Crime & Arrests

Jonathan Majors is still in the throes of a tricky legal situation, but he's been able to find some time for love ... TMZ has learned the actor recently started dating Meagan Good.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us, over the course of the last several weeks, Jonathan and Meagan have gotten close, and the relationship is “fairly new.” What's more, a witness tells us they were at the Alamo Drafthouse in L.A. last weekend to see a movie ... so it's not like they're hiding the fact they're hanging out.

It's unclear how serious the relationship is, but we've reached out to reps for Meagan and Jonathan. So far, no word back.

Of course, Majors continues to fight criminal charges in NYC -- 3 counts of attempted assault as well as assault, one count of aggravated harassment, and a separate count of harassment.

The actor is accused of slapping his ex-girlfriend in March in the back of a taxi after a night out partying in NYC.

Majors' attorney, Priya Chaudhry, has maintained her client's innocence from the beginning ... and has provided investigators with several surveillance videos, and text messages from the alleged victim in an attempt to prove Majors' innocence.

In one video, the ex-gf is drinking and partying in a nightclub, hours after the allegedly violent incident. Majors' team claims the images show she was not injured.

Majors had a court hearing earlier this week where his legal team hoped the D.A. would drop some, if not all, of the charges ... but they all remain.

After the hearing, Chaudhry called the entire case a racist witch hunt, adding, "When Mr. Majors showed a white police officer the injuries the woman caused him, the white officer got in Mr. Majors' face and taunted him, saying that if the officer were to slap Mr. Majors, the officer wouldn't break his finger."

Brittney Griner made her long-awaited return to the basketball court Friday night after her 10-month detainment in Russia last year, but it didn't have the ending her fans were hoping for.

The Phoenix Mercury center still scored 10 points and pulled down 3 rebounds as the Mercury fell to the LA Sparks by a score of 90 to 71 in the WNBA preseason game.

Griner only played for 17 minutes, but she made the most of it, and her teammates were psyched to see her back on the court, hugging and high-fiving while also giving each other chest bumps.

The crowd was ecstatic to see Brittney ... they erupted in applause when her name was first announced inside the Footprint Center in Phoenix.

After the game, Griner told reporters that she was "grateful" to have the opportunity to play again and would not take a single day for granted.

She also said she had a different experience hearing the national anthem before the game got underway.

“Hearing the national anthem, it definitely hit different," she said, adding, "It’s like when you go for the Olympics."

Griner was critical of her on-court performance, explaining, “Not where I want it to be, but on the right track. We’re making the right moves."

But, given what's Griner's been through, it must have felt in some way like a victory.

The Navy veteran who claims Rep. George Santos cheated him out of cash intended for his dying dog's cancer treatment is happy to see Santos facing criminal charges ... he says George had it coming and karma's a bitch.

Richard Osthoff tells TMZ ... Santos deserves to spend time behind bars and he hopes the judge throws the book at him.

The vet says he's not the only one glad the feds busted Santos, running off a list of groups he claims have been wronged by George. While he's surprised at the timeline, Richard says he's glad Santos finally has to face the music ... and he believes more charges could be coming.

As we reported ... the FBI arrested Santos Wednesday for a variety of alleged misdeeds, including lying. He was charged with 13 counts of wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and making false statements to the House of Representatives.

For his part, Santos insists he's innocent, calling the indictment against him a "witch hunt" and refusing to resign.

Osthoff, you might recall, claims Santos created a GoFundMe campaign to pay for a lifesaving surgery for his cancer-stricken dog Sapphire ... only to see Santos make off with thousands of dollars in donations, leaving Sapphire for dead.

Daniel Penny has just been criminally charged in the death of NYC subway rider Jordan Neely, who died after Penny put him in a chokehold on a train.

The Marine vet surrendered to police at a Manhattan station house Friday morning and was booked on a charge of second-degree manslaughter. After posing for a mug shot and getting fingerprinted, Penny will go before a judge to be arraigned on the felony charge in criminal court.

