Crime & Arrests

Stephen Jackson is at the forefront of the fight for justice in the killing of his friend George Floyd ... saying he's going to do whatever it takes to make sure the officers are convicted.

The ex-NBA star revealed this week that he's known Floyd for more than 20 years ... saying they even called each other "twin."

Jackson -- alongside Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns, rappers Bun B and Trae The Truth, and actor Jamie Foxx -- gave an emotional speech at a news conference in Minneapolis on Friday.

"I'm here because they're not gonna demean the character of George Floyd, my twin," Jackson said.

"You can't tell me when that man had a knee on my brother's neck, taking his life away with his hand in his pocket that that smirk on his face didn't say, 'I'm protected.'"

"You can't tell me that he didn't feel that it was his duty to murder my brother and then he was gonna get away with it."

The officer -- Derek Chauvin -- has been arrested and charged with 3rd-degree murder and manslaughter ... and Jackson says he will fight to make sure all officers involved get proper punishment.

"I'mma use everything I have to get a conviction, to get all these motherf**kers in jail. Excuse my French, I'm angry. I'm a proud black man."

Drop the mic, you're going to jail.

That's exactly what happened to CNN reporter Omar Jimenez right in the middle of covering the Minneapolis riots over George Floyd's killing ... but the cops are now saying, oops.

Jimenez was live on the air, just after 5 AM Central Time, when 2 Minnesota State Police officers in riot gear took the mic out of his hands, placed zip ties around his wrists and took him into custody.

At the time, he was standing on the mostly empty street in front of Minneapolis PD's 3rd Precinct which went up in flames Thursday night. State troopers had just arrived on the scene to clear the area, and you could hear Jimenez clearly identify himself as a CNN reporter ... and he also said he and his crew would move wherever cops needed them to go.

The cops weren't in the mood to talk, clearly, and arrested Jimenez and his crew -- but a couple hours later, they were released.

The Minnesota State Patrol says 3 CNN staffers were arrested because officers were "clearing the streets and restoring order." They say all 3 were released "once they were confirmed to be members of the media."

The irony here is pretty obvious -- a black reporter gets arrested while covering riots sparked by the fact a police officer has NOT been arrested for killing a black man, on camera.

CNN's pissed because Jimenez and his crew identified themselves as media while ON THE AIR, mind you. The network says Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz had to step in to expedite the release of their staffers.

It's getting heavy.

"The Vampire Diaries" star Zach Roerig was allegedly a mess in more ways than one over Memorial Day weekend -- when he got busted for DUI, cops say he urinated in his jail cell.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Zach was busted Sunday around 2:30 AM in Montpelier, Ohio. Police tell us, officers noticed Zach's pickup truck did not have a front license plate, so they pulled him over.

Our sources say when the officer went up to the driver's side window, cops noticed Zach's slurred speech and bloodshot eyes and say he reeked of booze.

We're told police conducted several field sobriety tests during which Zach told the officer, "This is very hard, I can't do this when I'm f***ing ..." and his voice trailed off. The cop asked what he meant, and we're told Zach replied, "When I can't have a beer."

Cops arrested Zach for misdemeanor DUI. When they took him to the station, our sources say he was placed in a holding cell, where he ended up peeing. Long night.

Suspended MLB pitcher Felipe Vazquez -- who's already behind bars and facing more than 20 felonies in a child sex case -- has been hit with a new child porn charge in St. Louis, according to reports.

Remember, 28-year-old Vazquez was arrested back in September for allegedly sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl in 2017 ... and was also charged with sending nude pictures and videos of himself to the victim.

In docs, obtained by the Trib, Vazquez was charged with a count of "furnishing pornographic materials to a juvenile" in February ... a Class A misdemeanor.

According to the docs, the act allegedly went down from Vazquez's hotel room on July 16 ... when he sent nudes and a video of himself masturbating to a 15-year-old girl.

Worth noting ... the Pirates beat the Cardinals 3-1 that same day, and Vazquez recorded the save for Pittsburgh.

The Westmoreland County, PA Assistant DA told the Trib he believes the minor is the same girl at the center of Vazquez's other charges.

Tyler Judson -- a Tulane Univ. football player -- was arrested Monday ... this after he was accused of punching a woman so hard in the face at a Louisiana Waffle House, she required a trip to the hospital.

The mother of the alleged victim told WWL-TV her daughter was at the popular restaurant in Zachary, LA in the early morning hours of Memorial Day ... when a fight with Judson broke out.

The mom claims her daughter didn't know Judson prior to the incident and didn't start it ... but says she was punched by the Green Wave safety anyway -- causing severe injuries.

