Crime & Arrests

R. Kelly claims he's being punished by being placed on suicide watch in a Brooklyn detention center even though he says he's got no intentions of hurting himself ... and now he's suing.

The disgraced singer just filed suit against MDC Brooklyn, claiming they are subjecting him to "cruel and unusual punishment" under the harsh conditions of suicide watch because he's a celebrity.

Kelly claims he was put on suicide watch this week after he was sentenced to 30 years in prison, arguing his 8th Amendment rights are being violated because "he is not suicidal and expressly told MDC officials that he was not suicidal and had no thoughts of harming himself or others."

In the docs, he mentions Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell -- who was also placed on suicide watch -- saying the same thing has happened to him.

Kelly says he's been placed in a single cell without bed rails, no showers, no shaving, no toilet paper, being forced to eat meals with his hands, and being shut off from loved ones. Kelly also says it's ironic inmates on suicide watch don't even receive psychiatric care.

Kelly is suing for damages from emotional distress.

The Bureau of Prisons tells TMZ ... "The BOP is committed to ensuring the safety and security of all inmates in our population, our staff, and the public. Humane treatment of the men and women in our custody is a top priority."

Arguably the biggest days in Brittney Griner's life have finally arrived -- her drug case trial in Russia has begun ... and it appears she chose to send a loud and clear message with her fashion for the monumental moment.

Cameras at a courthouse in Moscow captured Griner in the minutes before the trial officially began Friday morning ... and they showed the WNBA superstar rockin' a Jimi Hendrix T-shirt for the occasion.

While we're sure Griner is a big fan of the musician's work ... it seems the 31-year-old -- who's been detained in Russia since mid-February after authorities claimed she had hash oil in her luggage at an airport -- was attempting to send an "I'm innocent" note to the world.

You'll recall, Hendrix was arrested in Toronto back in 1969 after he, too, allegedly had drugs in his bags at an airport. Hendrix eventually stood trial in the case, but was found not guilty.

Griner -- who's facing up to 10 years behind bars if convicted on the charges -- is clearly hoping for a similar result in her drug case.

Friday's hearing reportedly lasted around two and a half hours, and is scheduled to continue next week. U.S. officials said at the courthouse following the proceedings that Griner told them she is in good spirits and "is keeping up the faith."

Griner's wife, meanwhile, spoke with CNN on Thursday night ahead of the important hearing ... and stressed she still wants to get in front of Joe Biden to make sure he knows just how important Griner is to her, her fans and America.

"He has that power -- he is the person that ultimately will make that decision for BG to come home," Cherelle Griner said. "And, so while everyone else wants to tell me they care, I would love for him to tell me he cares."

A$AP Rocky's arrest in Sweden a few years back almost triggered an international trade war ... with then-President Donald Trump demanding his release -- or else.

Sweden's Justice Minister just revealed the information ... that Trump threatened to impose trade restrictions if A$AP wasn't freed stat.

The Justice Minister said Trump's threats were classic bullying, adding, "If you can try and do something like this against Sweden, what will you then try and do to slightly weaker countries that don't have the European Union behind them?"

The J.M. said Trump's actions clearly showed how essential it is to stand up for democracy.

As we reported ... A$AP was arrested 3 years ago in Stockholm after he and 2 bodyguards beat up a fan outside a fast-food restaurant ... and it was caught on video. They hit and kicked the guy ... then hit him with a broken bottle.

A$AP and co. said the guy had been harassing them and hurling racial epithets at them well. A$AP was held for more than a month.

Trump was briefed by Kanye and tweeted his support for A$AP, saying "Very disappointed in Prime Minister Stefan Lofven for being unable to act. Sweden has let our African American Community down in the United States," adding, "I watched the tapes of A$AP Rocky, and he was being followed and harassed by troublemakers. Treat Americans fairly. #FreeRocky."

Brad Kelly, the star of Discovery Channel's "Bering Sea Gold," will serve prison time after striking a plea deal for a brutal domestic violence case in Alaska ... TMZ has learned.

The reality TV star was arrested back in February after beating up a woman with whom he shares a child. Cops said hospital staff told them the woman suffered life-threatening injuries after being struck in the head.

According to the police report, obtained by TMZ, the woman told cops she got into an argument with Kelly, went to sleep and woke up to find him standing over her in a pool of her own blood.

