't be operating a vehicle," he said.
Locklear's attorney, Blair Berk, did not return an e-mail message seeking comment Wednesday evening.
Tepper later said in an interview that Ishkanian also provided authorities with a statement and would testify against Locklear if necessary. He said Ishkanian sold the photos without disclosing that she was the shooter because of her $55 million lawsuit against US Weekly; that suit claims the magazine's employees damaged her career by accusing her of stealing information from company computers.
Federal agents later raided Ishkanian's home and business, but she has never been arrested or charged. Her lawsuit seeks damages for emotional distress, libel, slander, and conspiracy.
Tepper said Wednesday the US Weekly lawsuit has limited her business, claiming others in the industry refuse to use her material. The magazine is appealing a judge's ruling that refused to dismiss several of Ishkanian's claims.
US Weekly said through a spokesman Wednesday night that it had no comment.
After leaving the magazine, Ishkanian helped form Sunset Photo and News, a paparazzi and celebrity reporting agency.
2008 AOL LLC. All Rights Reserved. // Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. // Copyright 2008, Reuters
2008-10-01 11:13:36
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Komenyay

04:07 AMOct 07 2008

Maybe Heather was "set up" for photog to "get the story", but what will come in to play is WAS HEATHER IMPAIRED? Alcohol, drugs (prescription or illicit), inhalants? Was the photog unethical. Well, DUH, of course. It's the paparazzi. They are the most invasive of any profession. Surgeons don't get that invasive. But the facts of the matter in regards to Heather's now legal problems are that she was taken into custody for suspicion of DUI. It will be interesting to see if the CHP officer stopped Heather after developing his own Probable Cause, or if the stop was made solely based on the photog's observations and statements made to 911. If it's the latter, than the photog will be called to take the stand and testify as to the observations. If it's the former, and with additional evidence such as blood/breath test; then Heather is going to join the list of celebrity drunks.

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Deborahstimac

04:28 PMOct 05 2008

CSNOWFLAKE01, IF YOU KNEW ANYTHING ABOUT BEING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OR HAD ANY STREETSMARTS, YOU WOULD KNOW THAT IF YOU ARE ARRESTED AND HAVE A MUGSHOT TAKEN FOR "DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE", AND YOUR PUPILS LOOK EXTREMELY DIALATED, MORE THAN LIKELY YOU ARE "IMPAIRED".

AVG RATING:
(1)

Alblonie116

06:36 PMOct 04 2008

I,,,,,,am highly upset...at how we treat our beautiful women here...they,need,understanding,,cultivation,,and protection...not hounding,,punishment,ect..."Not Incarceration"...people need understanding,,not punishment...leave punishment for facist countrys,...theres enough of them in the world...

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Dictater907

07:46 PMOct 02 2008

she might have had one drink .. being on anti depressants mess you up too

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Puff n Buster

06:35 PMOct 02 2008

DWI (driving while intoxicated) was changed to DUI (driving under the influence) to include drugs as well. If this "Jill" saw Heather leaving a shop and felt Heather was "intoxicated", she should have called 911 as soon as she saw Heather get into the car. Then I could believe she was actually calling out of concern for Heather and others. To have watched her leave the shop, take a picture to prove she was acting impaired, watch her get in a car and drive away and then call 911 and other leaches. NOPE not believing the 911 was anything more than a photo op to make money. Nuff said.

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jonelle555

02:57 PMOct 02 2008

HEATHER HAS A REAL PROBLEM. SHE IS CLINICALLY DEPRESSSED, AND THAT IS A LEGITIMATE, MEDICAL HEALTH PROBLEM , FOR SOMEONE TO SINK TO THE LEVEL OF THIS DEGRADING "SETUP" IS ABOUT THE LOWEST LEVEL OF A HUMAN THAT I CAN THINK OF. HEATHER NEEDS SUPPORT, NOT TEARING DOWN FOR A LOUSY $27,00 PAYOFF. I HOPE YOU GET WHAT YOU DESERVE "CASHDOWN".'SET-UP"

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(4)

BOB S 81S

02:15 PMOct 02 2008

I said this in a previous post when this shameful article first appeared on AOL..and I got blasted by all the nay sayers! All you had to do was go beyond the one mug shot photo and see the rest and you KNOW that she was set up by this peice of CRAP paparazzi SLIME BALL!!!!Oh yea....she just happend to be there with her camera when she called and dropped a dime on Heather??? How convent!!! Drop a dime to the cops and make $27,000...wow!Duh!She should be arrested and sued...and JAILED!

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(4)

Cassidj123

02:12 PMOct 02 2008

God Bless, Heather!

AVG RATING:
(4)

Rondonit

02:09 PMOct 02 2008

I know celebrities are popular, one day they'll be able to Copyright their images so that they can at least make a percentage off every photo sold. Until then, Stalkers should just be executed and buried in the back yard like any other predator, attacker, or home invader. If the Law doesn't protect you, you have to protect yourself.

AVG RATING:
(1)

Montypython1975

01:37 PMOct 02 2008

Ishkanian ha