Crime & Arrests

"Gypsy Sisters" star Mellie Stanley avoided serious prison time after striking a plea deal for her role in what cops say was a massive coupon scam out of Kentucky.

Andrea Williams, the prosecutor for the Fayette County Commonwealth Attorney, tells TMZ ... the judge gave Mellie 5 years probation during Friday's sentencing hearing, and if she doesn't keep her nose clean, she could be heading to the slammer.

TMZ broke the story ... Mellie pled guilty earlier this year to 2 felonies -- theft by deception and criminal possession of a forged instrument -- and the charges stemmed from a huge coupon scam authorities say she executed with her husband, including swindling thousands of dollars in merchandise from Toys R Us and Babies R Us.

According to the terms of her probation ... Mellie must meet with her probation officer, she can't own a firearm, she has to stay away from drugs and alcohol, she'll be tested for substance abuse, and she's got to cough up the dough for all the items she stole with bogus coupons -- a cool $18,075.

Mellie's not totally in the clear ... if she violates any part of her probation, a judge will decide between sentencing Mellie to 6 years in prison or tacking on conditions to her probation.

Halle Berry damn near returned to her home to find the locks changed and a strange man living inside.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... 59-year-old Ronald Eugene Griffin first showed up at an L.A. property owned by the actress in January and allegedly fiddled with the locks, but took off when he was approached by Halle's gardener.

A couple months later, in March ... cops received a trespassing call from workers at Berry's pad, who said Griffin was there with a locksmith trying to get in, claiming he was the new owner of the home and had the deed to prove it.

We're told he'd already managed to have one of the locks changed, and actually made a call to the police when he was confronted by the employees at the house. Yes, he was audacious enough to call the cops claiming ownership and pointing the finger at Halle's employees as trespassers!!!

According to law enforcement ... when police arrived Griffin maintained he was the owner of the house, but LAPD detectives quickly determined Griffin had fraudulently changed the title of the residence.

Halle told the detectives she had no idea who he was ... and definitely didn't give him permission to be at her home.

Griffin was later arrested and hit with a felony count of procuring and offering a false warranty deed and an additional count of petty theft. His bond's set at $36k.

Strangely enough ... we're told the guy didn't even know it was Halle's place. Just luck of the draw for her.

This isn't the first time Halle's had major issues with intruders. Back in 2011, she came home, walked in the kitchen and told cops, "As I opened my glass kitchen door and closed it behind me, all of a sudden I sensed someone behind me and turned to see the intruder standing less than a foot behind me, staring through my glass kitchen door." The guy was arrested.

Lil Durk -- the rapper accused of attempted murder -- wants to stay on the straight and narrow path after bonding out of jail ... and his childhood pastor's taking up the cause.

We've learned Durk's going back to his roots by placing himself back under the wings of his pastor who presided over the church he attended as a kid in Chicago. The pastor -- who's like a second father to Durk -- he flew from Chicago to Atlanta to vouch for the rapper at a recent hearing -- plans to use his ATL connections to get Durk involved in the community.

Durk apparently plans to spend time at shelters and soup kitchens. We're told he wants to get his hands dirty ... just like he used to in Chicago with the guidance of his pastor. He'd mentor kids there but, for obvious reasons, Durk's work in Chi-Town's been put on hold given the serious charges.

As we reported ... Durk posted $250k bond Friday after a judge agreed he's not a flight risk. Dude was so ecstatic getting outta jail ... he literally skipped all the way to his waiting SUV. Durk will have a curfew and have to wear an ankle monitor.

He turned himself in nearly a month ago after an arrest warrant was issued in connection to a February shooting outside a restaurant called The Varsity. A detective said in court, cops have surveillance video showing Durk firing a weapon from a car. The victim, shot in the thigh, survived.

Nicki Minaj is scoffing at the chorus of critics who are upset she featured her ex-con BF in her new music video, "MEGATRON" ... our Nicki sources say the public has spoken and they clearly dig it.

Nicki's boyfriend, Kenneth Petty, is all over the vid, in scenes that are scorching with sex.

People are griping she shouldn't have showcased Petty, because he was convicted of attempted rape as well as manslaughter. As for the attempted rape, he used a sharp object against a 16-year-old girl in an attempt to have sex with her when he was 15. He is a registered sex offender. And, as for the manslaughter, he shot and killed a man in 2002.

Sources close to Nicki say she's unmoved by the criticism, adding, "She's happy and in love and he's not going anywhere." They're also crowing that the video has millions of views just 12 hours in, and it's trending big.

The video is a testament to Nicki's relationship with Petty ... we're told it was meant to mirror the affection they have for each other.

Our sources say the love scenes were pretty much all first take ... because they say it was authentic.

