Crime & Arrests

R. Kelly is engaged to be married to one of his alleged victims, Joycelyn Savage ... at least that's what she's saying in a letter to the judge -- and her family says they had no idea.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Joycelyn revealed the engagement by writing, "I'm Robert Kelly's fiance" ... in her correspondence with the federal judge right before Kelly was sentenced. The letter, which she wrote asking the judge for a lenient sentence, doesn't say when they got engaged.

In the letter, she says ... "I’m not the victim that the government has portrayed me to be."

She goes on to say her relationship with Kelly is "amazing," noting he's the best thing that's ever happened to her. She claims he always made sure her needs were met, as well as "any other women he was with."

Obviously, she wasn't too successful in swaying the judge, who hit Kelly with a 30-year sentence.

Gerald Griggs, an attorney for Savage's parents, tells TMZ ... she never made the engagement known to the family, and they've never even spoken about the possibility beforehand.

Griggs tells us he finds it odd Savage didn't testify about it under oath, and instead slipped it into the letter submitted to the court. Savage's family "strongly doubts" the engagement story ... and are wishing to reconnect with her to get the full story.

Jen Shah is no longer claiming total innocence in her fraud case ... because she just changed course and took a plea deal.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City" star filed a change of plea notice Monday with the court.

Jen just went before a judge and pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with telemarketing ... and as part of her plea deal, federal prosecutors dropped one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The plea deal comes a week before Jen's trial was set to begin ... and it calls for a sentence of up to 14 years behind bars and for Jen to pay back over $9 million to her alleged victims and forfeit another $6 million.

As we reported, Jen's attorney said she was "totally innocent" in the wake of her March 2021 arrest for allegedly targeting and scamming folks out of their money as part of an alleged telemarketing scheme.

The feds accused Jen of "greater culpability" in the scheme ahead of her trial, and Jen initially pled not guilty.

TMZ broke the story ... Jen even tried getting the criminal case against her dismissed, claiming two federal agents were way too chatty about her case on a Hulu documentary, which she claimed tainted the jury pool and destroyed any chance of her getting a fair trial.

We reached out to Jen's legal team ... so far no word back.

NFL offensive lineman Duane Brown and his camp are finally breaking their silence on his arrest this weekend ... calling the incident "an accident."

We broke the story ... the 36-year-old, who most recently starred for the Seattle Seahawks, was busted at LAX on Saturday after he allegedly tried to go through TSA with a gun in his baggage.

On Monday, his agent, Kennard McGuire, addressed the arrest in a statement to NFL reporter Josina Anderson ... saying, "To err is human, and this clearly was an accident."

McGuire continued, "As a law-abiding citizen, Duane will continue to exercise proper judgment and continue education on gun safety measures."

Brown was ultimately booked on a charge of possession of a concealed firearm, and, according to records, he bonded out of jail late Saturday night. He's due in court for a hearing on the matter next month.

Lil Rel Howery thinks race is coming into play all too often when cops are on duty, and there's been way too much visual evidence of it lately across the country -- but he adds there are ways to reduce the carnage.

We got Lil Rel at The Ivy, where he talked about Black people getting gunned down for minor offenses, if any ... while white suspects like Robert Crimo III get taken into custody, as Crimo did after opening fire on the Highland Park 4th of July parade, leaving 7 people dead.

The Chicago native says the death of Jayland Walker was nothing short of brutal ... and he doesn't get why the unarmed kid was shot 60 times, while mass shooters at churches and protests get taken alive -- seemingly referring to Dylann Roof and Kyle Rittenhouse.

He says a big part of the problem is how easy it is to get a gun nowadays, and if it's gonna get better ... gun laws gotta get stricter.

Security guards for Selena Gomez are earning their keep, because some weird stuff's been going down at her house ... including a fan getting on her property early Sunday morning.

LAPD sources tell us officers arrested the guy as he tried to stroll away from her L.A. home, but Selena's security team had already caught him in the act. We're told the suspect jumped a fence around 1 AM, and security called cops.

