Crime & Arrests

Ex-boxing superstar Antonio Tarver was pretty pissed to be arrested in front of his neighbors after he allegedly socked his stepson in the mouth ... telling cops, "that's ridiculous, man."

It's all in police video obtained by TMZ Sports ... which shows Tarver getting put in the back of a cop car after he and his 18-year-old stepson, Aziya Taylor, got into an altercation at Tarver's Florida home last August.

As we previously reported, Taylor told cops a dispute at a Waffle House earlier in the day led to Tarver attacking him, socking him and throwing him in the garage.

In 911 calls previously obtained by TMZ Sports ... you can hear the alleged scuffle break out -- followed by a neighbor telling dispatch that Aziya was a bloody mess from the incident.

50-year-old Tarver was ultimately arrested for domestic battery -- and as you can see in the video, dude was NOT happy to be put in cuffs in his own neighborhood, saying, "I don't know why ya'll gotta handcuff me."

"All my neighbors out here, man. That's ridiculous, man."

But, Antonio -- who was facing up to 1 year in jail for the altercation -- just cut a deal with prosecutors last week ... and in exchange for a no contest plea -- he had his battery charge reduced to misdemeanor disorderly conduct.

Tarver's punishment? Around $350 in court fees and fines.

Tarver -- now listed at 6'2", 225 pounds -- was a stud boxer back in the day ... winning multiple belts and scoring impressive wins over stars like Roy Jones Jr.

Punk rock singer Casey Chaos allegedly bloodied a woman at his house, and now he's facing a possible felony for domestic violence.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the lead singer for the group Amen got into an argument with a woman early Tuesday morning at his San Fernando Valley home. We're told the verbal dispute eventually turned violent, and when cops showed up they found the woman with a bloody face.

Casey, whose real name Karim Chmielinski, was arrested and booked for felony domestic violence. However, our sources say Casey told cops the woman is NOT his girlfriend, and he was adamant they aren't dating. The alleged victim refused medical aid on the scene.

The 53-year-old frontman was released on $50,000 bond.

It's not the first time Casey has been in trouble with the law ... as we first reported, Chaos was arrested for DUI in Los Angeles back in 2012 after he allegedly smashed his SUV into several parked cars and fled the scene.

Rainn Wilson's disturbing photo of a noose hanging in the front yard of a black woman in L.A. County's home isn't falling on deaf ears, as the actor claimed ... because cops are investigating what appears to be a hate crime.

"The Office" star shocked followers earlier this week when he posted the image, saying the noose was left on a tree outside the home of an acquaintance, who is African-American. Rainn said the woman called the police, but when officers showed up, she claims their reaction was basically ... "what's the big deal?"

Law enforcement tell TMZ ... that's not how it went down. Our sources say when cops responded, the noose had already been taken down and was in the garbage. We're told the woman wanted officers to make note of the incident -- which they did -- and provided them with photos.

Contrary to the account Rainn was given ... our sources say the case didn't just end with a report.

We're told L.A. County Sheriff's detectives currently have the case and are working to determine who might have hung the noose. Officers already checked for any surveillance footage in the area but came up empty ... however, they're continuing to dig.

One law enforcement source tells us the department takes this kind of hate crime "very seriously, especially in today's climate."

Machine Gun Kelly's goons ganged up on a guy, and beat the hell outta him -- on video -- and now the victim's suing the rapper, claiming he ordered the attack.

We broke the story ... Gabriel "G-Rod" Rodriguez confronted MGK back in September at an Atlanta restaurant and called him a "p***y" because he was pissed about Kelly's beef with Eminem.

Later in the evening at a Hampton Inn, video footage shows G-Rod getting jumped and viciously body slammed, kicked and punched by a bunch of dudes allegedly in MGK's crew. At least 3 of the individuals were ID'd and charged with misdemeanor battery, but cops said MGK was in the clear because he wasn't a part of it.

G-Rod's not letting him get off that easy, though ... and filed suit against the rapper and the 3 other dudes in his crew for battery. According to the docs ... Rodriguez claims Kelly instructed the bodyguards to attack him, and he's suffered serious injuries and medical expenses.

G-Rod's also suing the hotel for negligence in the incident.

As we told you, G-Rod's attorney, Blake Dolman, threatened to pursue legal action if MGK didn't cut his client a check. Guess that never happened.