At the time of this post, the video has 3.6 million views and it's only been up 12 hours. It's number 2 on trending.

Nobody's having a happier Friday than Lil Durk ... who skipped and hopped his way outta jail after posting $250k bond in his attempted murder case.

The rapper couldn't have been more ecstatic late Thursday night after he was sprung outta jail. As we reported ... a judge granted him bond after a hearing Thursday and agreed Durk is NOT a flight risk. The release, though, does come with some restrictions.

For starters ... Durk will have a curfew from 11 PM until 7 AM. He'll also have to wear an ankle monitor at all times and he's prohibited from having any contact -- direct or indirect -- with gang members. He also can't be near nor possess any weapons and must stay at least 200 yards away from the victim.

As we first reported ... Durk turned himself in to authorities nearly a month ago, after an arrest warrant was issued in connection to a February shooting outside a restaurant called The Varsity.

The judge and jury in the murder trial of the alleged killer of one of Ashton Kutcher's friends went on an emotional field trip ... checking out the place Ashley Ellerin died a grisly death.

Ashton has already gone in front of the jury on behalf of his slain friend, providing testimony that could be important in the case of a man prosecutors say is a "serial sexual-thrill killer" ... and now the jury is getting an in-person look at the crime scene.

Two vans filled with the judge and jury ventured out over the past 2 days to the sites of the horrific crimes ... including the place where Ellerin was found dead back in February 2001, laying just outside her bathroom with more than 47 stab wounds.

Judge Larry Fidler milled around the property with the jury ... and they were accompanied by police detectives Tom Small and Mark Lillienfeld, along with defense attorney Daniel Nardoni.

As we reported ... Ashton says Ashley was supposed to be his date to a Grammys after-party, but she never showed.

Ashton testified ... on the night of the Grammys, he went to her house around 10:45 PM and knocked on the door, but no one answered. He peeked through a side window and saw what he thought was red wine spilled on the floor, so he left.

Ashley's severely stabbed body was found the following morning ... and authorities say Michael Gargiulo is the murderer.

10:49 AM PT -- In addition to the curfew, Durk will need to wear an ankle monitor at all times. He also is prohibited from having any contact, direct or indirect, with gang members.

He also cannot be near or possess any weapons, and must stay at least 200 yards away from the victim.

Lil Durk will soon get his wish and be sprung outta jail ... after a judge granted him bond.

The rapper was in court Thursday in Atlanta for a bond hearing which the judge granted and set at $250k. Durk will NOT be on house arrest but will have a curfew from 11 PM until 7 AM.

TMZ broke the story ... Durk turned himself in to police nearly a month ago after an arrest warrant was issued in connection to a February shooting outside a restaurant called The Varsity. He asked the court to grant him bond ... arguing he's not a flight risk. Obviously, the judge agreed.

Durk will now be free while he awaits trial for his alleged role in the shooting. The rapper's attorney, Manny Arora, tells TMZ ... Durk will post bond and be released Friday.

Durk had been booked for 5 felony charges ... including criminal attempt to commit murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during commission of a felony, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and another charge of associating with a criminal street gang to participate in a crime.

4:29 PM PT -- Officials say Sixto David Fernandez was the target of the attack because Victor Hugo Gómez believed Sixto "ratted him out" to police years ago.

The gunman who shot David Ortiz in the Dominican Republic earlier this month DID NOT mean to target Big Papi ... so say D.R. officials, who say it was Ortiz's FRIEND they wanted to kill.

D.R. police and prosecutors just announced Sixto David Fernandez -- who was allegedly sitting near Ortiz at Dial Bar and Lounge in Santo Domingo on June 9 -- was supposed to be the target.

Unclear why Fernandez was the target. We're trying to gather information on who Fernandez is and what he does for a living. All we know so far is that cops say he's buddies with Ortiz.

Officials say the gunman who shot Big Papi from point-blank range in the back was confused by the clothing Ortiz was wearing and fired on him instead of Fernandez.

A cell phone image taken of Sixto by one of the alleged accomplices in the crime was allegedly used to identify Sixto for the hit.

But officials say the gunman mistook white items near Sixto as white pants (Ortiz was wearing white pants that night) ... and that's where the confusion all began.

Officials say they were able to confirm all this because they were able to obtain the picture that was circulated amongst the alleged criminals.

Officials also say a man named Victor Hugo Gómez -- a 43-year-old who's wanted in the United States after being caught in a major federal drug bust -- is the one who ordered the hit.

As we previously reported, officials say at least 10 people were paid around $8,000 to complete the hit.

25-year-old Rolfi Ferreira Cruz admitted to being the man behind the gun ... but said from his D.R. jail cell last week Ortiz was NOT his intended target.