The woman says her daughter suffered "multiple facial fractures" and will require surgery to fix the issues. She also says the 18-year-old's eyes were still swollen shut as of Wednesday.

Jail records show Judson was arrested and booked on a charge of felony second-degree battery Monday. Records also show he bonded out shortly after.

Tulane Univ. said in a statement to media outlets it's suspending Judson immediately, saying, "Tulane Athletics is aware of Tyler Judson’s arrest."

"He has been suspended indefinitely from the Tulane football program. Tulane Athletics will have no further comment at this time."

Judson -- a redshirt freshman -- appeared in four games for the Green Wave in 2019, logging three total tackles.

He came to Tulane as a fairly touted national recruit, reportedly picking the school over offers from Baylor, Ole Miss and others.

A 21-year-old black man justifiably panicked when several cops pulled guns on him and repeatedly screamed, "Show me your hands" ... even though he was clearly already showing them.

The incident played out in Midland, Texas on May 16 but video of the arrest started circulating late last week. It's going viral now due to George Floyd's deadly arrest in Minneapolis, because it underscores the tense dynamic between African-Americans and police ... even during something as minor as running a stop sign.

The young man's name is Tye Anders and the video shows him get out of his car after pulling into his driveway. He immediately puts his hands up and begins repeatedly asking cops why they stopped him. Cops told him he ran a stop sign. Police were barking orders for him to put his hands up ... even though you can see his hands were up. Tye even dropped to his knees and laid on his stomach with his hands out.

Later in the video, you can hear Anders crying and telling cops he's scared before his 90-year-old grandmother walks out trying to defuse the situation. But, even then cops don't approach Anders ... as one officer can be heard asking if there's anyone else in the vehicle.

After Anders lies on the ground, you can hear cops telling him to stand up. Cops ultimately move in to make the arrest. There are erroneous reports the grandmother was tackled by cops, but you can see in the body cam footage she trips over Tye and is helped back up by cops.

Tye was ultimately arrested for evading arrest ... but the manner in which it went down has sparked controversy in Midland, where officials will hold a town hall meeting later Thursday to address it.

The video, of course, amplifies the panic black citizens feel even during routine traffic stops. As we've reported ... new surveillance video showed Floyd shows no signs of resisting during his arrest before he was killed by a cop pressing his knee on Floyd's neck.

Jay-Z's legal eagle is keeping the pressure on Mississippi's infamous Parchman Penitentiary by filing a new lawsuit that calls out the prison's healthcare provider.

As we've reported, Jay's company, Roc Nation, backed a group of Parchman inmates suing Mississippi's Dept. of Corrections over filthy, violent, unhealthy and deadly conditions ... and all of that was before COVID-19 made things worse.

Now, attorney Alex Spiro -- who Roc Nation hired to rep the inmates -- has filed a new lawsuit against Centene ... the parent company of Centurion, which provides healthcare at Parchman. This time, Spiro's client is a Centene shareholder who's seen the brutal news about 40 inmates dying in Mississippi prisons, including Parchman, since December.

The shareholder suspects Centurion's alleged poor care is exposing the company to lawsuits and potentially tanking its stock. In docs, obtained by TMZ, the shareholder calls out Centurion for poor inmate mental health treatment, and a lack of testing in for illnesses -- a glaring issue for prisons amid the pandemic. In short, the suit alleges an "entire breakdown in [Mississippi prisons'] healthcare system."

Parchman, in particular, has been plagued by riots, fires and suicides -- videos from inside the prison showed the dire conditions allegedly exacerbated by the prison being woefully understaffed.

According to the suit, Centurion is actually losing money on its deal with the state of Mississippi -- which the shareholder suspects might be why the company's allegedly bailing on providing proper healthcare at the prisons.

The shareholder wants a judge to force Centurion to open its books to provide a full picture of where money is, or isn't, going when it comes to inmate healthcare.

Obviously, that information could also be crucial for the Parchman inmates' lawsuit. Fair to say, it's no coincidence Spiro is repping the shareholder as well as the prisoners suing Mississippi's DOC.

Jay-Z and Yo Gotti have both vowed they're in this for the long haul ... until the prison conditions vastly improve, and this could go a long way toward that goal.

The killing of George Floyd is starting to have Rodney King-esque levels of repercussions out in Minnesota -- hundreds of people are taking to the street and decrying his death.

Check out this scene right now in Minneapolis, where throngs of people are blocking roads and demonstrating en masse. Several different blocks are completely covered in bodies moving about -- it's surreal to see from a bird's eye view.

