Crime & Arrests

Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino and Snooki say they've tried reaching out to costar Ronnie Ortiz-Magro since his domestic violence arrest ... but claim he's gone radio silent.

The Sitch jumped on Snooki's podcast, "It's Happening with Snooki & Joey," and Mike revealed he's made multiple attempts to get in touch with Ronnie, but so far no dice. Ditto for Snooki ... who also lashed out at Ronnie's ex, Jen Harley, for being photographed showing off her alleged injuries stemming from an alleged violent encounter with Ronnie.

Mike says he fired off a stern message to Ronnie ... urging him to "wake the f**k up" before softening his tone. Snooki says she did the same before going off on Jen.

Snooki tore into Jen, "My thing is with Jen in this photo. 'Cause there’s a photo released. She’s out to lunch with Ariana. She’s wearing a tank top and shorts, and she has bruises everywhere. I feel like she went out intentionally to get a photo of her."

One of the men arrested in connection with Mac Miller's fatal overdose just pled not guilty to charges he supplied the rapper with counterfeit oxycodone that caused the rapper's death.

Mac's alleged drug dealer, Cameron Pettit, entered his plea during his arraignment Thursday in Los Angeles federal court. Mac's other alleged dealer, Stephen Walter, had his arraignment pushed back to later this month, because he's in custody in San Diego and under quarantine for mumps.

As we reported ... Pettit and Walter were indicted last week by a federal grand jury for allegedly giving Mac a deadly dose of pills.

City Girls member JT is one step closer to freedom ... we've learned the rapper is out of prison, and finishing out her sentence in a halfway house.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... JT was just transferred from FCI Tallahassee to a halfway house in the Atlanta area as she awaits her March 7 release.

It's a huge change of scenery for JT after more than a year behind bars ... inmates in halfway houses get tons of extra benefits, like being able to leave the house during the day to work, and visit family and friends.

Ronnie Ortiz-Magro denies ever wielding a knife against his baby mama, Jen Harley, in their latest alleged domestic violence incident ... and insists he was only out to protect their daughter.

Sources familiar with the matter tell TMZ ... Ronnie is adamant he NEVER picked up or threatened Jen with a knife during their latest domestic disturbance in L.A. ... which required the cops to come out, break down a door and tase him in the end.

We're told Ronnie only confronted Jen because he was afraid she was trying to take their daughter away from their Airbnb rental home ... which surveillance footage from a neighbor's house seems to support, on the surface anyway.

TMZ broke the story ... Jen looked pretty terrified as she sidled up to the neighbor's home with 1-year-old Ariana in hand, attempting to open the trunk of the neighbor's car.

Jen Harley showed serious signs of distress and appeared to be hiding from Ronnie Ortiz-Magro while holding her baby girl during their domestic violence incident ... as this security footage shows.

TMZ's obtained video from a neighbor who witnessed a portion of the frightening scene early Friday morning. It picks up as a barefooted Harley approaches the neighbor's home and activates the motion light ... then tries to open the gate.

Jen appears to check the trunk of neighbor's car to see if it's open -- possibly to hide her daughter -- before walking away.

The neighbor tells us Harley ended up pounding on her glass door asking for help, but the neighbor was scared to let her in so she called the police instead.

According to the neighbor, she looked out her window and witnessed Harley try to drop the baby over her fence as a shirtless Ronnie approached up the driveway. She claims he struggled with Harley, grabbed the baby, then hit Harley before leaving the premises.

The neighbor says Harley returned a short while later without their daughter asking to use the phone, but she informed her cops were already on the way. We're told they arrived around 2:50 AM.

TMZ Sports has obtained surveillance video of the moment NFL D-lineman Darius Philon allegedly pulled a gun on women in a strip club parking lot ... but it's unclear if the guy ever committed the crime.

Earlier this summer ... a woman accused Philon -- a 25-year-old who was playing for the Arizona Cardinals at the time -- of threatening to shoot her and her friend in a strip club parking lot.

In the police report, obtained by TMZ Sports, the woman alleges that on May 17 ... she was dancing at V-Live in Phoenix, Arizona when Darius asked her and her friend to come to his car so he could pay her.

She alleges that when they got to his car ... he pulled a gun on them, pointed it at their chests and said, "Which one of you wants a bullet?"

She says when she told him to put the gun down and went to the other side of her friend ... he pointed the gun at her a second time.

In the surveillance video ... you can see Philon clearly speaking with the two women -- but it's difficult to tell if he ever brandishes a weapon.

Cops launched an investigation ... and eventually arrested Philon on Aug. 9 -- booking the 6-foot-1, 286-pounder for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

A day later, the Cardinals cut Philon.

But, Philon is still waiting to receive formal charges in the case ... a rep for the Maricopa County Attorney's office tells us, "We received the case for review less than a week ago and are currently reviewing it for a charging decision."