The guy tried to flee, but we're told responding officers found him wandering around the neighborhood, and he said he just wanted to meet Selena.

That seems low-key compared to an incident a few weeks ago at the "Only Murders in the Building" star's house. Our sources say security also called cops when a man allegedly wrote Selena's name on a mattress, using what appeared to be blood ... and then lit the mattress on fire!

We're told her security says that guy didn't make it onto the property -- it all went down just outside her gate. Selena wasn't home during either incident, but still ... super creepy.

Polo G's lawyer thinks cops in Miami did the rapper dirty by only releasing parts of his 2021 arrest that make him look like the bad guy ... but Miami PD is denying it released the bodycam footage.

Polo's attorney Bradford Cohen tells TMZ this is something he's never experienced in his decades of work ... law enforcement releasing what he calls "heavily redacted" body cam footage, and only "the parts that disparage the defendant."

Cohen says there are crucial moments in his arrest that were left out of the released video -- "They didn't show him getting slammed to the ground or the reason why was pulled over. Of course, they wouldn't show that."

The video does show Polo verbally berating one of the arresting officers, but Cohen says that is "part of being a police officer out in public, people are going to say things you are not going to like."

He thinks Miami PD was embarrassed because it had no probable cause to stop him or arrest him last June, and the case has been largely dismissed after Polo completed anger management classes.

Here's the wild card, though -- we asked Miami PD why it only released portions of the arrest, and a spokesman told us the department did NOT release the footage ... which first popped up Thursday on Twitter.

Duane Brown was arrested on gun charges at the airport this weekend ... TMZ has learned.

The NFL free agent -- who was most recently playing offensive tackle for the Seattle Seahawks -- was busted Saturday at LAX around 2 PM, where law enforcement sources tell us ... he allegedly tried going through TSA with a gun in his luggage.

We're told this happened at Terminal 6, and that during the standard screening ... one of Brown's bags was found to have a firearm inside, which our sources say was unloaded.

Of course, the cops were called immediately ... and our sources say Brown was taken into custody. He was actually recorded being escorted to a police vehicle by a photographer on the scene, and sure enough ... there's DB in handcuffs as he's led along by a few cops.

The charge we're told he's being booked on ... possession of a concealed firearm. Brown's on his way to a nearby LAPD jail for processing.

Derek Chauvin can't return to law enforcement after he serves his prison sentence ... and he can't even be a rent-a-cop ... at least for the 5 years he's on supervised release.

According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ, the former cop's supervised release specifically bars him from working as a law enforcement officer, corrections officer, or security officer while on his 5 years of supervised release after he's out from behind bars.

Chauvin will have to find a new career outside policing .. even Derek Chauvin the mall cop is off the table.

In addition, Chauvin can't contact George Floyd's family ... unless he gets prior approval from his probation officer.

As we reported ... Chauvin was recently sentenced to more than 20 years in federal prison, plus 5 years of supervised release once he's out, for violating Floyd's civil rights.

Remember ... Chauvin was already found guilty of murdering Floyd and sentenced to 22.5 years behind bars in that case. The sentences will be served concurrently.

Famed civil rights attorney Ben Crump is imploring more NBA players to speak out about Brittney Griner ... clearly believing their voices could help bring the WNBA star back to the States.

The lawyer spoke with TMZ Sports out in D.C. earlier this week ... and he made it clear, if some of the Association's biggest names -- as well as others in the NFL, NHL, MLB and more -- keep raising awareness for Griner, it could help her in her drug case in Russia.

"I think the NBA players should be saying more," the 52-year-old said. "I think that the sports world should be saying more."

As we reported, BG is now facing 10 years behind bars after she pled guilty to drug charges in a Russian courtroom on Thursday.

Griner's legal team said they're hopeful that by taking responsibility for her actions, authorities would go easy on her when it came to sentencing.

Crump obviously isn't feeling super optimistic that will happen ... telling us he believes regardless of what goes down in the case, "She's being used as a political pawn."