His attorneys from the law firm Raiser & Kenniff issued a statement Thursday night, saying they were "confident that once all the facts and circumstances surrounding this tragic incident are brought to bear, Mr. Penny will be fully absolved of any wrongdoing."

Penny was a passenger in a subway snaking through the Manhattan underground on May 1 when he and other riders encountered Neely, who was allegedly in the throes of a mental health episode. Penny's lawyers say Neely was aggressive and threatening.

Neely was reportedly screaming that he was hungry and thirsty and didn't care if he went to jail. He also allegedly ripped off his coat and threw it on the ground.

In what he says was self-defense, Penny placed Neely in a chokehold while a witness started filming. Over the next several minutes, Penny and Neely grappled on the floor until Neely's body went limp and he was pronounced dead.

The medical examiner ruled his death a homicide due to "compression of neck."

Franky Venegas, one of the twins from the viral Island Boys duo, is about to be a distant and faded memory for his ex-girlfriend ... who's erasing him from her body on the heels of him allegedly getting physical with her.

Franky's ex, Amina, went to Bad Habits Tattoos & Laser Tattoo Removal in Fort Lauderdale this week. Owner Liz Chaviano tells TMZ, it was the first of many sessions to scrub Amina's tattoos of Franky.

We're told she has a total of 3 ink pieces in honor of Kodiyakredd -- Franky's Island Boys alias -- a tattoo of his face on her neck, his name across her chest and another on her wrist.

Liz says the whole process can take up to a year and a half, depending on how deep the ink's been absorbed into the skin.

Interestingly, she says they seem to be so badly done, their removal could go pretty quickly. One removal session is done every 6 weeks.

As we reported, Franky was arrested for domestic battery after Amina told cops they got into an argument on Saturday by the pool of their Airbnb in Pompano Beach. She claims he slapped her and pushed her into the water after she threatened to break things off with him.

You'll recall, he later posted a vid outside the jail ... letting folks know he was released from police custody.

The two guys who were caught stuffing their prized catches with weights to try to win a Lake Erie fishing tournament last year will now have to spend time behind bars over their cheating ways ... TMZ Sports has confirmed.

According to court records, 43-year-old Jacob Runyan and 36-year-old Chase Cominsky showed up in court to learn their fate at a sentencing hearing in Ohio on Thursday.

Records show that both men were sentenced to 10 days in jail during the proceedings. A judge ruled they would also have to serve 1 1/2 years of probation -- and each was ordered to pay big fines as well.

The sentencing was handed down two months after the guys cut a deal with prosecutors in the case ... one in which they each agreed to plead guilty to one felony count of cheating and one misdemeanor count of illegal animal ownership in exchange for officials dropping the other two charges against them.

Runyan, according to USA Today, apologized for his actions in court ... calling the scandal "the most ignorant decision I’ve ever made in my life."

Runyan and Cominsky were first accused of cheating at the Lake Erie Walleye Trail in Cleveland's Gordon Park back in September when officials alleged the men put metal balls and fish fillets inside of their walleyes to make them heavier on the scales.

Initially, the guys pleaded not guilty to the charges ... but pivoted in March.

There's an arrest in the death of OnlyFans Model, and Kim Kardashian look-alike, Christina Ashten Gourkani -- a woman who allegedly administered butt injections in a hotel room is in police custody.

Arrest records say cops busted 50-year-old Vivian Alexandra Gomez in Florida last month, and she's been charged with 2 felonies -- involuntary manslaughter and practicing medicine without a license. Her arrest came not long after Christina died in California.

Gomez allegedly gave Christina "several injections" of what is believed to be silicone, and the procedure was done in a Burlingame, CA hotel room, according to the Daily Post. Cops say Gomez did not have a license to practice medicine.

As we reported, Christina's family shared the news of her death on GoFundMe -- saying they got a frantic call from a family member saying Ashten was dying, and when they arrived at the hospital they found out she suffered a cardiac arrest and had passed.

