CELEBRITY JUSTICE ™

Scientology honcho David Miscavige had reason to fear a guy who threatened to kill him, because we've learned the guy was armed with ammo and pretended to be a cop.

According to a search warrant obtained by TMZ, Andre Barkanov had been convicted twice for impersonating a cop and he was undeterred, because when his home was raided in the Miscavige case, police found live ammo, a holster, badge holder and a magazine ... and we're not talking People.

As we reported, Barkanov allegedly made numerous death threats by phone, threatening to "assassinate" Miscavige. In one call Barkanov allegedly said, "I forgot to mention that we are going after you! ... all your people ... including your jagoff, motherf*****, c***sucker, David Miscavige, OK?"

'Real Housewives of Orange County' star Gretchen Rossi claims her Range Rover has been a dud from the get-go, but the car company still won't take it back ... so she's suing.

According to a new lawsuit, Rossi plunked down $111k for a brand new Range Rover in 2012, and says she drove all of 200 miles before some big problems surfaced ... problems with acceleration, the battery, fuses, and a smoking tail pipe.

She went back to the dealer in November for an idling problem, and this time she was told the vehicle was out of warranty, which she says was especially galling because she had been there 3 times before for the exact same problem.

Fed up, Rossi claims she tried to exercise her rights under the Lemon Law by returning the vehicle to the dealer, but she was shut down. She says the dealership offered to fix the problem for free, but only if she gave up her rights under the Lemon Law.

Rossi told them to take a hike, which will probably be her new mode of transportation, and she's filed suit.

Former Playboy Playmate Kristina Shannon just got a new role ... DUI defendant.

Kristina and former fellow Playboy Playmate/twin sister Karissa were injured when Kristina smashed their Benz SUV. They were en route to get their nipples pierced.

It's Kristina's first DUI, so she'll probably get off with probation.

Both girls like to party together, and drinking is part of the drill.

1:45 PM PST -- The Mexican President just said the recapture of Chapo was the product of an investigation that went on for months, "allowing us to shut down his network protection."

The president says they captured or killed 98 out of the 122 most wanted criminals in Mexico.

1:15 PM PST -- Mexican boxer Fernando "El Cochulito" Montiel told Univision his home in Los Mochis was right next to the sting operation and swarmed by Navy officials, but El Chapo moved through the sewers and was eventually arrested at a motel on the outskirts of town.

12:15 PM PST -- Photos have surfaced on various Mexican news outlets allegedly showing El Chapo in the back of a cop car. There are also images floating around of the arsenal he allegedly had with him.

El Chapo has been captured, after being on the run for nearly six months.

Mexican officials say they caught the drug kingpin after a shootout with Mexican marines in Los Mochis, Mexico.

Five suspects were reportedly killed in the gun battle and 6 others arrested. One marine was injured.

The shootout went down at a home, where authorities seized a number of weapons, including a rocket-propelled grenade launcher.

The President of Mexico, Enrique Pena Nieto, just made the announcement.

The Prez tweeted, "Mission accomplished. We have him. I want to inform the Mexicans Joaquin Guzman Loera [El Chapo] has been arrested."

Story developing.

Our sources say officials at the Mayan ruins were extremely upset with Bieber shortly after he arrived because he and his friends were walking around with open bottles of beer.

Bieber then climbed to the top of the ruins and mooned everyone, which enraged the already upset staff. We're told Bieber and crew were asked to leave and did, but not before hurling insults at the staff.

Police were called but Bieber had left before they arrived.

Justin Bieber pissed off the Mayan gods -- or at least the cops who watch over them -- because he allegedly dropped trou on pyramids in Mexico.

Officials in Tulum, south of Cancun, say Justin and his entourage got booted from the ruins on Thursday. Several reports say Biebs ran afoul of the temple cops because he pulled down his pants ... but officially authorities will only say they did something outrageous.

Justin's got a bit of history at popular tourist spots. Back in 2013 he caught flak at the Anne Frank Museum for writing in the guest book, "Hopefully she would have been a belieber." He and pals also horsed around in the museum.

Later that year, he had bodyguards carry him on the Great Wall of China ... which is frowned upon.

Yes, Justin ... it's too late to say lo siento.

Josh Duggar is going after a stripper ... not only denying he sexually brutalized her ... he says he never even laid eyes on her.

Duggar has filed legal docs in response to Danica Dillon's lawsuit which alleges he met her in a strip club, plunked down $600 for lap dances and then upped the ante by another $1,500 so he could have sex with her in a hotel room. She says he was so aggressive she felt like she was being raped.

UFC champ Conor McGregor is under investigation by cops in Ireland for a gun related violation ... after he posted a pic of what appears to be himself with an automatic rifle.

T.I. may have to start mining for some gold of his own because at least one jewelry store is done with him, claiming he walked off with a ton of their bling and never anted up.

Aydin & Co in Georgia says in a new lawsuit it delivered an 18.5 karat white gold bracelet, a ring and yellow gold rosary to the rapper in 2014 and Tip paid $20k. Problem is ... he still owes $44k.

