Crime & Arrests

Big celebrities are pitching in to help victims of the Nashville elementary school shooting ... by donating thousands of dollars.

GoFundMes have been set up for the families of the six people killed and others wounded in Monday's shooting ... including one for the Kinney family, whose 9-year-old son, William, was one of the three children murdered by 28-year-old Audrey Hale.

The Kinney family received a $2K donation from former Bears QB Jay Cutler, who lives in Nashville. Donations have been pouring in to benefit the Kinney family ... the fundraiser is already well past its $50K goal.

Former 'Bachelorette' star Kaitlyn Bristowe donated $1K to a campaign that goes to all six families as well as those wounded. Jena Sims, actress and wife of star golfer Brooks Koepka, also put $1K into the fund.

John Carter Cash, son of singer Johnny Cash, donated $2K.

A slew of stars have expressed their outrage over the massacre on social media ... demanding politicians strengthen gun safety laws.

Former NY Yankees star John Wetteland -- months after a jury failed to reach a verdict during trial -- is now free and clear after prosecutors moved to drop all felony aggravated sexual assault charges against the former All-Star closer.

According to court records obtained by TMZ Sports, all three charges were dropped against 56-year-old Wetteland after the D.A. failed to retry the 1996 World Series hero who was accused of forcing a four-year-old child, a relative, to perform sexual acts on him between in his bedroom between 2004 and 2006.

Wetteland always adamantly denied the allegations and pled not guilty at trial.

As we previously reported, Wetteland was arrested in January 2019 and hit with multiple child sexual abuse charges. He was facing 25 years to life in prison if convicted. JW finally went to trial in late 2022, but a jury of 12 couldn't reach a verdict -- guilty or not -- and a judge declared a mistrial on September 2.

Following the hung jury, a juror told local media they were split 10-2, and although the juror didn't explicitly say the 10 votes were "not guilty," the juror indicated most wanted to acquit.

Of course, MLB fans are familiar with the 3x All-Star closer. Back in 1996, when the Yankees came back from two games down against the Atlanta Braves, Wetteland was named the World Series Most Valuable Player.

Due to the rise of young relief pitcher, Mariano Rivera, Wetteland went to the Texas Rangers in 1997 ... and stayed in Arlington until retiring after the 2000 season.

He was inducted into the Rangers Hall of Fame in 2005.

Despite being arrested and charged, Wetteland was never found guilty.

A dramatic and possibly deadly end to a wild police chase just unfolded outside Los Angeles, as a suspect driving a stolen police cruiser jumped from the vehicle as it was still moving.

The whole thing was broadcast live on FOX 11 as officers from the California Highway Patrol raced at high speeds to keep up with the suspect. The man weaved in between lanes of traffic on CA 138 toward Lancaster, and at times could be seen rummaging through the inside of the cop car.

Then, in a stunning move, and while the vehicle was still traveling at an extremely high speed, the suspect opened the driver's side door and jumped out of the vehicle.

The suspect hit his head and was immediately knocked unconscious. From there, the stolen police cruiser continued until it slammed into an electric pole.

Officers immediately pulled the man out of the road, got him in handcuffs and began to check his condition. He was clearly in bad shape because they started CPR immediately.

The suspect's current condition is not clear.

Adnan Syed, the man whose murder conviction was overturned after 23 years behind bars, is heading back to court -- his conviction's been reinstated, but it doesn't necessarily mean he's going back to prison.

Here's the deal ... the family of Syed's victim, Hae Min Lee, successfully appealed the overturning of his conviction -- a decision prosecutors in Maryland made last year, but the family said they were completely blindsided by his release.

On Tuesday, a Maryland appeals court reinstated Syed's murder conviction, and now a new hearing will take place ... where new DNA evidence supporting his claim of innocence could be presented.

As we reported, the family of Hae Min -- who was murdered in 1999 -- didn't think the new evidence was enough to release Syed, and they were upset it was never presented during trial.

Bottom line: They want their day in court, because they still believe Syed -- whose case was heavily publicized on the "Serial" podcast -- is responsible for Hae Min's murder.

The appeals court move will, at least, give them that -- with the conviction reinstated, the evidentiary hearing will ultimately determine whether Syed remains free or returns to prison.