Dolman tells us ... "Mr. Rodriguez looks forward to his day in court and holding those responsible for this vicious and cowardly attack fully responsible for their actions."

Linda Fairstein's world continues to crumble ... her book publisher has just kicked her to the curb as the fallout continues, following her portrayal in Netflix's miniseries, "When They See Us."

The Central Park 5 prosecutor will no longer have a relationship with Dutton, which confirmed it had "terminated its relationship" with the best-selling crime novelist. The move comes on the heels of an online push to boycott her publishers and distributors ... after the Netflix series dramatized her role that led to the wrongful conviction of 5 teens for the 1989 rape and beating of a female jogger.

Earlier this week, TMZ reached out to multiple people at both Penguin Random House and its subsidiary, Dutton -- the two publishing companies that peddled her 14 novels -- but they went radio silent. As did Linda's literary agency, ICM Partners. Not a peep.

Fairstein's latest book with Dutton had been "Blood Oath" back in March. Dutton dropping Fairstein's just the latest in a string of moves that led to Fairstein resigning from at least 2 nonprofits as well as from Vassar College.

Glamour Magazine also said it was a mistake to give her the Woman of the Year Award in '93 ... adding they wouldn't do it again. The backlash also included #CancelLindaFairstein all over social media.

Brian France -- the former CEO of NASCAR -- just pled guilty to misdemeanor drunk driving stemming from an August 2018 arrest in the Hamptons ... TMZ Sports has learned.

France, 56, was pulled over on August 5, 2018 in Sag Harbor, NY -- and during the stop, cops say he bombed a field sobriety test and later blew a .18 on the breathalyzer ... more than twice the legal limit.

According to the police report, cops say they also found oxycodone pain pills. To make matters worse, we're told France name-dropped President Trump during the arrest in an effort to skate on the charges.

Now, the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office says France has pled guilty to one count of misdemeanor DUI and in exchange, he got 100 hours of community service and must complete an alcohol education course before June 5, 2020.

If he completes the terms of his plea deal, prosecutors will allow France to withdraw his guilty plea and reduce the charge to a traffic violation.

France was originally charged with misdemeanor criminal possession of a controlled substance, aggravated DWI and DWI, and was facing up to a year in jail for each charge.

France was the CEO of NASCAR at the time of the arrest -- a role he held for 15 years -- but took a leave of absence following the incident and later stepped down. Brian's uncle, Jim France, is currently serving as Chairman and CEO of NASCAR.

TMZ Sports has obtained the 911 call Tyrel Dodson's GF made after the Buffalo Bills rookie allegedly attacked her in Arizona ... and she tells the operator, "He hit me across my face!"

The woman was frantic -- sobbing loudly -- but she eventually composes herself to tell the operator, "My boyfriend, like, hurt me."

She added, "He was hitting me and broke my door!"

As we previously reported ... Dodson was in Arizona with his girlfriend last month when they got into an altercation after he had thrown up on her carpet after a day of drinking.

Dodson's GF says in the 911 call the 6' 2", 240 lb football player "shoved me up against the wall" after she confronted him about the vomit ... and she says she hit him to get him off of her.

That's when she says "he hit me across my face."

The woman also says after she locked herself in her bathroom to keep him away from her ... she says he broke her bathroom door and it hit her in the face, causing a bump on her head.

Dodson's GF -- who also says the linebacker stole $10,000 in cash from her -- refused medical attention from the police.

Dodson was eventually arrested for the incident and charged with 1 domestic violence count, 1 charge of disorderly conduct and 1 charge of damage to property.

For his part, according to the police report, he told cops he never put his hands on her.

The Bills released a statement shortly after his arrest, saying, "We are aware of the incident involving Tyrel Dodson last weekend. We have been looking further into the matter and will continue to gather information as the legal process continues."

Cops in Toronto have arrested the moronic Raptors fan who went on a live TV news broadcast and said he was going to "F**k" Ayesha Curry.

The incident occurred on June 2 following the Raptors loss to the Golden State Warriors in Game 2 of the NBA Finals ... a game in which Ayesha's husband, Steph Curry, dropped 23 points and 4 assists.

A CP24 news reporter in Canada was interviewing Raptors fans during a live news broadcast after the game to get their reactions when 28-year-old Tristan Warkentin stepped up to the mic.