Kelly told officers the woman fell and hit her head on a table, but he was arrested and charged with second-degree assault domestic violence.

Kelly's attorney, Jon-Marc Petersen, tells TMZ ... his client pled guilty to felony assault and prosecutors dropped the remaining charges.

Kelly was sentenced to 4 years behind bars, with 3 of those years being suspended. His lawyer says Kelly could be released after 8 months ... as long as he keeps his nose clean behind bars. Once he's out, he'll be on probation for 5 years.

Wrestling star Jeff Hardy is fighting back in his DUI case -- pleading not guilty to all charges this week, court documents show.

Hardy, according to the docs, pled not guilty on Tuesday to the three charges related to his arrest earlier this month.

During the June 13 incident, cops accused Hardy of driving while absolutely wasted in Volusia County, Fla. Officers said in police documents, breathalyzer tests following the arrest showed the AEW star had a BAC of .294 and .291.

Police footage from the stop shows Hardy slurred his words, stumbled on his feet, and admitted to cops he had drank shots of Fireball before getting behind the wheel.

DDG's celebrating a big legal victory -- he's no longer facing charges for illegal gun possession -- and it's perfect timing, as the platinum-selling rapper has a big summer tour.

We spoke to DDG's manager, Dimitri Hurt ... who tells TMZ Hip Hop the new California gun laws allowing for more concealed weapons also played into the District Attorney's decision to reject the case and not pursue charges.

An excited DDG took to Instagram to celebrate the news, thanking Dimitri and jokingly calling vlogger Charleston White his "lawyer" in Akademiks comment section ... but it's actually Dimitri.

TMZ Hip Hop broke open the story ... LAPD pulled over DDG on June 7 for allegedly speeding and swerving in his Lambo, and he admitted having a loaded firearm in the whip.

Dimitri says DDG did make the honest mistake of speeding to a video shoot with the firearm, but with the charges dropped, he's now clear to travel for work.

This week, it's onward to Europe for the U.K.'s 2022 Wireless Fest, a Rolling Loud Portugal ... followed by shows in Amsterdam, Germany, Denmark and Poland as they make their way back to the U.S.

NBA star Miles Bridges was arrested for felony domestic violence in Los Angeles on Wednesday, TMZ Sports has learned.

The 24-year-old forward -- who most recently played for the Charlotte Hornets -- turned himself into a local jail regarding an alleged physical altercation that happened on Tuesday.

Law enforcement sources tell us a woman claims she was in an argument with Bridges that turned physical. We're told police were called to the scene, but Bridges was gone by the time cops arrived. We're told the woman required medical attention.

The 6'7", 225-pounder was arrested by LAPD after turning himself in Wednesday afternoon. His bail was set at $130k ... and he's since been released.

Bridges -- who's also a rapper under the name RTB MB -- spent his first four seasons with the Hornets ... but is expected to be a top free agency target this off-season.

Bridges was the 12th overall pick out of Michigan State in 2018 ... averaging 13.4 points and 5.6 rebounds a game over 4 seasons. He had the best season of his career in 2021-22 ... averaging 20.2 points, 7 rebounds and 3.8 assists.

We've reached out to Bridges' people for comment ... so far, no word back.

Ghislaine Maxwell can't go anywhere near kids after she serves her prison sentence in the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking case ... at least for the 5 years she's on supervised release.

According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ, Maxwell's supervised release calls for some pretty serious restrictions once she's out from behind bars in about 20 years, with a heavy emphasis on keeping her away from minors.

Maxwell can't have any deliberate contact with anyone under the age of 18, unless she gets prior approval from the U.S. Probation Office ... and she can't loiter within 100 feet of places regularly frequented by minors, such as schoolyards, playgrounds and arcades.

In addition, Maxwell can't view and/or access any web profile of a user under the age of 18 ... social networking sites, chat rooms, community portals, etc. ... unless she secures prior approval from her probation officer.

The guardrails are in place for a reason ... Maxwell was found guilty by a New York jury on 5 of the 6 counts she faced in her sex trafficking trial, including a conviction on one count of sex trafficking a minor.

Remember ... Maxwell stood accused of soliciting and grooming minors for abuse and sex crimes at the hands of Epstein between 1994 and 2004, with 4 women testifying during her trial Maxwell sometimes even joined in on the abuse.