BTW -- Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby told us back in September her team tried many ways to notify the Lee family about Syed's release, insisting they wouldn't have dug deeper on the DNA evidence without first contacting them.

You'll recall, Syed filed multiple appeals while behind bars, but was constantly rejected. The popularity of "Serial" in 2014 brought his case national attention ... and made many listeners question his guilt.

Brittney Taylor of "Love & Hip Hop: New York" fame has been arrested ... after allegedly assaulting her kids' father with a baseball bat ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Brittney got into a physical altercation earlier this month with Afeez, father of her 2-year-old and 8-month-old. She turned herself in last week after a warrant was issued for her arrest.

A source familiar tells us the alleged beating came after Afeez flew to NY to see his kids, although he'd been keeping his distance due to some bad blood between him and Brittney.

As he and his mom were leaving the apartment with the kids, Brittney allegedly said something to him which he ignored, and we're told that set her off.

According to the criminal complaint, obtained by TMZ, Afeez told cops Brittney then punched him in the face while his kids were present.  Afeez then left the residence, but cops say Brittney followed him out with the bat, hitting him and leaving him with a laceration and significant facial bleeding.

Docs say Afeez ended up going to the hospital, getting stitches for a cut above his eye. She's now been charged with two counts of assault, one count of endangering the welfare of a child, and one count of criminal possession of a weapon.

Afeez recently made some claims on social media about getting assaulted, which got fans wondering if Brittney was involved. It sounds like this incident may be what he was referring to in the posts.

Washington Wizards shooting guard Bradley Beal -- a three-time NBA All-Star -- is under police investigation ... after he was involved in a confrontation with some hecklers following a game last week, TMZ Sports has learned.

The complaint against Beal was lodged on March 22, according to the Orlando Police Dept., roughly 24 hours after the basketball player was involved in a spat with two fans following his team's 122-112 loss to the Magic in Florida.

The dispute between Beal and the fans arose right after the 29-year-old hooper was walking down a tunnel to the Wizards' locker room area at Amway Center.

One of the guys in a group yelled at Beal, "You f***ed me [out of] $1,300, you f***!"

Beal then turned, walked toward the fans, and appeared to knock the hat off one of the guys' heads in response to the heckle.

Beal and the fans then jawed back and forth, with Beal calling the comment "disrespectful."

"Keep it a buck," Beal said. "I don't give a f*** about none of your bets or your parlays, bro. That ain't why I play the game."

Things were tense between Beal and the group -- with the men exchanging a flurry of words -- before the Wizards star was ushered into the locker room without further incident.

The jawing back and forth lasted about 50 seconds before Beal was ushered away.

But, the alleged victim contacted police and they met the following day. The fan told police Beal hit him in the head when he swatted the cap. Cops took a report for battery and began investigating.

Police watched cell phone video of the incident. They also went to the Amway Center in an attempt to hunt down surveillance video, but the incident occurred off camera.

The alleged victim told cops he wants to press charges against Beal, and police noted there was enough probable cause to charge Bradley with "simple battery," saying "charges will be filed at large with the State Attorney's Office."

As for the Wizards, they tell us ... “We are aware of the situation regarding Bradley Beal in Orlando but won’t have further comment until we’ve gathered more information.”

The Magic, meanwhile, tell us they are aware of the incident and are letting the OPD handle it.

Sen. Rand Paul says a member of his staff was stabbed in broad daylight in Washington D.C. ... resulting in what police are calling "life-threatening" injuries.

Kentucky's U.S. Senator announced Monday the unnamed staffer was "brutally attacked" over the weekend and he and his wife are praying they make a speedy and complete recovery.

The Washington D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department says officers responded to a report of a stabbing just before 5:30 PM Saturday night less than 1.5 miles from the U.S. Capitol and found a person suffering from stab wounds.

Police say the victim, who Rand says works for him, was taken to the hospital in life-threatening condition.

MPD also says officers arrested a 42-year-old man named Glynn Neal in connection with the alleged attack, charging him with assault with intent to kill.

Dana White, fans, fighters ... just about everyone was shocked MMA judge Joel Ojeda scored Marlon Vera, despite being thoroughly beaten, the winner over Cory Sandhagen, and now UFC star Gilbert Burns tells us law enforcement should investigate.