Philon -- who's still an NFL free agent searching for another team -- signed a 2-year deal worth $10 MILLION with the Cards just months before his August release.

The University of Tennessee has booted Jeremy Banks off the football team days after footage surfaced showed him berating police officers during a recent arrest.

UT coach Jeremy Pruitt announced the move moments ago ... saying, "While I will continue to support Jeremy in the next steps in his life, information I recently received made it clear this decision is in the best interest of the football program & university."

As we previously reported, Banks was stopped for making an illegal U-turn in Knoxville on Sept. 15 and during the incident, cops noticed an outstanding warrant stemming from a failure to appear in court for a prior traffic issue.

While Banks was in the police car being taken to the station, he went off on the officers.

At one point, Banks says the following to a female intern who's participating in a ride-along -- "You don't wanna be an intern because where I'm from we shoot at cops. I'm from Memphis, Tennessee."

He also made comments like, "I don't like the police, bro. Hell nah," and "Y'all police are some p*****s, bro. Real s**t, I don't f**k with y'all."

Ronnie Ortiz-Magro from "Jersey Shore" is in police custody after allegedly striking Jen Harley, chasing her with a knife and, eventually, forcing cops to tase him ... TMZ has learned.

Ronnie and his GF, Jen -- who've been on and off due to several violent incidents -- got into another heated argument early Friday morning, shortly after 2:30 AM, at an Airbnb they're renting in L.A. ... according to our law enforcement sources.

Ex-NFL star Fred Smoot -- who played for the Vikings and Redskins -- was arrested in Virginia on Thursday and TMZ Sports has the pics.

Law enforcement tells us, 40-year-old Smoot was taken into custody in Loudoun County around 7:15 PM local time.

A witness says multiple cops were waiting for Smoot at his home when the ex-NFL player arrived there. He was placed in handcuffs and taken to a nearby station where he was booked into county jail.

We're told Smoot was taken in on outstanding warrant stemming from a failure to appear in court in Sept. for a previous issue. Unclear what the previous issue is at this point, but we're working on it.

Smoot was previously arrested in Washington D.C. in 2014 for domestic violence stemming from an issue with his girlfriend. But, when the case went in front of a judge in 2015, he was found not guilty.

Besides being a pretty solid defensive back, Smoot was famously involved in the Minnesota Vikings "Love Boat" scandal back in Oct. 2005 ... when several players were accused of hiring prostitutes for a sex party on water.

Smoot later pled guilty to disorderly conduct and being a public nuisance on a watercraft stemming from the incident.

Stacey Dash will NOT be prosecuted in her domestic violence case ... cause TMZ's learned her case has been dropped.

Prosecutors tell TMZ they dropped the case because the injury -- a single scratch -- was minor and there's no way of knowing if Stacey caused it. Prosecutors also say if Stacey had any physical contact with her husband it was "incidental" on her part.

TMZ broke the story ... Stacy was busted last weekend in Florida for domestic violence after getting into a squabble with her new husband, Jeffrey Marty. We obtained the 911 call in which you hear Stacey tell the operator she's being assaulted by her husband.

On the heels of criminal charges being filed in the death of Mac Miller, 6 men have just been arrested in connection with the fatal OD of HQ Trivia co-founder and CEO Colin Kroll ... and federal authorities say the men went to great lengths to avoid getting caught.

The group allegedly peddled coke and heroin daily in NYC through their drug delivery service called "Mike's Candyshop," which counted Kroll as a customer ... this according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.

According to the feds, the NYPD and DEA's investigation turned up an illicit enterprise that allegedly allowed people to order heroin and coke to their doorstep as simply as if they were ordering a pizza.

In the indictment ... one of the victims identified as "Victim 1" -- TMZ's confirmed it's Kroll -- died from a cocktail of drugs that included heroin and coke allegedly provided by Mike's Candyshop.

What's more ... the feds claim Mike's changed its phone number twice to avoid getting caught. Still, the delivery service continued operating its on-demand drug service.

P.J. Williams' GF tried like hell to get the NFL player out of a DUI arrest last January ... asking a cop if he'd have mercy on P.J. because of the missed PI call in the Saints-Rams NFC Championship Game!!!

It's all in new police video obtained by TMZ Sports ... which shows a New Orleans cop stopping Williams after he pulled the guy over for doing 80 MPH in a 50 just days after New Orleans' loss to L.A.

The cop tells P.J. he was driving recklessly ... and after he says he smells a strong booze odor from the car -- he decides to conduct a sobriety test on the 26-year-old.

In the video, you can see P.J. bombs it ... so the officer slaps the cuffs on him and tells him, "You've had too much to drink tonight, Mr. Williams."

That's when the officer turns to P.J.'s girlfriend to see if she can drive his car home ... when all of a sudden she tries to help Williams get out of the arrest.

