Crime & Arrests

The Georgia sheriff under fire for saying the Atlanta spa shooting suspect was having a "really bad day" is having a bad day himself ... he's OUT as the spokesperson for the case.

Captain Jay Baker will no longer be giving updates and briefings on the case, according to a CNN report from the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office.

Baker's been catching tons of heat for Wednesday's news conference, when he said shooting suspect Robert Aaron Long "was pretty much fed up and had been kind of at the end of his rope. Yesterday was a really bad day for him, and this is what he did."

Long has been charged with 8 counts of murder for Tuesday's mass killing of 8 people, including 6 Asian women. Long told cops his alleged attack on massage parlors was motived by his sex addiction, not racism ... a point that has left many unconvinced.

If ya gotta get arrested during Spring Break, might as well get the entire beach cheering for you as you flee from cops while you're in handcuffs -- that was this kid's game plan, anyway.

The video from a beach in Clearwater, FL is pretty epic, and this guy is probably an instant legend with his friends. Law enforcement sources tell us Clearwater PD hit the sand to break up a fight ... and when the video starts they've already got a suspect handcuffed in the back of their car.

But, someone in the crowd opened the back door, and the shirtless kid starts racing down the beach, trying to make a getaway. The only problem is everyone on the beach cheered and started running with him -- so much for the element of surprise!

The hilarious scene looks like they all just heard there was a free beer giveaway. Alas, the cops were in better shape than the suspect, and eventually recaptured him.

Hope it was fun, since he'll probably get an added charge or 2 for evading arrest.

If nothing else, Flash's folly will live on in TikTok infamy.

Rob Gronkowski is finally opening up about what it was like when he found his Patriots teammate Aaron Hernandez was a suspect in a murder case ... and it's clear Gronk is still shaken up about it.

FYI, Gronk and Aaron were both selected by the Patriots in the 2010 NFL Draft and spent countless hours together in meetings and workouts because they both play the same position, tight end.

Of course, Aaron's NFL career came to a screeching halt in 2013 when he was arrested for the murder of Odin Lloyd. He was found guilty of 1st-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.

"I was definitely shook when I heard that," Gronk said during the "10 Questions with Kyle Brandt" podcast.

"Because, being his teammate and everything -- you really don't see that. You're not really looking into players like that ... that's who they are, or that's what they're doing."

Gronk says Hernandez was a "great football player" -- but notes in the greater scheme of things "that does not mean anything."

Hernandez was also charged in the 2012 double murder of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado -- but he was ultimately acquitted in 2017.

Famous Dex's very bad week just got worse, because cops say they just busted him with a loaded gun.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the rapper was riding in the backseat of a car when LAPD pulled it over Tuesday night in North Hollywood for not having a rear license plate. We're told Dex tried to get out and walk away during the traffic stop, but cops detained him and then searched the vehicle when they discovered one of the passengers was on probation.

During the search our sources say a loaded gun was found under Dex's seat, so he was arrested for carrying a concealed firearm.

According to police ... the rapper was booked on the felony charge and his bail's set at $35,000. We're told he's still behind bars.

We broke the story ... Famous Dex had another encounter with police last week, after he was allegedly robbed at gunpoint in the San Fernando Valley. He told cops the robbers made off with a $50,000 watch and thousands more in cash.

Vice President Kamala Harris could have been in danger Wednesday afternoon ... the Secret Service tells us agents detained a man outside the Veep's D.C. residence and cops say he had guns and ammo.

The agents stopped the man around 1 PM ET near the Naval Observatory, which is the traditional Vice President's mansion. Cops say they found a firearm, a bunch of ammo and several gun clips with ammo in the man's car, which was parked in a D.C. garage.

Fortunately, the Veep wasn't at the Naval Observatory when agents nabbed the man -- the mansion is getting a bunch of repairs so she and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff have been living at Blair House ... a 19th-century row house steps away from the White House.

The Vice Prez was working Wednesday in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, which is right next to Blair House.

Story developing ...

Rae Sremmurd's brother is facing a first-degree murder charge -- this after cops say he shot his own father, RS's stepdad, in cold blood.

Swae Lee and Slim Jxmmi's half-bro, Michael Sullivan, has been charged with murder in Lee County, MS ... according to D.A. John Weddle, who tells us the indictment was handed up after a grand jury heard evidence in January.

We're told this is not a death penalty case -- but Michael still faces life in prison if convicted. He's still in custody ... no word when he's due again in court, or when the case will go to trial.

The D.A. wouldn't get into details of the alleged killing, other than to say Michael's biological father, Floyd Sullivan Jr., was shot at least once on Jan. 6, 2020 -- which is when word of his death first surfaced and Michael was detained as a person of interest.

As we told you ... Michael's mother, Bernadette Walker, told us she believed Michael might have been off his medication before the alleged shooting -- as she explained he'd been having episodes with her too before going to live with his dad.

Bernadette also revealed Michael is afflicted with Schizoaffective disorder, which lends to schizophrenia and everything that comes with it ... including mood swings, delusions, etc. It's unclear how this factored into what was presented to the grand jury -- but we were told he was held for a psychiatric evaluation before he was eventually arrested and taken to jail.