Brittney Griner is not doing so well in Russia ... according to her wife, Cherelle, who says the WNBA star is "struggling" and "terrified" as she awaits her trial in the foreign country.

Cherelle made the comments about Brittney -- who's been detained in Russia on drug charges for over 4 months now -- on Wednesday while speaking to Rev. Al Sharpton on his "Keepin' It Real" radio show on SiriusXM.

"She is a human," Cherelle said. "She's struggling. She's there, terrified. She's there alone. I mean, even in America, if she was going through a legal proceeding, she wouldn't be doing it alone."

"Everything about this is just your biggest nightmare," she added. "On top of the fact that BG is in a situation where this isn't even a trial. Considering an execution, Russia has a 99% conviction rate. Nothing about this is justice."

Griner -- who's facing up to 10 years if ultimately convicted -- appeared in Russian court on Monday ... where the Phoenix Mercury center was handcuffed and surrounded by authorities.

Cherelle said while the hooper has tried to remain positive in notes, she can tell, the 31-year-old is scared as she's now just two days away from trial.

Cherelle also once again pleaded with the U.S. government to get more involved in Griner's case and bring her home quickly.

Nipsey Hussle's alleged killer, Eric Holder, got jumped by other inmates on his way to court ... and the beatdown was so bad he apparently needed stitches to close his wounds.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Holder was waiting Tuesday to catch the bus to court for his murder trial when he got jumped, causing the trial to be delayed.

We're in the courtroom today, and Holder showed up with stitches running up the back of his head. Holder also appears to have a slightly swollen left eye, plus more stitches cutting their way through his hair.

It's interesting ... Holder and his defense attorneys are all wearing face coverings, which they generally have not done in the past.

The jury is in the courtroom too, but no one has so far addressed Holder's injuries ... the judge, prosecution and defense are just moving forward as if nothing happened.

Snakes on a plane would've been just the tip of the iceberg on this flight out of Thailand ... where 2 women are in custody for stashing more than 100 animals in their luggage!!!

Security at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok had to take a second look at the suspects' bags after the X-ray machine set off some red flags -- which is when they discovered 50 lizards, 35 turtles, an armadillo, some snakes and several other species in their luggage. Many of them were dehydrated, and 2 animals were dead.

Among the reptile stash were yellow-spotted river turtles, which are on the international vulnerable species list.

The women, who were planning to take the critters back to India, were charged with violating the Wildlife Preservation and Protection Act ... and face up to 10 years in prison for that. They were also charged with violating Thailand’s Customs and public health laws.

Wildlife trafficking makes $150 billion globally each year -- more than 70,000 animals have been found at Indian airports in the past decade, and over a third of them were spotted at the Chennai International Airport ... which is where the women were heading.

A man who has already been arrested for stalking Ariana Grande has been arrested again ... this time after breaking into her Montecito home on her 29th birthday.

Aharon Brown has a history of dogging Ariana. He was arrested last September at her L.A. home after showing up with a large hunting knife, allegedly screaming at her security, "I'll f***ing kill you and her!" He was arrested for making criminal threats and a judge issued a restraining order prohibiting him from coming near Ariana.

That did not stop him. He violated the restraining order recently by trying to find Ariana and apparently got close. He was supposed to turn himself in Tuesday for violating the restraining order, but Sunday he traveled to Montecito and broke into her house.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... on Sunday, Brown somehow got into Ariana's Montecito home. She was NOT home at the time, but the security alarm went off and cops showed up and arrested Brown.

Ghislaine Maxwell was just sentenced to 20 years behind bars for her role in the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking scandal.

Maxwell was sentenced Tuesday ... learning her fate nearly 7 months after being found guilty by a New York jury. She'll also have to pay a $750k fine and 5 years of supervised release once she's out.

As we reported ... Maxwell was convicted back in December on 5 of the 6 counts she faced in her sex trafficking trial, including a conviction on one count of sex trafficking of a minor.

Maxwell stood accused of soliciting and grooming minors for sex crimes and abuse at the hands of Epstein between 1994 and 2004.

During her trial, 4 women testified Epstein sexually abused them when they were all under the age of 18 ... and they also told the jury Maxwell recruited and groomed girls for Epstein to abuse and sometimes even joined in on the abuse.