When asked what it was like to be at the stadium for the game, Warkentin responded ... "The vibe was unreal and I just want to let everyone know Ayesha Curry we're gonna f**k her right in the p**sy."

The Toronto Police Service says Warkentin was arrested for criminal mischief since he knew his comments would air on live TV.

A court date has been set for July 11.

After the incident, Warkentin said he had been receiving death threats because of his comments.

He also told the Toronto Sun, "I’m not in a position to defend myself in terms of what happened. I am sure you understand the influence of alcohol."

"What I did was disgraceful; it was an alcohol-influenced situation ... To be honest I don’t even remember being there but I am responsible for my own actions at the end of the day” and “am not sitting here claiming victim.”

Chris Jackson -- one of the actors in Ava DuVernay's new series about the Central Park 5 -- says it's up to viewers to decide how accurately they portrayed real people ... but most importantly, he wants viewers to be inspired.

Chris was out in NYC Wednesday when we asked him why he wanted to be a part of "When They See Us," and aside from the obvious -- working with Ava -- he says the story was too important not to tell.

As for the backlash against key figures in the case, specifically Linda Fairstein, he says it can't make up for the 5 boys being falsely convicted -- or the ordeal the Central park jogger, Trisha Meili, had to endure.

Chris played the attorney for Raymond Santana -- one of the 5 -- and says he doesn't believe filmmakers have to be married to ALL the facts when retelling real incidents. He says above all else, they're storytellers -- and viewers should do their own research to get ALL the details.

As we've reported, the Central Park jogger case has been a hot button issue this week due to "When They See Us," and Fairstein's taken the brunt of the backlash.

Many folks, including Santana and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, believe her reckoning is overdue.

Jussie Smollett did not want to call police immediately after he was allegedly attacked ... at least according to a friend who did make a 911 call.

On the January 29 phone call, which Chicago PD just released, the friend says Jussie's "attackers" wrapped a noose around his neck, after getting jumped as he left a Subway restaurant.

The caller says Jussie didn't want to file a report, but he was going to force him to do so. The male friend sounded panicked as he said, "They put a noose around his neck" and added ... "this is really f**ked up."

Police had said the 911 call was made 40 minutes after Jussie got back to his Chicago apartment.

We broke the story ... Jussie claims he was jumped by 2 men who not only put the rope around his neck, but doused him in liquid he thought was bleach and yelled, "This is MAGA country!"

Police say Jussie staged the "attack" and charged him with filing a false police report ... but the charges were eventually dropped by the Cook County State's Attorney's Office.

Logan Paul's asking nicely -- please don't show up to his house unannounced ... UNLESS you're there to get the hell beat out of you, because that's great for YouTube views.

We got LP outside Beauty & Essex restaurant in Hollywood Tuesday night, shortly after we broke the story ... a man showed up at his Encino home uninvited 2 days in a row, forcing Logan to call the cops and file a trespassing report.

Logan tells us it's not an unusual occurrence, but he'd like it to stop ... because, believe it or not, he actually values his privacy.

HOWEVER, Logan concedes that sometimes dudes showing up at his pad is totally cool ... if they have a gimmick and are down to get in the ring with him and get knocked out.

Case in point -- last week when fellow YouTuber ViktorCrazy camped out outside his gate dressed as Ivan Drago and demanded a boxing bout ... he got promptly whooped. Logan says that video was the best vlog he's had in a while.

So, there ya go clout chasers ... if you really want to walk the line of trespassing to take a chance at meeting Logan at his home, just have a game plan and be ready to get your ass kicked.

12:50 PM PT -- The Broward Sheriff's Office has also fired Peterson for neglecting his duties at the high school on the day of the shooting after an internal investigation.

The Broward County Sheriff's Deputy who fled at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School when a mass shooting broke out has been arrested for failing to do his job and help limit the carnage ... and he's facing up to 96 years in prison.

Scot Peterson has been arrested and charged in Florida and has been hit with 11 criminal charges stemming from the Parkland shooting on February 14, 2018.

The charges include 7 counts of child neglect, 3 counts of culpable negligence and one count of perjury. This comes after a 14-month investigation where law enforcement interviewed 184 witnesses and reviewed countless hours of surveillance footage.

Peterson's bond has been set at $102k ... but if he posts it he'll be required to wear a GPS monitor, turn in his passport and forfeit any firearms he has.