"I think this judge needs to be investigated," Gilbert told TMZ Sports, adding, "We need the FBI on this judge. Those judge might be working with the betting company."

If you missed it, 30-year-old Sandhagen (ranked 5th before the fight) and 30-year-old Vera (ranked 3rd) fought in the main event at UFC Fight Night on Saturday night in San Antonio ... a 5-round scrap that went to the judge's scorecards.

After the fight, both men stood at the center of the Octagon, as Bruce Buffer announced a "split decision" ... and, cue the head-scratching.

Judge Sal D'Amato scored the fight 50-45 for Cory (5 rounds to none), while Chris Lee scored it 49-46 (4 rounds to 1 for Sandhagen). But, Ojeda, was seemingly watching another fight ... scoring the bout 48-47 for Chito (3 rounds to 2).

D'Amato and Lee have loads of experience, while Ojeda has worked only a handful of UFC fights (4).

Now, Chito is one of the baddest dudes in the world, but Saturday just wasn't his night ... by just about every metric.

"Chito's my guy and I want him to win, but, theres no way he won that fight," Burns said. "It's clear to anyone. What's wrong with that judge?"

Further proof ... according to the UFC's official stats, Chito landed 73 strikes to Cory's 187. Sandhagen was also credited with 3 takedowns, resulting in over 7 minutes of control time. Vera attempted 1 takedown but was unsuccessful.

Even Dana was floored.

“I was literally coming out of the bathroom and I was like, ‘What the f**k?’”

The UFC honcho continued ... "It could have been 5-0, it could have been [4 rounds to 1], but [split decision]? Wow, that’s pretty scary.”

We reached out to the Texas Dept. of Licensing & Regulation, who oversee judges in the state, and they told us "TDLR is aware of the concerns about the scoring in one of Saturday's UFC fights. All TDLR officials receive ongoing training and we monitor each fight for consistency and accuracy in scoring."

When we followed up, questioning whether the judge was being investigated, TDLR said they couldn't comment on individual judges, but added they review performance after each event.

We also talked to Gilbert about his upcoming UFC 287 co-main fight with rival Jorge Masvidal ... a fight he says he's gunning to win by knockout our finish 'cause -- can't trust the scoring!

Trae Tha Truth fell out of the sky with angel wings ... at least, that's how Alabama resident Martha Menefield sees things.

You might recall, Martha's the 82-year-old who was hauled off to jail right before Christmas for failing to pay a $77 trash bill ... but Trae just poured thousands of dollars in upgrades into the very spot where she was arrested, turning it into her dream home!

Trae tells TMZ Hip Hop the absurdity of the "crime" sparked a friendship with Martha, and after spending time at her Alabama home, he realized she needed assistance.

He then teamed up with BEL Furniture in Valley, Alabama for $15k worth of items ... including a full couch with multiple recliners, a queen bed and new dressers.

They also fully refurnished her living room, dining room and bedroom, but still have to solve the problem of her lack of central heat and AC.

Trae tells us the work is far from done ... he's currently looking for a team to fix the foundation in Martha's home to prevent flooding, and working to secure her a car, as she doesn't have any transportation at the moment.

Maino is rejecting any notion Troy Ave's hands are clean following Taxstone's guilty verdict for manslaughter.

In fact, he's in total defense of the podcaster and says Troy is simply moonlighting as the victim!!!

The "Hi Hater" rapper made his return to "Way Up With Angela Yee" on Monday ... painting Troy Ave and his crew as the aggressors during the deadly night of May 26, 2016.

Maino says he and Uncle Murda were inside Irving Plaza and scheduled to perform when he witnessed the scene unfold.

According to Maino, Tax was simply chilling inside the venue and enjoying the T.I. concert when trouble confronted him, and the tables were turned.

Following the trial, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr. slammed Tax for "killing a man and shooting 3 others" ... with the deceased being Troy's bodyguard Ronald “Banga” McPhatter.

Troy's been going on the rampage with multiple diss tracks, and even took the stand in the case -- but Maino's calling BS and says Troy finagled a deal with prosecutors to erase his own gun possession charge from the altercation.

Maino says Troy thought he was going to get a "WorldStar moment" by messing with Tax, and doesn't think Troy should be dropping diss tracks bragging about his enemy's conviction.