He's now urging anyone with a platform to come forward, believing a large, public outrage could hopefully lead to a speedy return for the basketball star.

"It would be a travesty of justice for her not to come home soon," he said.

Boosie Badazz is willing to die on Pied Piper hill with his firm belief that R. Kelly got screwed by a federal judge -- but the facts don't exactly support that argument.

The Louisiana rap legend's been pissed off ever since the judge hit Kelly with 30 years in federal prison. Remember, the singer was found guilty on a slew of sex crimes -- but Boosie insists none of them warrants such a stiff sentence.

He absolutely flipped out in a VladTV interview, claiming he knows of dozens of cases where killers and rapists were given just 10 years in prison -- and, to Boosie at least, Kelly's crimes amount to little more than manipulation of women.

As he so eloquently put it, "[Kelly] wasn't tying them to the bed. He was masterminding bitches!!! Older n****as do it all the time!"

This seems like a good time to remind Boosie, and others, R. Kelly was convicted of 9 federal sex crimes ... including human trafficking, obstruction of justice and kidnapping. That last count was for holding women against their will.

So, while Boosie thinks Kelly got the book thrown at him because he's Black and rich ... the jury clearly felt there was plenty of actual, and relevant evidence to convict him on ALL counts.

Perhaps the most offensive part of Boosie's rant was his suggestion Kelly should get a lighter sentence so he can return to society, and counsel women on how to avoid "predators."

Lizzette Martinez, one of Kelly's victims, has the total opposite take ... telling us he deserves a life sentence, because she doesn't believe he can be rehabilitated.

Kelly's attorneys have said they plan to appeal the case ... a move we're guessing Boosie fully supports. One thing he didn't discuss is the fact Kelly could be sentenced at least 2 more times when he stands trial in another federal case and a Minnesota state case.

Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was fatally shot on Friday while campaigning for a candidate ahead of his country's national elections, according to reports.

Video on social media showed the stunning moment Abe collapsed to the ground and was bleeding from gunshot wounds to his neck and chest in the Japanese city of Nara, near Kyoto. Authorities say one of the bullets pierced his heart.

The 67-year-old was rushed to Nara Medical University Hospital, where doctors said they tried to stop the bleeding from his wounds and did a transfusion, but ultimately couldn't save him. Abe was pronounced dead just after 5 PM.

Police reportedly arrested the alleged gunman, Tetsuya Yamagami, who was initially charged with attempted murder before Abe's death was announced. Cops recovered what appeared to be a homemade gun that the suspect had been holding, according to local reports.

At a press conference, current Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called the attack on Abe a "heinous act," adding, "It is barbaric and malicious, and it cannot be tolerated."

Abe was in Nara campaigning ahead of Sunday's elections for the Upper House of Parliament. He was less than a minute into a speech in support of Kei Sato, a current member of the Upper House running for re-election, when the shots rang out behind him.

What makes Abe's assassination even more shocking is that Japan has one of the world's lowest rates of gun crimes because of its strict laws on owning firearms. Japan, which has a population of 125 million people, reported just nine gun-related deaths in 2018, compared with nearly 40,000 in the U.S. that same year.

Abe was Japan's longest-serving prime minister, getting elected to two terms, from 2006 to 2007 and from 2012 to 2020. He resigned in 2020 due to health issues.

Young Thug's nephew is in police custody after allegedly shooting his girlfriend in the face and killing her ... TMZ Hip Hop has learned.

Fardereen Deonta Grier was arrested Wednesday after cops were called to a residence outside Atlanta. East Point PD spokesperson Allyn Glover tells TMZ ... when officers responded, Grier was crying and his girlfriend, Destiny Fitzpatrick, was dead in a pool of blood by the front door.

Glover says Grier told cops he was Young Thug's nephew, the son of YT's oldest sister ... but it's unclear why he chose to share the information. A source close to Young Thug confirms the relation.