The conversation is pretty funny ... she tells the officer, "Is there any way that you can -- he's a Saints player! Don't you feel bad?! Like, you saw that game didn't you?!"

Of course, the officer wasn't having any of it ... saying to the woman, "That doesn't concern me."

Ex-Dallas cop Amber Guyger just got 10 years in prison -- on the heels of her conviction for murdering her neighbor, Botham Jean ... whose brother created a shocking moment in court.

The sentencing went down Wednesday in Dallas and while there were cheers when it was announced ... the most stunning event came earlier when Brandt Jean gave his victim's impact statement. He spoke directly to Guyger and told her to go to God and ask for forgiveness. He got choked up as he asked the judge if he could hug Guyger.

The judge said yes, and then they tearfully embraced for nearly a minute. You could hear people crying in court.

Brandt said he never wanted to tell his family he's personally forgiven Guyger.

Botham's family members burst into tears after her 10-year sentence was announced, and it appears even Judge Tammy Kemp -- who is black -- was moved by Brandt's statement. After the hearing, she also embraced Guyger.

The officers who arrested Stacey Dash believed the actress was hispanic, but labeled her as "white" on their final arrest report.

Dash -- who has an African American father and Mexican American mother -- was arrested on a domestic battery charge in Florida on Sunday after an incident with her husband. After the police report was issued, many noticed it labeled her race as "white."

A spokesperson for the Pasco Sheriff's Department tells us, "Stacey Dash was never asked her race by the arresting deputy, nor did she volunteer any information about her race. The arresting deputy assumed that she was Hispanic."

He continues, "However, the Pasco Sheriff's Office follows the Department of Justice Uniform Crime Reporting standards and, according to the DOJ reporting requirements the only allowable races are: Asian/Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, Black/African American, American Indian/Alaskan Native, Unknown, or White."

The spokesperson says reports do list a Hispanic option if a deputy fills it out by hand, but most use their computers, which do not give a Hispanic option.

There was also an error in Dash's name on the report -- calling her Stacey Dash Lauretta -- the spokesperson says that will be corrected on the official arrest record.

As for Dash's race ... the spokesperson says he believes that will remain the same as Stacey never specified during her arrest.

Prosecutors ain't buying R. Kelly's excuse he needs to get outta jail while his criminal case is pending ... saying the singer's full of BS, and is likely to make a run for it.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ ... the government says Kelly's definitely a flight risk if he gets outta jail, even though the singer's legal team claims his passport doesn't contain a single stamp showing international travel.

In docs, prosecutors say earlier this year after he was released on bail in Illinois, Kelly sought to travel to Dubai with his two GFs, each of whom took steps to get their own passports.

Prosecutors also called BS on Kelly's legal team claiming the singer won't tamper with or intimidate witnesses. The government contends Kelly "has a history of coercing women to write letters containing false and embarrassing allegations" so he can later use them as blackmail.

And, then there's this ... prosecutors say Kelly's claim he's broke is misleading because he continues to get hundreds of thousands of dollars in royalties for his music. What's more ... the government argues it found out he's redirecting these royalties to the bank account of a childhood friend, but could easily redirect the dough to himself.

The government's docs don't include any visible response to Kelly's claim he's in failing health and should be released as a result. However, chunks of the document are redacted.

TMZ broke the story ... Kelly's lawyer filed legal docs in which they outline various medical issues, including numbness in one of his hands, anxiety and an untreated hernia.

Kelly's legal team, in their filing, assured the judge the singer would not be a flight risk and he vowed not to tamper with or intimidate witnesses.

Police have released body cam footage of Tennessee running back Jeremy Banks' September arrest ... where the player is heard saying, "Where I'm from, we shoot at cops."

The 19-year-old running back was arrested for an outstanding warrant after he was initially pulled over for an illegal U-turn on Sept. 15 (hours after the Volunteers' win over UT-Chattanooga).

During the arrest, Banks tells officers he plays for the Vols ... and asks them several times to have them call head coach Jeremy Pruitt.

Once on the phone, Pruitt says he was aware of the previous traffic ticket, but didn't know there was a warrant out for Banks' arrest for failing to appear in court.

When in the back of the police car, Banks starts going OFF on the cops, saying, "I don't like the police, bro. Hell nah," and "Y'all police are some p*****s, bro. Real s**t, I don't f**k with y'all."

At one point, Banks says the following to a female intern who's participating in a ride-along -- "You don't wanna be an intern because where I'm from we shoot at cops. I'm from Memphis, Tennessee."

Banks eventually calms down -- even singing and giving compliments to the officer on his way to the detention center.

The running back released a statement on Tuesday, saying, “I want to sincerely apologize to my family, the University of Tennessee and the law enforcement community. I deeply regret my language and attitude in the video."