As we reported ... Peterson was tasked to guard the school, but video shows him running away from danger when 19-year-old gunman Nikolas Cruz opened fire on the school.

He's also been sued by families of the victims.

Fab 5 Freddy says Linda Fairstein was "evil" to the Central Park 5, and until she says sorry for her misdeeds ... she deserves every bit of backlash she's getting.

We got the hip-hop legend outside a West Hollywood cafe, and asked about Ava DuVernay's new Netflix series about the case, "When They See Us." As a native New Yorker, Freddy said he remembers the case well -- specifically how the boys were convicted in the media, even before the verdicts.

Freddy says Fairstein -- as head of the sex crimes unit of the Manhattan D.A.'s Office -- knowingly ruined the kids' lives by interrogating them under duress to get false confessions. He says she needs to admit that publicly if she wants the public's forgiveness.

Even though all 5 were exonerated in 2002, Fairstein has maintained she got the case right.

Freddy says that's why he's also backing the #CancelLindaFairstein. She went on to become a successful author, and the movement calls for boycotting publishers and distributors of her books ... east until she shows contrition.

He's also pissed about Donald Trump, who infamously took out newspaper ads at the time calling for NY State to reinstate the death penalty for the Central Park 5. Freddy says the now-President should be big enough to apologize now.

Fat chance ... Trump said in 2016 he still believes the wrongfully convicted men are guilty, despite all evidence to the contrary.

Abby Lee Miller's spent enough time behind bars to write a celeb prison survival guide -- so Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin might wanna pay close attention here.

Abby was on "TMZ Live" Monday for the first time since she was sentenced to 1 year in prison after her conviction for bankruptcy fraud. She got out in March 2018 after serving 8 months ... so we asked her what Felicity -- who already pled guilty -- should expect on the inside.

Check out the vid ... Abby admits being a celebrity had its benefits for her -- and says inmates ate up her Hollywood stories, and she suspects they'd do the same for Felicity.

The downside of fame while in prison? Abby says it's the corrections officers, and it's a major downside ... based on her experience. Watch, you have to see her vivid description of one particular run-in.

As you know, prosecutors want Felicity -- and also Lori, if she's convicted -- to do hard time for their role in the college admissions scandal. Of course, it's not like either woman would end up in a maximum security prison.

Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias just caught a major break in his domestic violence case -- 'cause he won't be prosecuted if he takes care of some business.

The L.A. City Attorney's Office tells TMZ Sports ... Urias will NOT be charged with domestic violence, but only if he completes certain requirements first. We're told he needs to participate in an informal hearing before the City Attorney, which brings in both parties to talk things out.

Urias also must not commit any acts of violence against anyone, while also being required to complete a 52-week DV counseling program in person. If Urias doesn't keep his nose clean for a year, the City Attorney's Office reserves the right to prosecute him on this case.

As we reported ... Urias was arrested last month in L.A. after witnesses saw him getting into an argument with a woman, allegedly shoving her around. When cops arrived, the woman denied anything physical had taken place.

Kim Kardashian stopped by San Quentin's death row this week with one mission in mind ... figuring out what's needed to prove inmate Kevin Cooper was framed for a slew of heinous murders.

Cooper's attorney, Norman Hile, tells TMZ ... Kim spent 2 hours speaking with him and Kevin, and their conversation mainly focused on what can be done to clear Cooper's name beyond new DNA testing.

As we first told you ... Kim dropped by one of America's most notorious prisons Thursday to speak with Cooper, a 61-year-old man who was sent directly to death row after being convicted of committing 4 heinous murders in Chino Hills, CA in the '80s. He's always proclaimed his innocence.

Kim's been successful in lobbying 2 California Governors, Jerry Brown and Gavin Newsom, to order additional DNA testing in Cooper's case ... but Thursday's meeting went way beyond the science of DNA.

Kevin and his attorney told Kim they're gunning to find evidence that could fully exonerate Cooper ... including docs related to the original prosecution, reviewing old witness testimony and finding new witnesses.

It's interesting ... Cooper could get his conviction thrown out by showing a significant error in his trial, but he's gunning to prove way more -- innocence. It would be a stunning reversal of fortune after 36 years awaiting death.

Cooper's attorney tells us their message clearly got through to Kim, and they're hoping she can use her celebrity to bring more attention to Kevin's case, as she's done with dozens of other inmates who recently gained their freedom.