Arrests

There was NO REASON for cops to call in the SWAT team to apprehend Thiago Silva ... the "trigger-happy" police simply overreacted ... so says the UFC fighter's lawyer.

TMZ Sports spoke with attorney Scott Saul ... who tells us he was present when the SWAT team surrounded Silva's South Florida home.

Saul says ... cops went "overboard" because he's a UFC fighter.

Saul says the situation could have been handled as a routine arrest situation -- and the fact they called in an army of cops only escalated it.

"There was no allegation of harm against anyone," Saul says ... "But they treated it like a terrorist threat."

As we previously reported, Silva was initially arrested for attempted murder -- but the judge later reduced the charge because Silva never actually fired a shot or laid a finger on anyone during the incident.

Silva is currently being held without bond.

Justin Bieber hit speeds of 136 miles an hour in his rented Lambo just hours before his arrest ... TMZ has learned.

We've now obtained the FULL GPS speed readout for the evening in question -- not just the period immediately surrounding the arrest.

Check it out. The GPS map corresponds to the readout. At 1:23 AM Justin was on the Julia Tuttle Causeway in Miami Beach, heading toward the nightclub. He was clocked at 108 MPH and within a minute he accelerated to 136 MPH.

The red line is from the readout -- the color appears when the RPM reaches an extreme limit.

Bieber arrived at Set nightclub at 2:27 AM, stayed an hour and then drove away.

Cops claim Bieber was drag racing, but the read shows otherwise -- in the middle of the so-called drag race, he was cruising at 27 MPH -- under the speed limit.

It's almost as if cops knew he was speeding on the Causeway earlier in the evening and were just waiting to make their move.

The guy who owns the jiu-jitsu studio where Thiago Silva allegedly whipped out a gun and threatened to shoot a bunch of people has shut his doors ... but only for a couple days ... in the wake of the insane events that occurred this week.

According to the police report, not only did the UFC star pull up to the studio and threaten to kill his wife and her alleged new boyfriend ... he also threatened to shoot everyone inside the studio.

Which is why the people who run the place decided to shut it down for a few days ... posting a sign on the door Saturday to let patrons know they'd resume business on Monday.

Thiago Silva is officially OFF THE BILL for "UFC 171" in March ... after allegedly threatening to kill his wife ... and he's been replaced by a Ukranian bad ass, TMZ Sports has learned.

After declaring Silva will never fight in the UFC ever again, Dana White tells TMZ Sports ... 21-year-old phenom Nikita Krylov will fill Silva's spot and fight Ovince St. Preux at UFC 171 in Dallas.

We're told Krylov -- a former heavyweight -- will drop down to the light heavyweight division for the fight.

White is stoked about the matchup, especially after the way Krylov -- who calls himself the Al Capone of MMA -- knocked out Walt Harris with a head kick just :25 seconds into the fight at "UFC on FOX 10."

Trinidad James just got busted for possession of marijuana after lighting up in his Mississippi hotel room ... TMZ has learned.

Cops in Panola County tell us the rapper -- real name Nicholas Williams -- is in custody and being booked right now.

We're told Trini -- whose biggest hit is "All Gold Everything" -- was arrested at the Batesville, MS Holiday Inn.

Just 2 nights ago he was hanging with Diddy, Jermaine Dupri, T.I., and Justin Bieber ... in an Atlanta nightclub.

Looks like Bieber's recent luck rubbed off on Trinidad.

The UFC fighter Thiago Silva would've faced next -- had he not been busted for allegedly pulling a gun on his wife -- tells TMZ Sports ... he's DEVASTATED the fight's scrapped saying "you gotta be f-ing kidding me."

Ovince St. Preux was set to square off against Silva at UFC 171 on March 15 ... but after the Brazilian fighter's insane meltdown, UFC prez Dana White permanently banned him from the Octagon.

St. Preux tells us he's bummed the match is cancelled ... but agrees with the ban, saying "I understand where Dana White is coming from, he has to protect the brand ... Plus, he's my boss."

As for why he thinks Thiago snapped ... St. Preux says "we don't know what he was going through" ... adding, "If he's having personal problems, anyone in his position might've done the same thing."

"Thiago took on the bad boy role ... and he played it well," St. Preux said, "I thought it was an act, but maybe he was being himself."

Police just pulled over rapper The Game in L.A. and searched his brand new Rolls Royce -- and Game is NOT happy ... claiming he was nabbed for DWB -- Driving While Black.

Game tells TMZ, police pulled him over for talking on his cellphone ... but he insists he wasn't. Game says he was ordered out of the car and police searched it without permission.

Game says officers were blunt ... if he didn't let them search the car, they'd arrest him.

According to the rapper, once all was said and done -- and the officers came up empty -- they cited him for expired tags and impounded the Rolls.

Thiago Silva's wife Thaysa told law enforcement ... the UFC fighter has a "drug problem" ... and has abused her for months, this according to documents obtained by TMZ Sports.

We've obtained documents Thaysa filed in Florida back in January seeking a restraining order against Silva -- in which she checked a box saying he has a "drug problem."