Aaron Hernandez's older brother, Dennis "D.J." Hernandez, was arrested last week after he allegedly threw a brick at ESPN's headquarters with a note attached to it ... TMZ Sports has learned.

According to police documents, the incident happened at around 3 PM on March 23 at the famed Bristol, Conn. campus -- just after cops were asked to perform a welfare check on D.J. after he had allegedly stated he wanted to smash out windows at the State Capital and at ESPN.

Police say ESPN security told them an Uber had arrived at one of their gates -- but when it was turned away, a passenger in the car got out of the ride, threw something onto the grounds, and then got back into the vehicle and left.

Cops in the documents say when they investigated the object, they discovered it was a white plastic bag with a large brick in it. They also say it had a handwritten note on it.

"To all media outlets," cops say the message read. "It's about time you all realeyes the affect media has on all family members. Since you're a world wide leader maybe you could lead how media and messages are delivered brick by brick. Clean it up!"

Police say the note was signed, "Yours truly, Dennis J. Hernandez."

Cops say when they spoke with a security guard who witnessed the incident at the booth -- the worker told them they were "90 percent positive" the man who threw the object was D.J., a former Division 1 football player and Aaron's older brother.

Cops say they ultimately made contact with D.J., and he admitted to being at ESPN, but "didn't wish to speak about the incident."

D.J. was arrested for misdemeanor breach of peace -- but was released on a promise to appear in court next month.

Cops say they also advised D.J. he was no longer allowed at ESPN's campus -- and could be arrested for trespassing if he returned. They say D.J. "stated he understood."

D.J. has not commented publicly on the incident.

Jim Jones is a proud gym rat but when it comes to rats in the gym ... he doesn't have a whole lot to say!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with the Dipset Capo promoting his new "Back In My Prime" album ... but he immediately burst out laughing and hit a meannnn Milly Rock when we asked his thoughts about 6ix9ine's now infamous lopsided brawl inside an LA Fitness gym.

Tekashi 6ix9nine and Jim have a pretty contentious past ... thanks to 6ix9ine repeatedly attempting to get him arrested after the two clashed several years ago.

Jim finally did offer up some insight in between his hitting the whoa ... and suggested Tekashi's choice of a public gym wasn't the brightest and is certain that would never happen in the facilities he works out at.

The Harlem rapper is currently plotting his own line of Vamp Fitt gyms, and frequents New Jersey's Impact Zone with fellow artists Fabolous, Dave East and Maino ... but discouraged knuckleheads from attempting to pull similar stunts in his sanctuary. You've been warned!!!

Former Titans offensive coordinator Todd Downing admitted to drinking "a victory beer" before he was arrested for DUI last year ... new police video, obtained by TMZ Sports, shows.

The incident happened near Nashville back on Nov. 18, 2022 at around 2:30 AM ... just hours after Downing had helped lead Tennessee to a big "Thursday Night Football" win over the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.

In dash cam footage, you can see a Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper pulled behind Downing's Mercedes on a freeway ... and said the 42-year-old was "hauling ass" -- going over 100 MPH "easily."

Body cam video shows when the officer eventually stopped Downing and began questioning him ... the coach apologized for being in a hurry -- explaining that he was trying to get home to his family because "I got a death threat tonight."

The officer, though, said he smelled an odor of booze coming from Downing's car. Todd responded that he hadn't been drinking, but when he got out of the ride for sobriety testing, he changed his story, saying, "I had a victory beer in Green Bay."

Downing then underwent several field sobriety tests, and according to the trooper, he failed them. He was placed under arrest for DUI.

When he was put in the back of a squad car, he made a call to a member of the Titans' organization, telling him what had just happened.

"Hey, man, I was rushing home and I got arrested for DUI," Downing said. "I was panicking because I was scared about my family -- and I had a victory beer."

Downing then told the man he'd prefer to tell head coach Mike Vrabel about the arrest himself.

Downing -- after pleading with the officer for "grace" -- was transported to a medical facility to get his blood drawn, before he was booked at a local jail.

He went on to serve a 48-hour sentence behind bars in January to close out the case.

Jonathan Majors' lawyer says there's evidence that'll prove he committed no crime against a woman who's alleged he assaulted her -- even claiming she's reversing her own story.