Prosecutors say regardless of who the intended target was ... they still plan to pursue serious criminal charges against all of the alleged suspects.

9:52 AM PT -- Police arrested Tyson Wednesday morning after he was allegedly involved in a dispute with another individual around 2:45 AM.

Actor Richard Tyson -- best known for his role as the villain in "Kindergarten Cop" -- is in some serious hometown trouble after getting arrested.

The actor was busted early Wednesday morning for harassment and public intoxication in Mobile, Alabama. Tyson was born there and his brother, John Tyson Jr., was the former Mobile County District Attorney.

Cops in Mobile have not released the details behind what exactly led to Tyson's arrest.

Tyson has played TONS of TV and movie roles. Aside from his star-villain turn in 'Kindergarten' ... he also played Staff Sergeant Daniel Busch -- one of the soldiers in a doomed chopper -- in 2001's "Black Hawk Down."

He's still working a lot in Hollywood ... with more than a dozen projects in the works, completed or near completion.

But, of course, his biggest role is still as Cullen Crisp ... the drug dealer who went toe-to-toe with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1990 flick, "Kindergarten Cop."

Story developing ...

2:10 PM PT -- According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, cops were unable to find any DNA on the gun found in the same car YT was riding in. We're told because there were 3 people in the vehicle, investigators could not determine who the weapon belonged to, so YT will not face any charges.

The D.A.'s Office also cleared up details on the car accident that triggered the search. It was actually the police cruiser that was "unable to stop in time" before it hit Thug's Rolls-Royce.

Someone's gotta pay for what the D.A. deemed, "minor damage."

Young Thug's lawyer, Michael Goldstein, tells us, "I commend the District Attorney's Office for making the right decision after carefully reviewing the facts and body worn video over the past 9 months. The fact so much time and work went into this decision reinforces trust in our system of justice."

Young Thug will NOT be prosecuted in his L.A. gun case ... TMZ's learned the District Attorney is rejecting the case.

The D.A.'s Office tells us ... the case was rejected earlier this month due to insufficient evidence. YT's attorney, Michael Goldstein, confirmed to us the case is now closed. TMZ broke the story when cops busted Young Thug back in August -- a member of Thug's crew ran into a police car, which triggered a vehicle search. That's when cops discovered the weapons.

YT -- who was seen in handcuffs and escorted to a waiting cruiser -- was booked just after for carrying a concealed weapon in a vehicle ... a felony. The bust came on the night he was celebrating the release of his new album, "Slime Language" and his 27th birthday.

So, the arrest was quite the double whammy ... but now it's water under Thug's bridge.

Screenwriter and director Max Landis is being accused of sexual abuse and emotional torture ... as 8 women have gone public with their allegations.

The women claim the son of legendary director John Landis has a pattern of manipulative and vicious behavior. Many of the accusers claim he got violent and even raped them during their relationships.

The allegations come on the heels of one of the women, Ani Baker, taking to Twitter to warn other women about Landis, saying ... "the experience/aftermath of this person is really destructive, and it will be riddled with pain and emotional work that you don't need to spend your precious energy on."

Baker claims once, after they had sex, she playfully slapped Landis' butt and he responded by violently putting his hands around her throat and threatening to kill her.

While Baker may have opened the floodgates with her post, she's hardly the first woman to accuse Landis of abuse. He was widely accused of misconduct on social media back in 2017 when the Will Smith movie "Bright" was released -- which was written by Landis.

Actress Anna Akana wrote, "Written by a psychopath who sexually abused and assaults women, right? Cool."

The women claim Landis' MO is to use his circle of friends, which he dubbed "The Colour Society," to entice women to get close to him ... then torment them through a series of insults, intimidation, humiliation and in some cases, sexual violence. One woman described him as a "cult leader."

Another accuser, in the Daily Beast expose, claims Landis would pretend to hit her, then laugh when she flinched. Another claims he fat-shamed her, while another described him this way ... "He would systematically try to have sex with all the women I knew. We’re not people to him.”

Landis is also accused of forcing abuse and humiliation porn on a woman, and the worst of it -- forcefully holding down a woman and raping her despite her saying "no" repeatedly.

Cuba Gooding Jr. remembers 2 things distinctly about his accuser -- that he absolutely did NOT touch her breast, and also that unlike most fans he meets ... she claimed to LOVE one of his worst movies.

Cuba's lawyer, Mark Heller, tells TMZ ... the actor says when his accuser approached him at the NYC club, sitting down on the couch next to him and his girlfriend ... she said she was a fan of his movies, especially "Snow Dogs." If you've seen it, you know why that would stand out to Gooding.

That initial interaction is what you see in the surveillance video TMZ obtained.