The man linked to the infamous 2005 death and disappearance of Natalee Holloway in Aruba will finally get his day in a U.S. court for allegedly extorting her mother.

Joran van der Sloot has long been suspected of killing Holloway, who was 18 when she vanished during a high school trip to the Caribbean Island in May 2005. Holloway was last seen leaving a bar with van der Sloot, who was interrogated by police at the time, but never charged with her disappearance. A judge declared Holloway dead in 2012. The case, which garnered worldwide attention, remains unsolved to this day.

But, van der Sloot is now facing some accountability. The feds have formally charged him with fraud in the Holloway matter and will be extraditing him to Alabama from Peru, where he is serving a 28-year prison term for the unrelated strangulation murder of student Stephany Flores in 2010.

That same year, van der Sloot was indicted on federal charges of wire fraud and extortion by a Birmingham, AL, grand jury for trying to solicit $250,000 from Beth Holloway on the false promise that he would tell her what happened to her daughter and where to find her body.

According to court documents, van der Sloot reached out to Beth and asked her for a $25,000 down payment to escort her legal advisor, John Kelly, to her daughter's gravesite in Aruba. van der Sloot, the docs say, also demanded that Beth pay him the rest of the money after Kelly identified Natalee's remains.

But, Beth smelled a rat and contacted the FBI, which set up a sting operation. Here's how it allegedly worked: Beth sent $15,000 to van der Sloot via wire transfer. She also wired $10,000 to Kelly, requesting that he personally deliver the money to van der Sloot, which Kelly did.

van der Sloot then allegedly brought Kelly to the purported burial site, but it turned out to be one big scam. Natalee's corpse wasn't there.

That's when the FBI closed in on van der Sloot and prosecutors eventually filed charges against him.

Addressing van der Sloot's extradition, Beth Holloway released a statement, which read in part, “It has been a very long and painful journey, but the persistence of many is going to pay off. Together, we are finally getting justice for Natalee."

Brittney Griner's just days away from returning to the WNBA court -- and anticipation is at an all-time high for Mercury fans -- but the pot is about to get a little sweeter ... 3x Grammy winner Wyclef Jean will be performing a special halftime show in honor of BG's homecoming!

TMZ Sports has learned the Phoenix Mercury have teamed up with The Sum, a new music platform from Anagram Studios, to bring in Jean to perform during their May 21 game against the Chicago Sky at the Footprint Center to celebrate Griner's return on what will be her first home game since the Russia ordeal.

We're told one of the songs Wyclef will sing is Bob Marley’s iconic hit, “One Love” ... where Jean will be joined by 200 fans who will be selected to perform live with the 53-year-old musician.

He will also put on a postgame concert.

Of course, it'll be a party when the star center hits the hardwood in front of hometown Mercury fans this season ... after missing all of last season while she was detained.

The 32-year-old endured nine months in a Russian jail cell/prison camp, before coming home in December thanks to a prisoner swap. There was initially doubt Griner would ever hoop again, but she quickly put that sentiment to bed ... announcing she was coming back.

The WNBA champ ultimately signed a 1-year deal with the Mercury in February ... and said she can't wait to play this upcoming season.

"Look forward to all those moments. Just waking in on the first home game, the grind, the sweat, the blood," Griner said during last month's press conference. "Just taking all that in. I missed it."

And, it's not just BG who's pumped ... Mercury president Vince Kozar can't wait for their home opener!

“May 21 is going to be an unforgettable experience for our fans and we’re thrilled to have the opportunity to have an award-winning artist the caliber of Wyclef Jean join us in celebrating BG’s return and a new Mercury season,” Kozar told us.

Henry Ruggs will officially be sentenced to 3-to-10 years behind bars later this summer ... after a judge formally accepted his plea deal on Wednesday morning.

The former Las Vegas Raiders star appeared in court to enter guilty pleas to one felony count of a DUI resulting in death and one misdemeanor count of vehicular manslaughter after reaching an agreement with officials earlier this month.

As part of the deal, prosecutors agreed to drop the rest of the ex-football player's charges stemming from his November 2021 car crash.