As for what happened ... we're told Grier first told responding officers he was fending off 2 armed, masked intruders, but officers say he eventually admitted to shooting Destiny in the face. A neighbor allegedly heard arguing in the residence prior to the shooting.

Grier was arrested and charged with murder.

As you know, Young Thug is currently in custody as well ... on a wide range of RICO charges after being denied bond multiple times. His fellow YSL artist, Gunna -- also charged in the RICO case -- was in court Thursday trying to get released on bond, but a judge shot it down.

Derek Chauvin was just sentenced to more than 20 years in federal prison for violating George Floyd's civil rights during his murder.

The former Minnesota cop took a plea deal back in December, admitting he kept his knee pinned on Floyd's neck when Floyd became unresponsive, and was sentenced on Thursday ... getting 245 months in prison followed by 5 years of supervised release.

Chauvin was in the courtroom when the judge read the sentence, wearing an orange prison jumpsuit, and waved to his mother and friends in the gallery when he was brought in.

Floyd's brother, Philonise, gave a victim impact statement ... saying George was murdered in broad daylight for the world to see, accusing Chauvin of using excessive force that went against his police training.

George's brother also remarked how George would not be there to see his daughter grow up ... and Philonise said George's life mattered.

Chauvin's mother, Carolyn Pawlenty, also spoke in court ... telling her son she would visit him often in prison and hoping she would still be alive when he's released.

Gunna's come up short again -- denied bond for the second time, because the judge believes his involvement in the Young Stoner Life camp could lead to witness intimidation.

Judge Ural D. Glanville once again rejected all of Gunna's attorney's motions ... leaving the rapper stuck in his Fulton County Jail cell at least until his case goes to trial in January 2023.

Gunna's attorney Steve Sadow tells TMZ Hip Hop, "Sergio Kitchens a/k/a Gunna and the defense team are very disappointed in the denial of bond. Gunna produced substantial evidence that bond was warranted for him. The prosecution again produced no evidence at all; instead, it chose to rely on vague and non-specific allegations and speculation through the statements of the prosecutor alone."

He added "justice isn't being served" by repeatedly denying Gunna bond on his way to an inevitable not guilty verdict.

Prosecutors asked the court to block access to addresses and contact information of witnesses from defense attorneys until 30 days before the trial.

Gunna has been going hard for his freedom ... penning an open letter to the U.S. Constitution on his birthday this year, which was capped by his No. 1 album "DS4EVER."

New Orleans Pelicans guard Devonte' Graham was busted for driving while impaired early Thursday morning, TMZ Sports has confirmed.

27-year-old Graham -- the 34th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft -- was arrested by the State Highway Patrol in Raleigh, North Carolina around 3 AM, according to arrest records.

TMZ Sports has obtained Graham's mug shot, which shows the hooper expressionless and staring into the camera.

Graham is entering his fifth year in the Association ... averaging 12.8 points a game. He had a breakout season for the Charlotte Hornets in 2019-20 ... averaging more than 18 points and 7 assists per game.

The former Kansas Jayhawks star and 2018 Big 12 Player of the Year is approaching his second year with the Pelicans. He's in the middle of a 4-year, $47.3 million deal.

We've reached out to law enforcement for more information on the arrest.

Fans of R. Kelly's music are torn on how to handle the disgraced singer's catalog of hits, now that he's doing 30 years for sex crimes -- but maybe Kirk Franklin can provide some guidance.

We put the issue to the gospel music pioneer in NYC. Seeing as how he recorded with Kelly back in 1998, and he knows a thing or two about being persecuted in the spotlight ... he's a perfect person to weigh in.

The gospel Grammy magnet is currently promoting his social justice reform-themed album, "Kingdom Book One" w/ Maverick City Music, and didn't deny cancel culture is a slippery slope because we all make mistakes.

Still, he says it can be "difficult to separate an artist from the art," and, therefore, performers have a responsibility to uphold the trust of their fans.

As we reported, Kelly is currently off suicide watch in prison, and if he's at all interested in forgiveness from fans ... it's gonna take a lot of work, according to Kirk.