Things don't appear to be getting too out of hand at the moment, but we're sure law enforcement (and the public) is keeping a close eye on how things play out in the hours to come.

Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo announced 4 cops have been fired over George Floyd's death. The police chief, who made the announcement during a Tuesday news conference, did not identify the officers involved. Mayor Jacob Frey said, "This is the right call."

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey just delivered some strong remarks about the death of the African-American man, George Floyd, who had an officer's knee on his neck for several minutes -- and his message is clear ... this cop failed by all accounts, and the victim should NOT have died.

Mayor Frey says, "Being Black in should not be a death sentence." He goes on to say, "When you hear someone calling for help, you're supposed to help. This officer failed in the most basic, human sense." Frey added, "All I keep coming back to is this: this man should not have died."

Frey went on to say that the victim's life mattered, and that regardless of what the investigation revealed ... it doesn't change the simple fact that what happened is wrong. He also issued an apology to the African-American community and the family of the victim in Minneapolis, saying he was so sorry.

Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo also came to the podium and backed up what the Mayor said. He also implied the knee technique was not one sanctioned or taught at the police academy there, and also discussed why the feds were set to investigate.

A Minneapolis man is dead after a police officer put his knee on the man's neck and kept it there, despite pleas by the man that he couldn't breathe, and now the FBI is on the case.

It happened Monday night, when cops were responding to a "forgery in progress." Police arrived and saw the suspect sitting in a car. According to the Department, the man resisted arrest so he was placed in handcuffs, adding "he appeared to be suffering medical distress."

The Police Dept. added, "At no time were weapons of any type used by anyone involved in this incident."

What the P.D. did not address ... is the video, and it's incredibly disturbing.

You see the man on the ground in cuffs, as an officer puts his knee on his neck and the African-American man cries out, "Please, I can't breathe." The officer doesn't budge, as another officer passively watches.

It's apparent the man is in distress, as a passerby screams, "That's bulls***, bro. You're stopping his breathing right there, bro. Get him off the ground, bro," adding the officer was "enjoying it."

The man becomes motionless, an ambulance shows up and the man is taken to a hospital where he died.

The officers, whose bodycams were on and activated during the incident, were placed on administrative leave and the FBI is now investigating.

Cliff Alexander was such a star H.S. basketball recruit ... one cop remembered him during the former NBA player's gun arrest this month -- and the interaction was all caught on police video obtained by TMZ Sports.

Alexander was pulled over at around 9:30 PM CT on May 6 in Chicago, Ill. after cops say he blew through a stop sign ... and shortly after, one officer realized who exactly he had detained.

"Oh, you're that hooper!" the cop said, before asking him about his high school recruiting ranking.

FYI -- Alexander was largely considered the top prospect in the country back in the 2014 recruiting class ... right alongside future Duke Blue Devil Jahlil Okafor.

In the video, you can hear the officer actually asks Alexander about the battle for the No. 1 spot with Okafor ... and the interaction is kind of funny.

"I remember that sh*t!" the cop said. "That's crazy! ... You went to Kansas, right!?"

Of course, the stop didn't go so well for Alexander outside of that convo ... cops say the 24-year-old illegally had a loaded firearm under his seat, which one officer said appeared to be a "Glock 21."

Alexander also admitted to cops during the stop he had "like 6 grams" of weed on him ... and you can see in video, he explained to an officer he stuffed it in his pants because "I'm paranoid."

Eventually, Alexander was arrested and booked on a felony charge of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. He was also hit with a citation for failing to stop at a stop sign -- but he was NOT booked on drug charges.

Ryan Leaf has been arrested for misdemeanor domestic battery in Palm Springs, CA ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The former NFL quarterback was taken into custody around 2 PM PT on Friday, May 22nd.

According to jail records, he was booked for domestic battery -- and bail was set at $5,000.

As of now (the time of this post), Leaf is still in custody.

44-year-old Leaf is listed on his booking sheet as 6'6", 250 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes.

We're working on the details ...

Of course, Leaf was the #2 overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft -- but his career flamed out fast and his life fell apart soon after.

Leaf has been arrested multiple times for things like drug possession and burglary ... but he had sobered up and became a program ambassador for an organization that runs sober houses in multiple cities including L.A. and N.Y.

He's recently been covering college football for ESPN.

A North Carolina man named Jesus has confessed after vandalizing a local church's historic stained glass window ... this according to cops.

Police arrested Jesus Jose Arellano after he used a foot-long sandstone rock to smash a Tiffany glass window at Grace Moravian Church. The stained glass window, which dates back nearly 100 years to 1925, now has a 2-square-foot hole thanks to Jesus.