In the docs, she also detailed an alleged violent incident with Thiago and says she fears for her well-being.

"I am not safe in my own house," Thaysa wrote ... adding, "I can not live more saying 'yes' and 'forgive' everything."

"I am very afraid of him."

In the documents, filed on January 6, Thaysa did not go into detail about Thago's alleged drug problem -- but she did say Thiago got violent with her while she was in a friend's home on Jan. 5th. In broken English, Thaysa seems to explain that Thiago went on a rampage and cut up her work uniform.

She also claims, "Months ago he grabbed me and pulled me."

The restraining order was granted. But last night, Thiago confronted Thaysa in front of a martial arts studio and allegedly threatened to shoot her and her supposed lover.

8:21 AM PT -- The judge has THROWN OUT the attempted murder charges against Silva, claiming there isn't enough evidence to prove the UFC fighter ever intended to kill his wife, despite allegedly pulling a gun on her on multiple occasions and sending threatening text messages to her.

The judge explained, "It just seems if he wanted to shoot Mrs. Silva, he would've done it. He didn't do it."

Instead, Silva was hit with two counts of aggravated assault with a firearm ... and the judge has decided to hold him in custody without bond.

Silva was not only deemed a flight risk, due to his connections in Brazil -- but the judge says there's a high risk he'll commit violence against his wife.

Thiago's lawyer had argued that his fighter was being unfairly judged because of his occupation as a UFC fighter -- saying, "There's an overreaction [with the charges] simply because the man, what he does for a living."

During the hearing, Silva's lawyer said the fighter is dead broke ... and desperately needs the paycheck he'll receive for his scheduled fight in Dallas at UFC 171.

However, UFC honcho Dana White tells TMZ Sports ... "This guy will never fight in the UFC again."

THE ALLEGATIONS -- Silva's wife told police Thiago went nuclear because he suspected his wife was having an affair with MMA instructor Pablo Popovitch, who runs a jiu-jitsu center in South Florida.

According to the police report, obtained by TMZ Sports, Thiago pulled up to Pablo's training center Thursday night ... pulled out a GLOCK and pointed it at his wife.

Thiago allegedly told his wife, "You have ten seconds to bring Pablo outside and if he does not come out, I will go in the gym and start shooting everyone."

Cops say the class was filled with 25 students at the time of the altercation.

Thiago's wife told cops Pablo raced out of the center to protect Silva's wife -- and that's when Thiago threatened to kill them both. Pablo then raced inside the gym to call 911. That's when Silva drove back to his home.

There's more ... cops say there was ANOTHER violent incident between Thiago and his wife on January 30 -- when he accused her of cheating on him.

Thiago's wife says he got so angry, he pulled out a silver revolver and shoved it into her mouth -- while threatening to shoot her. Thiago's wife eventually got free and obtained a restraining order against the UFC fighter.

THE ARREST -- UFC fighter Thiago Silva was arrested Thursday night for attempted murder following a standoff with a SWAT team after he allegedly threatened people at a jiu-jitsu school and barricaded himself inside his home -- and we have footage showing the moment he was finally captured.

Cops in Broward County, FL say the incident began just before 8 PM, when Silva went to the school owned by famed instructor Pablo Popovitch. Silva -- sporting blue board shorts -- allegedly threatened people there and then went back to his home.

According to police, Silva barricaded himself inside the home. The SWAT team arrived a short time later and surrounded the place as officials tried to get him to surrender. Silva finally gave himself up around 11:15 PM.

TMZ Sports has obtained video of Silva in the back of the cop car. The photog asked him if he pulled a gun on his wife. Silva responded no, adding, "She wants my house, she wants my money." And then he says, "Just don't report this. Can you do that for me?"

Once in the police station, Silva flipped off photogs as officers booked the fighter on 4 criminal charges -- 2 counts of attempted felony murder, one count of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and one count of resisting arrest.

The 31-year-old Brazilian-born fighter is 16-3 in the UFC -- and was expected to fight at UFC 171 in March. We're guessing that ain't gonna happen now.

Prosecutors in the Justin Bieber Miami Beach misdemeanor DUI case are hunting down witnesses across the country ... including Bieber's own girlfriend ... in an attempt to nail him.

Sources connected with the investigation tell us ... investigators have been hounding Chantel Jeffries and her friends and relatives, trying to get her to sing like a bird and incriminate the Biebs.

Sources in the State Attorney's Office tell TMZ ... it's not unusual for them to go on the hunt for witnesses, even though this is a routine DUI misdemeanor case.

But here's what we know. If they get to Chantel, she's not going to help their case. We're told she is clear -- Justin did NOT drink or smoke weed in the club before getting in the Lambo. She also insists the drag racing claim is total BS -- that they never went faster than around 40 MPH.

TMZ broke the story ... prosecutors have problems with the case. First of all, cops claimed Bieber reeked of booze in the car and when he was at the station, but he registered an imperceptible .014. And as for the drag racing claim ... the GPS readout shows the max speed at 44 MPH, and during the so-called drag race he was going 27 MPH -- below the speed limit.