The judge asked Ruggs -- who was wearing a navy suit with a blue tie -- several questions during the proceedings ... before she ultimately accepted the parameters of the agreement.

Ruggs will now learn whether it'll be closer to three or 10 years in prison at a sentencing hearing on August 9.

As we previously reported, Ruggs had been facing more than 50 years behind bars after prosecutors had initially hit him with five total charges following allegations he drunkenly slammed his Corvette into the back of Tina Tintor's Rav4 ... killing her and her dog.

They alleged at the time that Ruggs had traveled 156 MPH just before the crash with a BAC of .161.

Ruggs' attorneys, David Z. Chesnoff and Richard A. Schonfeld said last week when the 24-year-old first agreed to the plea deal that it all was "a fair resolution to this matter."

Clark County district attorney Steven B. Wolfson said of the ruling Wednesday, "This outcome accomplished our three most important goals: (1) convict Henry Ruggs of the strictest charge allowed by Nevada law for drunk driving; (2) send Henry Ruggs to prison; and (3) eliminate his ability to appeal his conviction and prison sentence."

Wolfson added, "Tina's family members are the most important people in this process, and I met with them several times before reaching this resolution."

George Santos has just been arrested for a variety of alleged misdeeds, including lying.

Santos has been charged with 13 counts of wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and making false statements to the House of Representatives.

Santos was taken into custody by the FBI and is expected to be arraigned later today.

U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said when the indictment was unsealed, he "seeks to hold Santos accountable for various alleged fraudulent schemes and brazen misrepresentations," adding, "He used political contributions to line his pockets, unlawfully applied for unemployment benefits that should have gone to New Yorkers who had lost their jobs due to the pandemic, and lied to the House of Representatives."

Santos has been caught in a web of lies since his election victory last November. Some of his Republican colleagues wanted him expelled, but the leadership was radio silent on the issue.

According to the indictment, 2 of his supporters each transferred $25,000 to an account that was supposed to go to his campaign but was then transferred to a personal account. Santos allegedly used the funds to buy designer clothes and withdraw cash for personal debts.

It'll be interesting how Speaker Kevin McCarthy deals with Santos now.

Nate Diaz clearly ain't sweatin' his criminal case down in Louisiana ... the former UFC star actually had a laugh about it all with Jake Paul on Tuesday.

Paul was the one who brought up the choke-out incident to Diaz during a news conference to hype up their August boxing match ... wondering if the MMA fighter thought he was scrapping with his brother, Logan Paul, when he choked out a guy on Bourbon St. during an April 22 melee.

Diaz smiled and then pretended to truly believe it was Logan who he put to sleep on the popular New Orleans roadway.

"You're going to act like that wasn't Logan?" Nate said with a grin. "Come on, man!"

"You thought it was Logan?" Jake asked again ... before Diaz responded with a giggle, "It is Logan, what are you talking about?"

Of course, the case shouldn't be much of a laughing matter for Diaz ... officials have charged him with second-degree battery after they allege he caused the man to suffer a head wound during the incident. Diaz is now facing time behind bars if ultimately convicted.

Diaz, though, did get serious about it all for at least a few seconds during the presser ... appearing to say he took it easy on the guy by choking him instead of throwing hands.

"You don't want to just hit people out there," Nate said. "That's f****** dangerous. You know what I'm saying? Give him a little nap."

Diaz didn't elaborate on it all further ... but he's been adamant since the incident went down that he did nothing wrong -- and was simply acting in self-defense.

Jonathan Majors' big day in court turned out to be not so momentous after all -- because the charges he's facing remain in place ... something his attorney's not too happy about.

As you may have heard, the actor was due to appear before a judge Tuesday in what amounted to his first real chance to combat the criminal case that's been brought against him by the Manhattan D.A.'s Office -- but, in the end, nothing much came of it.

The D.A.'s Office tells us Majors' charges are still intact and unchanged from when they were first announced. For a refresher ... those charges include 3 counts of attempted assault as well as assault, a count of aggravated harassment and a separate count of harassment.