Cops say Jesus confessed to his sins when he was arrested the day after the vandalism -- in a nearby cemetery, no less. Jesus was charged with injury to real property.

Jesus had to work pretty hard to vandalize the church ... cops say he used the sandstone to break through 6 inches of Plexiglass before smashing the stained glass window.

Neil Ruth, the church's pastor told WXII the Grace Moravian is a symbol of kindness in its Mount Airy community, and he found it odd Jesus would do such a thing.

Denzel Washington did a good deed for someone in need Thursday ... helping a homeless man who was clearly in distress.

Denzel was driving in WeHo at around 1 PM when he saw the man in the street ... in some peril with oncoming traffic.

Denzel got out of his car, talked to the man and brought him to safety on the sidewalk. Denzel was wearing a protective mask, but the man he was helping was not. Despite the risk, he needed help and DW was the man for the job.

William "Roddie" Bryan, the man who recorded the video of Ahmaud Arbery's killing, is now the third suspect to be arrested for the young man's murder.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation just announced the arrest, saying Bryan's been hit with charges of felony murder and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.

The GBI says the charges stem from the February 23 incident that resulted in Arbery's death. Bryan will be booked into the Glynn County Jail.

As we reported ... Roddie claimed he was simply a witness to the slaying and had zero involvement with what went down between Arbery and the 2 men previously arrested for his murder -- Gregory and Travis McMichael.

Bryan said after his video leaked online that he was fearful for his life and was receiving death threats. The GBI said Bryan and his video were under investigation, and he was initially named in the police report for allegedly trying to block Ahmaud during the chase while he was jogging. Bryan denied any involvement, though.

As we told you ... Arbery's family and legal team strongly believed Bryan was involved in the incident, along with the McMichaels, and wants him to face justice.

Dave East got a lot of support from some onlookers, but it wasn't enough to spring him free after a nasty back and forth with NYPD.

East and a group of friends were in Queens early Friday morning traveling in an SUV. Law enforcement sources say the driver of the SUV turned without signaling, so cops pulled the vehicle over. We're told officers smelled a strong odor of weed as they approached the driver's side.

East -- who was sitting in the backseat -- clearly thought the turn-signal justification for the stop was BS ... so he became agitated, questioning the stop.

That's when a crowd began to form around the SUV.  Cops asked for ID, which the driver forked over, but neither East nor the other passenger provided ID.

Cops tell us they found 7 bags of weed in the vehicle. Both East and the other passenger were taken in. East got a summons for disorderly conduct and unlawful possession of marijuana. It's unclear why the driver was not taken in as well.

Green Bay Packers defensive lineman Montravius Adams was arrested in Georgia this week after cops say they found weed in his car during a traffic stop.

LESS THAN AN OUNCE.

Yep, the 24-year-old -- a 3rd-round pick out of Auburn in 2017 -- was initially pulled over Tuesday around 6 PM when cops say he was driving around with suspended registration.

During the stop, the officer smelled weed and searched the vehicle -- turning up less than an ounce, according to the police report.

Adams was arrested and booked into the Houston County Jail for possession of marijuana, driving without insurance and driving with a suspended registration.

Adams posted $2,900 bond and was released after about 2 hours in custody.

"The Packers are aware of the matter involving Montravius Adams," the team said in a statement ... "We will refrain from making any further comment as it is an ongoing legal matter."

"Ink Master" star Daniel Silva is reeling from the fatal car crash that killed his friend, YouTube star Corey La Barrie ... according to his attorney, who's confident Daniel will beat a murder charge.

Sources close to Daniel tell TMZ ... Silva had been working hard all day leading up to the deadly crash, and showed up to Corey's birthday party totally sober. We're also told Daniel was only at the party for 2 hours, but was seen drinking White Claw hard seltzer.

We broke the story ... Daniel was arrested and charged with 2nd-degree murder after wrecking a black McLaren sports car earlier this month. Corey, his passenger in the car, died from injuries suffered in the crash. They had just left Corey's 25th birthday party.

Daniel's attorney, Mike Cavalluzzi, tells TMZ ... "This is a horrible tragedy and our hearts go out to Corey's family and friends. We are reviewing all of the evidence and will reserve comment for a later time. For now, it is most important that everyone involved is given time and space to grieve."

Remember ... our law enforcement sources say witnesses claim Silva allegedly tried to flee the scene but was stopped by bystanders. Witnesses also say Daniel was drinking before getting in the driver's seat, but he has NOT been charged with DUI.

We're told Cavalluzzi believes prosecutors will not be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt Daniel was driving drunk. He says the crash was nothing more than a horrible accident.