So we gotta ask ...

The mother of Paul Walker's 15-year-old daughter appears to have serious alcohol issues -- TMZ has learned, she was arrested for DUI in August and that wasn't her only one -- and it's a major reason why Meadow moved away from her mom to live with Paul.

Rebecca Soteros was first arrested for DUI in 2003 in Orange County. She pled guilty and was sentenced to 3 years probation.

History repeated itself last year, when Soteros was arrested again for DUI in Hawaii. That case is ongoing.

Sources close to the family tell TMZ ... Rebecca's drinking has been an ongoing issue for years. Paul's daughter Meadow called her famous dad in 2011 and pleaded to let her move to L.A. and live with him. He happily obliged, because we're told Paul and Rebecca had countless arguments for years over her drinking problems.

Justin Bieber clearly thought he was too cool for school when cops busted him in Miami Beach last month -- and in surveillance footage released by cops ... he isn't just pacing behind bars ... he's strutting.

Justin looks like he's been thoroughly put out by the DUI arrest ... his head cocked back during the wee hours of the morning.

You see Justin get patted down by cops ... but they found nothing.

Don't text strangers kids ... especially strangers claiming they're Clay Aiken ... because chances are, you're being catfished and it could ruin your life.

TMZ broke the story ... Barbara Saylor was arrested for entering Clay's North Carolina home with binoculars. She was charged with trespassing and stalking.

Barbara's attorney Ken Steinberg now tells TMZ, the 58-year-old is actually the victim ... of an elaborate catfishing scam.

We're told Barbara met Clay years ago after his "American Idol" stint -- they even exchanged contact information ... somehow, Barbara got the wrong phone number and began texting a stranger.

Barbara's lawyer says the catfisher played Barbara like a fiddle -- carrying on a non-romantic, Manti Te'o-type text relationship with her for YEARS ... leading her to believe he was actually Clay Aiken.

The scam culminated with the catfisher goading Barbara to visit Clay at his house in North Carolina ... which she did ... and that's when she got arrested.

Barbara's attorney turned over all text records to the court to prove she was a victim, not a perp. The case was dismissed and late last week paperwork was filed to expunge the arrest from her record.

Kris Jenner won't be happy about this -- her youngest daughter's been hanging out inside Justin Bieber's famously drugged-out house ... and if that wasn't bad enough, she's even getting cozy with his bad news BFF Lil Za ... who was just charged with 3 FELONIES.

The photo was taken Sunday inside Bieber's kitchen -- where the singer's always kept a giant weed stash -- and it's clear ... Kylie is getting comfy with Za.

The other pics were taken earlier this week -- Za posted them on his Instagram ... referring to himself and Kylie as "best friends."

Probably a bad idea -- Za is 20 and Kylie's only 16 ... not to mention the fact that just last Friday, Za was charged with 3 felonies in connection with the police raid on Bieber's house a couple weeks ago.

As we reported, Za was arrested after the raid when police claim they found MDMA (ecstasy) and Oxycodone near him in the house. He's been charged with felony possession of controlled substances and another felony for breaking a jail phone.

Cops did NOT snag the drug dealer who was allegedly selling dangerous heroin to Philip Seymour Hoffman ... sources tell TMZ.

We know the informant -- who armed cops with the info they needed to get a search warrant -- claimed Hoffman had 2 principal heroin suppliers. We're told the informant said Robert Vineberg was the main guy, but when he would run out of heroin Vineberg would send a guy named Max Rosenblum to get more smack from someone down the street.

As we reported, Vineberg was arrested in Tuesday's bust and has been charged with felony heroin possession with an intent to sell. He pled not guilty. Rosenblum has been charged with misdemeanor cocaine possession.

The gay singer from "Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist" didn't just brutally attack his real-life GF before his double arrest in December ... he also destroyed her bedroom and threatened multiple times to kill ... this according to the police report obtained by TMZ.

Rafi Gavron's GF told cops, the December 14 argument was triggered by Rafi's cocaine problem -- he demanded money from her and she refused ... so he went ballistic.

The GF said she hid her money and credit cards in her bedroom. In retaliation, Rafi punched her with both fists and slapped her across the face several times, then pushed her to the ground and kicked her in the stomach.

The GF says it wasn't over ... Rafi destroyed her bedroom, ransacking her dresser and closet and then kicking her mirror, breaking it. When she tried to phone police, she says Rafi grabbed her phone, threw it on the ground, shattering it to pieces, and repeatedly threatened to kill her.

The girlfriend says she managed to escape and ask a neighbor to phone police ... but Rafi took off in her car. She was taken to a nearby L.A. hospital with minor injuries, including marks on her legs and back.

As we reported, Rafi was subsequently pulled over in his girlfriend's car and arrested for DUI. Hours later he was released from jail hours and immediately arrested AGAIN for domestic violence.

He was charged with 4 felonies ... dissuading a witness from reporting a crime, false imprisonment by violence, domestic violence and joy riding. He copped a plea and pled no contest to domestic violence and joy riding. He was placed on 5 years probation.