We're told, Gooding initially thought she was messing with him because she shouted out "Snow Dogs" over his Oscar-caliber classics, but he decided to be friendly since she was a fan.

As for the touching that's evident in the video ... Heller says Gooding admits placing his hand on her thigh as a cordial gesture -- as friends might do when sitting closely. Then he says he brought his hand up to her hand -- NOT her breast -- and brought her hand to his lips for a kiss. Again, Gooding says it was all a "friendly gesture."

The actor insists he did not touch the woman's breast and wasn't hitting on her ... as he was ever mindful his girlfriend, Claudine De Niro, was sitting in between them.

After the encounter, Cuba and Claudine went downstairs at the club to make out on a couch when the accuser confronted Gooding's security about the alleged groping. We're told Gooding says he had no idea what she was talking about and was confused about who she even was, because he'd met so many people that night. He then got up to leave.

When the case hit the media, Gooding claims he only remembered his interaction with the woman ... mostly because the surveillance video triggered his memory about her love of "Snow Dogs."

As for initial reports about club security having to break up a heated argument between Cuba and the accuser ... Heller says it didn't happen. He adds there are no witnesses nor video to support it either.

Gable Steveson -- one of the top heavyweight college wrestlers in the country -- was arrested Saturday for criminal sexual conduct ... and he's still in custody.

Steveson is a superstar wrestler at the University of Minnesota -- where he just wrapped up his freshman year with an incredible 35-2 record ... finishing as the #3 ranked heavyweight in the country.

But now, he's in huge trouble ... the 19-year-old was arrested at his Minneapolis home on Saturday after a person told police Steveson and another UM wrestler committed sexual assault with an object on Saturday.

The teammate, 21-year-old Dylan Martinez, was also arrested Saturday for suspected criminal sexual conduct.

Both men are being investigated for allegedly penetrating another individual with an object. The accuser went to the hospital for treatment, according to the police report.

The accuser's identity has not been released. Details surrounding the allegations are unclear.

What is clear ... Steveson is adamant he did NOTHING wrong. His attorney, Christa Groshek, said the wrestler is cooperating with the police investigation and he's adamant he is innocent.

The University of Minnesota has issued a statement, saying, "We are aware of a situation involving two of our student athletes and are in the process of gathering more information."

"These students have been suspended from all team activity pending further information. Federal and state law precludes any further details at this time."

"Little Women: Atlanta" star Ashley "Minnie" Ross says she had just 1 beer when she got busted for DUI.

According to a police report obtained by TMZ ... cops in Chattanooga, Tennessee were notified Thursday just before 3 AM of a female slumped over in the driver's seat of an SUV. When cops responded, they woke up the 4'3'' reality star and immediately smelled booze on her breath.

When asked if she had any drinks earlier that night, cops say Minnie told them she had just 1 beer. She was instructed to get outta the car and given a series of field sobriety tests, which she bombed ... swaying and using her arm for balance.

She was asked to recite the alphabet from letter E and stop at W ... but Minnie stopped at Z. She was asked to count backward from 69 and stop at 39 but she stopped at 1.

Despite the very detailed police report ... a source close to Minnie says she passed all of the field sobriety tests and she was texting -- not asleep at the wheel -- when cops showed up.

Minnie was placed under arrest for DUI and taken to Hamilton County Jail without incident. She was later released on bail.

Bryshere Gray -- best known for his role as one of the Lyon children on "Empire" -- desperately needs to make a trip to the DMV ... because he was arrested for some driving-related offenses.

Bryshere was in Chicago Thursday when he was pulled over for a registration issue ... the tags didn't match the car. Cops then discovered he was driving his 2014 Rolls-Royce without a license or insurance.

The actor was booked on a misdemeanor -- registration that was not authorized on the vehicle -- and released. He was also cited for not having a license or insurance.

This is the latest woe of "Empire." As you know, Jussie Smollett was arrested and charged with lying to cops over what they say was a fake attack. The prosecutor later dropped the case.

Kim Kardashian definitely earned her title as Princess of Prison Reform ... using her celebrity status for good has yielded nothing but positive results, so says one of her freed prisoners.

The first prisoner released under the First Step Act -- Matthew Charles -- showered Kim with praise when we ran into him on Capitol Hill. As we reported, Kim not only helped secure his release ... she's covered the next 5 years of rent while he gets back on his feet.

Kim was front and center at The White House Thursday to unveil her latest prison reform initiative -- a rideshare partnership that allows inmates to travel to job interviews. The end game is to make them productive citizens rather than recidivists.

Kim's been a big help by writing checks so various lawyers and prison reform groups can do their thing ... and they have done their thing with success, recently freeing more than 17 inmates and counting. These are mostly inmates who are serving long terms for non-violent -- mostly drug -- offenses.