The D.A. says there'll be a future hearing to discuss a motion filed by Majors' legal team -- but it's unclear what exactly that's about. In any case, he's due back in court in June.

As for what happened -- or didn't, rather -- today ... Majors' defense attorney, Priya Chaudhry, tells TMZ ... she and her team forked over what they say is irrefutable evidence that supposedly exonerates their client ... but say the D.A. turned a blind eye to all of it.

She goes on to explain that the D.A. allegedly told her they would not "fix" their complaint against Majors based on what was submitted -- however, the attorney now says they recanted on that promise and changed the accuser’s story with her help. The attorney also says she has clear proof the alleged victim is lying about that night, and that Majors is the one who's being falsely prosecuted.

Chaudhry claims the D.A. is simply altering their approach to this case based on what she says is the woman's continuously changing story -- and that, she says, is a shame ... not to mention a classic witch hunt, which Chaudhry suggests might be racially motivated.

She says, "When Mr. Majors showed a white police officer the injuries the woman caused him, the white officer got in Mr. Majors' face and taunted him, saying that if the officer were to slap Mr. Majors, the officer wouldn't break his finger. None of the white officers present investigated the assault of Mr. Majors. Worse, the District Attorney has not indicated any intention to pursue charges against the woman, or even investigate the truth."

Chaudhry says this is an example of explicit and implicit bias that still exists in the criminal justice system -- as well as a glaring double standard JM was on the receiving end of that benefitted his accuser ... who, as his attorney has pointed out, is a white woman.

The attorney also claims to have obtained even more evidence that proves her client is innocent -- but says she's hesitant to share it out of fear of the D.A. tipping off the alleged victim to twist the narrative even further. We'll see what comes of this next month.

Franky Venegas, known to many as one of the viral Island Boys twins, has been arrested ... after his girlfriend told cops he slapped her and pushed her in the pool.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Venegas' girlfriend told police they got into an argument Saturday at the pool area of their Airbnb in Pompano Beach -- after she threatened to break up with him due to his "physical abusive behavior."

She told PD Venegas got upset and slapped her across the face and pushed her into the shallow part of the pool, causing her to hit her chin on the concrete floor below. Cops say they noted bruises on her chin, as well as on her legs and arms when they spoke to her at a nearby hospital.

Police say they then went to the Airbnb and arrested Venegas for domestic battery ... he let his fans know he's since gotten out -- posting a pretty enthusiastic vid outside the jail.

UFC fighter Tony Ferguson was no match for cops early Sunday ... he was busted for DUI.

Tony apparently crashed his pickup truck into 2 parked cars outside a Hollywood club just before 2 AM. His truck flipped on its side. Miraculously, he was not injured nor was anyone else.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Tony refused to take a field sobriety test and was "very uncooperative" at the scene.

According to our sources, the cops who eyeballed him say he reeked of alcohol and had bloodshot eyes.

Tony was arrested at the scene and is facing misdemeanor DUI. He's also facing license suspension for refusing the field sobriety test.

Rapper Cash Gotti, the owner of one of the cars Tony allegedly hit says he came out of the club to find his Mercedes destroyed.

Alana Thompson, AKA Honey Boo Boo, has grown up right before our very eyes ... and now Mama June is getting ready to send her youngest kid off to college!

We caught up with the reality TV star in NYC and she gave us an update on a few of her daughters ... touching on Alana's plans now that she's reached the end of her high school years.

Mama June tells us, Honey Boo Boo will most definitely be going to college, however, she kept the school under wraps over privacy concerns.

Alana went all out for prom last month in Georgia ... posing with her date, 21-year-old BF Dralin Carswell. They made a grand entrance with the help of a horse and buggy. It's now the preferred mode of transportation ... Dralin was arrested for DUI a month before following a police chase in her car.

Mama June supports her daughter's choices whether it be college or boyfriends ... she can date as she pleases since she's not a kid anymore.