That's just the tip of the iceberg. According to the lawsuit, during the decade T.I. was one of its shoppers, he stiffed them out of more than $400k.

All tolled, Aydin's gunning for T.I. to the tune of $700k.

T.I. says the lawsuit is BS.

Dustin Penner -- former hockey star for the Ducks and Kings -- is accused of assaulting a local gym manager ... but cops say it's just a civil dispute over money.

Cam Newton's side job -- hosting and producing a kids show for Nickelodeon -- could be in jeopardy ... because the show was allegedly ripped off from a children's author.

The author, Nick Katsoris, just filed a lawsuit over "I Wanna Be" ... the show where the Carolina Panthers superstar QB will help kids make their dreams come true. In his suit, Katsoris says he went to Nickelodeon twice to pitch a show based on his 2007 "Dream Day Contest."

The contest featured a character called Loukoumi the Lamb -- from his series of books -- and asked kids to finish the phrase, "I WANT TO BE A _____ BECAUSE ..."

According to the suit, Katsoris hired talent agency IMG to produce a reality show special, which aired on FOX in October 2014.

He then pitched it to Nickelodeon in July 2015, and then a couple months later ... the network announced it was doing "I Wanna Be" with Cam, an IMG client.

Katsoris says they merely swapped "Loukoumi for Cam Newton." He wants the court to block Nickelodeon and IMG from using the title, and to stop the release of the show later this year.

USC is blasting fired football coach Steve Sarkisian in new legal docs ... saying he lied to the school about his battles with the the bottle.

Jill Whelan, who hit it big played Capt. Stubing's daughter on "Love Boat," has fallen on hard times ... she's getting divorced and has no source of income to support herself.

Whelan, who also hilariously played the little girl with the IV tube in "Airplane!" is in the middle of a divorce and filed legal docs showing she's basically broke -- $5k in assets.

Jill married Michael Chaykowsky and moved to New Jersey in 2004. She says he pulls in $126k a year and lives in the lap of luxury in a 10 bedroom mansion on 14 acres.

For her part, Jill just started a podcast but is not making any money. The 49-year-old actress acknowledges the opportunities for an actress her age are few and far between.

She's asking for spousal support for herself and child support for their 10-year-old son.

Pastor Rich Wilkerson Jr. -- who counts Justin Bieber and the Kardashians among his flock -- is not as holy as he claims ... so say some Miami street artists who says the church stole from them.

It seems Wilkerson's Miami place of worship, Vous Church, used a series of works done by artists like Typoe, Bikismo and Ahol Sniffs Glue in social media and newspaper ads ... without permission.

The works the good Pastor lifted were murals for a local public school, never designed for "a well-funded celebrity church brand or its prosperous pastors."

The lawsuit -- filed by Kushnirsky Gerber PLLC -- makes mention of Wilkerson's lavish lifestyle and celebrity connections (he officiated Kim and Kanye's wedding) but claims the church never once offered to ante up a penny.

BTW ... the suit says even if Wilkerson asked for permission, they would have denied it.

Justin Timberlake and Jay Z's hit song "Suit & Tie" was not exactly buttoned up, legally speaking ... according to a group that's suing, claiming the track ripped them off.

Two members of Sly, Slick and Wicked -- a '70s R&B group -- filed the lawsuit, and in the docs they say "Suit & Tie" samples their song, "Sho' Nuff" ... which was released in 1973. It's no lightweight hit ... none other than James Brown produced it.

The band members say Justin's record label, Universal Music Group, paid to sample the song -- however, never got the rights to the vocal performances in that song. Their bottom line ... we did the singing, but we didn't get paid.

Making matters worse ... the SS&W guys say they also didn't get paid when UMG licensed "Suit & Tie" for a Bud Light commercial.

They point out Justin's song was HUGE -- 3 million copies sold, and 92 million YouTube views -- and they want their piece of the pie ... from UMG, Anheuser-Busch, and other publishers and producers of the track.

A serial party crasher was arrested after getting kicked in the ass by Sharon Osbourne at the People's Choice Awards.

Zacari Nicasio says he got an admission ticket from a friend for the Microsoft Theater Wednesday soiree in downtown L.A., and then managed to get on stage as "The Talk" girls accepted an award.

The lapse of security is shocking, especially in these times, but Sharon took the law into her own hands and feet.

BTW, the dude, who we spoke to later Wednesday night after he was released from custody, is the same guy who crashed the Kris Jenner birthday party.

Nicasio was charged with interfering with a live show ... a misdemeanor.

Jerry Heller has already made it clear ... "Straight Outta Compton" is defamatory, but if it gets an Oscar nod it will bring his rage to a new level.

Jerry will be on "TMZ Live" Thursday and he unloads about the flick, saying the Oscars puts the movie on a world stage so everyone will see the portrayal of him which he says is pure fiction.

Jerry says Cube, Dre and Eazy-E's widow are the ones who engineered his portrayal, and he thinks it's simply a case of African American anti-Semitism, at the very least on Cube's part and he suggests the sentiment goes beyond Cube himself.

By the way ... check out the video and hear him talk about a plot to kill Suge Knight.