Criminal defense attorney Priya Chaudhry -- who's representing Majors in this matter -- tells TMZ ... "Jonathan Majors is completely innocent and is probably the victim of an altercation with a woman he knows. We are quickly gathering and presenting evidence to the District Attorney with the expectation that all charges will be dropped imminently."

She goes on to cite evidence she says they've already gathered to back up their version of events -- including video footage from within the vehicle where the alleged assault occurred, witness testimony from the driver and others who saw/heard the episode ... and, last but not least, two written statements that Chaudhry claims are from the alleged victim in this case.

Chaudhry insists the statements show her fully recanting her allegations, and she adds this will all be presented to the authorities in due time to prove her client did nothing wrong.

As for why Majors was arrested if all this stuff does, indeed, exist ... she tells us it's SOP in police departments to make an arrest after an allegation is levied and if there's probable cause to back up the claims. In this instance, the NYPD says there were... visible injuries.

Chaudhry finishes with this ... "We expect these charges to be dropped soon. The DA will usually request orders of protection in these matters while they are being resolved." Majors has been charged with misdemeanor assault, aggravated harassment, attempted assault and harassment. He was released on his own recognizance and is due back in court in May.

In response to Majors' attorney's claims about the woman -- whom we've been told is a girlfriend of his -- the Manhattan D.A.'s Office tells TMZ ... the case is ongoing and they won't be commenting further on the details.

What they did say, however, is that a limited court-ordered protection for the alleged victim has been put in place. The D.A. requested a full order of protection ... indicating that they feel the alleged victim needs a bigger forcefield.

Troy Ave is reveling in the fact he helped put his mortal enemy, Taxstone, behind bars -- he just released a very disrespectful track celebrating his pending prison sentence.

The Brooklyn MC unleashed the fiery-titled, "Dear Hater I Won (Taxstone Found Guilty)" ... dropping it Friday, just hours after a jury in NYC found the pioneering hip hop podcaster was guilty of manslaughter.

The song opens up with audio of Boskoe100 slamming Taxstone for writing a letter to the judge that spoke against Troy, which provided the fuel for the slanderous chorus ... "Since you n***** like writing letters, here go one/Dear hater, I won/I'ma boss, you a bum/Suck a d**k, till it c**s." 🙊

Troy codirected the visuals with Shanicerayneil, and wildly captures himself rapping outside the NYC courthouse where the trial took place.

He justified his decision to testify against Tax ... by using an image of Jay-Z in court during his 2021 perfume lawsuit, assuring his critics he was in the right and his rival was in the wrong.

Taxstone, real name Daryl Campbell, was convicted of killing Troy's bodyguard Ronald McPhatter, and wounding three others -- including Troy -- during T.I.’s 2016 concert in NYC. Troy used clips of the shooting in the 'Hater' music vid.

We broke the story back when ... several people were caught in the Irving Plaza melee that spawned massive chaos inside the venue.

There's a bear-y special ceremony on deck in Kentucky ... where the real animal inspiration behind the "Cocaine Bear" movie script is set to officiate a wedding.

Here's the deal ... a museum in Lexington, KY is the current home of the infamous Cocaine Bear, a 175-pound black bear that died from a cocaine overdose way back in 1985, and a Kentucky couple chose him to pronounce them husband and wife.

The wedding's going down Monday at the Kentucky for Kentucky Fun Mall, where the Cocaine Bear will preside over and affirm the union of Alexandra and Armando.

Also known as Pablo Escobear, the black bear infamously stumbled upon 40 containers of cocaine in Georgia's Chattahoochee National Forest. The drugs were dropped from a plane piloted by convicted drug smuggler Andrew Thornton ... and the museum says the retired medical examiner who performed the bear's necropsy told them the bear's stomach was packed to the brim with cocaine when it died.

Cocaine Bear was stuffed by a taxidermist and it changed hands over the years, going from Georgia to Tennessee to Nevada before ending up in a Kentucky museum, where it's now a huge tourist attraction.

The museum's cofounder, Griffin VanMeter, was recently quoted in Roadside America saying, "As long as you feel that the person marrying you -- like Cocaine Bear -- has the authority, then that marriage can be binding here in Kentucky" ... and one couple took him seriously.