At the sentencing, a few of Maxwell's victims spoke. One of the victims, Annie Farmer, said "Maxwell had many opportunities to come clean, but instead continued to make choices that caused more harm. She chose to lie about her behavior, causing additional harm to all of those she victimized."

Maxwell addressed the court as well and apologized to the victims. She said, “Your honor, it is hard for me to address the court after listening to the pain and anguish expressed in the statements made here today. The terrible impact on the lives of so many women is difficult to hear and even more difficult to absorb, both in its scale and in its extent."

"I believe that Jeffrey Epstein was a manipulative, cunning and controlling man who lived a profoundly compartmentalized life and fooled all of those in his orbit. Jeff Epstein should have been here before all of you. He should have stood before you in 2005, again in 2009 and again in 2019. ... All the many times he was accused, charged and prosecuted. but today it is not about Jeffrey Epstein ultimately. To you, all the victims ... I am sorry for the pain that you experienced."

Maxwell pled not guilty to all the charges and her legal team insists she's been made a scapegoat for Epstein ... who committed suicide in custody in 2019 while awaiting his own trial.

John Hinckley -- the man who tried assassinating Ronald Reagan once upon a time -- is feeling remorse for what he did, and is and is now asking for forgiveness.

Hinckley shared his feelings Tuesday on 'CBS Mornings,' offering up condolences to the families that suffered for what he did. He struggles to recall what happened outside the Hilton hotel in D.C. back in 1981, when he shot then-President Reagan, Press Secretary James Brady, Secret Service Agent Tim McCarthy and D.C. cop Thomas Delahanty.

Reagan came within a hair's breadth from dying, and Brady was shot in the head and was confined to a wheelchair with multiple health issues for the rest of his life.

Hinckley says he's glad he failed in his attempt to kill the President.

He says mental illness was behind the act, and a jury agreed ... Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity. As for his mental state these days, Hinckley says he's been one of the most scrutinized people in the mental health system.

Hinckley says he'd like forgiveness from all the folks he hurt, including Jodie Foster, with whom he had an obsession and fired the shots to get her attention.

Hinckley was confined to a mental institution until 2016 and won unconditional release just this month. He says he did the interview with CBS so people could see he's not a monster.

Rudy Giuliani's alleged felony assault in a grocery store was captured on surveillance video, and ... let's just say it's not as violent as Rudy made it out to be.

The video captured the moment, Sunday in a Staten Island ShopRite ... an employee came up from behind the former NYC Mayor, and you definitely see him slap Giuliani on the back and then exchange some words.

As we reported, the suspect said "What's up, scumbag?" as he struck Giuliani ... and you can tell from the video the guy's slap and choice words irked, not only Giuliani, but the team of people around him. Giuliani told the NY Post he felt a "tremendous pain" in his back, and the guy was yelling at him about the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.

The suspect was arrested for felony assault -- it's a felony because Rudy is over 65.

Although Giuliani said he was nearly knocked to the ground ... it doesn't appear that way in the video. Now, Donald Trump's ex-attorney is calling for the suspect to get jail time. During a news conference he said, "He hit me to knock me down and if that doesn't merit jail time in New York, we're in the wild wild west."

WNBA superstar Brittney Griner appeared in a Russian court on Monday for an important hearing in her drug case ... and while she looked to be in good shape, she was flanked by multiple security guards and had shackles on her wrists.

The Phoenix Mercury center -- who had previously been ordered to remain in pretrial detention until at least July 2 -- made the appearance wearing a grey t-shirt and sweats.

At the proceedings, a July 1 trial date was set for Griner -- nearly five months after she was initially detained in the foreign country for allegedly having hashish oil in her luggage at an airport.

Photos from the court show the 2-time Olympic gold medalist had her eyes wide open ... and was cuffed to an officer who was leading her to her court appearance.

Griner, who was ordered to stay in custody for the duration of her trial, is facing up to 10 years behind bars if she's convicted on the charges against her.

While U.S. officials, including congressman Colin Allred, have claimed Griner is "a political prisoner" ... a spokesperson for Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Peskov, told NBC News that Brittney's detainment is because she broke the country's law, not because she's being used as some sort of pawn.