Crime & Arrests

‘Beatbox’ rapper SpotemGottem is officially facing criminal charges now for what cops viewed as his attempt to jet ski his way to freedom in Florida a couple weeks ago.

Florida's State Attorney just charged the 20-year-old rapper with felony attempting to elude a law enforcement officer in a boat, and misdemeanor reckless operation of a vessel.

This marks young Spotem's 2nd high-profile arrest in his short career ... which, so far, is highlighted by the remix of his smash "Beat Box" hit with DaBaby, Pooh Shiesty and NLE Choppa.

In July 2021, he was arrested on gun charges in Florida for allegedly chilling with an AK-47.

Positive update from Kim Glass ... the former Olympic volleyball star got 40 stitches removed from her eye -- less than a week after it was gashed by an object thrown by a man in a brazen attack in Los Angeles.

The 37-year-old shared the news in a video on her Instagram page Wednesday evening -- showing Beverly Hills doctor Kam Rezzadeh removing the sutures from her face in a delicate procedure.

"It was definitely down to your bone," the doc told her as he worked on her face. "But you're healing."

"One thing I've noticed with my patients is that when they're optimistic, it plays a huge part in the healing process."

Following the removal of the stitches, Glass went to Dr. Nicole Garrett in L.A. to use a hyperbaric oxygen chamber to get some of the swelling down -- and the former outside hitter said it worked marvelously.

"I just got out of the hyperbaric chamber ... this is the most I've ever been able to open eye."

"This is crazy," she added. "Like my eye is literally so much more open than before and this is my first session. I'm blown away!"

As we previously reported, Glass said a homeless man threw a metal object at her after she had finished eating with a friend in Downtown L.A. last Friday. She said she suffered multiple facial fractures and cuts in the incident.

Benson Parks, a good Samaritan, captured the aftermath of the attack on video while he held down the suspect ... showing puddles of blood on the sidewalk.

Semeon Tesfamarian -- who, according to prosecutors, has a history of using weapons to attack people at random -- was arrested for the attack ... and later charged with a felony.

Alex Murdaugh — who’s at the center of a double murder scandal in South Carolina — has been charged with murder in connection to the killings of his wife and son.

The disgraced powerhouse attorney was indicted by a grand jury Wednesday, which heard evidence from prosecutors and decided there was enough to charge Murdaugh with two counts of murder ... according to the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office.

Maggie Murdaugh and 22-year-old Paul Murdaugh were found dead at the family’s hunting property last summer after they were shot and killed by what investigators believed were two different weapons. Alex told investigators he discovered them there after the fact, and claimed he had an alibi as to his whereabouts at the time of the murders.

Despite being a person of interest for a while, Murdaugh was never formally charged over their deaths. He was, however, arrested and charged for allegedly trying to stage his own death months later.

Murdaugh survived the ordeal — a gunshot wound to the head that left superficial injuries — but prosecutors claim his intention was to actually die, and have his surviving son collect a $10 million life insurance policy. Instead, he lived … and was subsequently accused of trying to hatch an elaborate scheme.

In addition to those charges, he’s also been hit with dozens of other charges over financial crimes — prosecutors claim he swindled various people out of millions of dollars through his legal practice.

Murdaugh has pled not guilty to all the charges thus far. He’s due in court later this week, and is expected to enter a plea on the new murder charges as well.

Several members of Brittney Griner's Russian basketball team came to her aid at her trial in Moscow on Thursday ... praising her character and leadership skills in testimonies inside of the courtroom.

One week after pleading guilty to drug charges in the foreign country, Griner's trial pressed onward -- and during the proceedings, players and officials from UMMC Ekaterinburg, Griner's former basketball team in Russia, testified in support of the WNBA star.

Team captain Evgeniya Belyakova, according to NPR, told the court Griner was "the heart of our team." She added that fans in Russia "adored" the 31-year-old center.

One of Griner's attorneys added following the hearing that the director of UMMC Ekaterinburg, Maxim Ryabkov, also "gave a positive description of Brittney Griner during his speech in court, noting her outstanding abilities as a player and personal contribution to strengthening the team spirit, which allowed the team to achieve the highest results in the Russian basketball premier league and in international competitions for many years."

Griner showed up at the courtroom in a dark-colored t-shirt and glasses. She did not give a testimony during the proceedings. Her trial is expected to continue on Friday morning.

As we reported, Griner is facing up to 10 years behind bars after she pled guilty to charges that she had hashish oil in her luggage at a Moscow airport back in February.

LOX rapper Styles P intervened while cops arrested a woman, accusing them of roughing her up outside the NY juice bar he owns with Jadakiss ... and the whole thing's on video!!!

The video starts right in front of Juices For Life, just as a couple of Yonkers Police officers slam a woman to the ground and try to handcuff her.

The officers scream the woman is under arrest, but never specify why ... and that's when Styles P runs into the shot screaming at them. He tells another bystander to keep recording as he gets right up in the face of one of the cops, and yells about their aggressive tactics.

The woman recording claims the cops have been targeting women. Styles then challenges the officers, saying they were scared of Black people and were unfamiliar with the area.

At one point it seemed like they were gonna arrest Styles, but that didn't happen.

After cooling down a bit, Styles jumped on IG, and admitted he was wrong for his hostility towards the officer ... but admits seeing a woman involved in the ruckus made him act "out of character."

Styles has a star-studded 20th-anniversary concert scheduled next month to celebrate his "Good Times" weed anthem.

We're sure he knew how to calm down after this brush with 12.

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.