As for Swae and Slim ... they haven't said too much about the matter, but the former did tweet broken heart emojis shortly after the incident, as well as this in a since-deleted message ... "I pray this world let's me keep some compassion."

Two men accused of using bear spray on the U.S. Capitol Police officer who died have been arrested and charged with assault ... but it's not clear if they killed him.

Federal authorities say Julian Khater and George Tanios carried out the bear spray attack on officer Brian Sicknick. They got busted Sunday, TMZ confirmed, some 2 months after the storming of the Capitol.

Sicknick died the night after the Jan. 6 riot, and while Capitol Police say he died from injuries sustained while on duty, the feds say they haven't determined if the alleged bear spray attack played a role in his death.

The feds say video shows Khater asking for a canister of bear spray from Tanios before spraying Sicknick and 2 other police in the face.

Khater and Tanios are charged with assault with a deadly weapon, civil disorder and obstruction of congressional proceeding. They are NOT charged with homicide, as there is still no official cause of death for Sicknick.

The maskless Uber rider seen on video coughing on her driver and yanking his mask off finally surrendered to police ... and she's facing some serious charges.

According to the San Francisco PD ... Arna Kimiai turned herself in to authorities Sunday and was booked into the San Fran County jail that night.

She's been hit with charges of robbery, assault and battery, conspiracy and violation of health and safety code. She's still in police custody.

Cops say Arna and her friend, Malaysia King, got into a March 7 altercation with their Uber driver because they weren't wearing masks.

By now you've seen the video, which seems to back up what police say ... that Arna reached over the driver from the backseat and snatched his phone. The driver was also allegedly pepper-sprayed as the women left his car ... although we don't see that in the video.

King was arrested last week and is facing similar charges as Kimiai.

We broke the story ... along with these legal issues, Kimiai is also being sued for a 2019 car crash in which the other driver claims she was seriously injured.

Prince Harry still seems pretty upset about losing his Royal security privileges, and ya can't blame him ... especially because cops say he and Meghan Markle had an unwanted visitor on their property TWICE during the holidays.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... a 37-year-old man named Nickolas Brooks was caught trespassing at the Montecito, CA home of the Duke on Duchess on Christmas Eve, but Santa Barbara County Sheriff's officers let him off with a warning.

We're told the warning didn't work because cops say Brooks showed up on the property again on Dec. 26 ... so this time he was arrested.

Our sources say Brooks drove all the way from Ohio, but it's unclear what he wanted from Harry and Meghan ... or if they were even home at the time of his visits.

Brooks has been charged with one count of misdemeanor trespassing.

The incidents might seem like no big deal, but they highlight a much bigger point Harry suggested during last week's bombshell TV interview with Oprah -- he's worried about the safety of his family.

Harry told Oprah when he and Meghan left their senior royal roles and moved to North America ... Buckingham Palace stripped them of their UK security team.

Harry says he pointed out that the risks to him and his family were no less despite their change in status ... but he claims that didn't change the decision.

Elizabeth Holmes won't be standing trial in July -- instead, she'll be giving birth, so prosecutors are hitting the pause button on criminal proceedings.

According to new legal docs, prosecutors and her defense team agreed to postpone Holmes' trial after the Theranos founder revealed she's pregnant and due in July. That's also when her trial was slated to begin.

Both sides now say they want jury selection to begin on August 31, but the judge still needs to sign off on that.

Elizabeth, of course, was the subject of the HBO doc 'The Inventor' -- who can forget that voice -- which chronicled her meteoric rise and fall with her company that was once valued at more than $9 billion.

Remember ... she's accused of making false claims about discovering a new way to revolutionize blood testing. She's been indicted for allegedly defrauding investors out of hundreds of MILLIONS of dollars and deceiving hundreds of patients and doctors with the bogus tests.

Elizabeth has pled not guilty. It looks like she'll get a month and change to settle into motherhood before she has to face the judge and jury.

The City of Minneapolis has reached a $27 million settlement with George Floyd's family after being sued for his death last year ... and it comes just weeks before Derek Chauvin's trial.

Floyd's family filed the wrongful death lawsuit in July against the city, Chauvin and the 3 other officers involved in the May 25 incident resulting in George's death. The City Council unanimously approved the settlement on Friday.

As we reported ... the family's suit alleged the city and the ex-police officers violated Floyd's rights, specifically calling out the neck restraint techniques used during his arrest.

Video of Floyd's arrest shows Chauvin kneeling on his neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds.

After the settlement was announced, George's sister, Bridgett Floyd, said, "Our family suffered an irreplaceable loss May 25 when George’s life was senselessly taken by a Minneapolis police officer. While we will never get our beloved George back, we will continue to work tirelessly to make this world a better, and safer, place for all."

She added, "Going forward, my work as Founder of the George Floyd Memorial Foundation will be a priority both in George’s birthplace of Fayetteville, North Carolina and around the country."

Sebastian Telfair's sister just fessed up in court and admitted to threatening to kill the ex-NBA star's estranged wife -- and now, she's facing up to 5 years in prison over it all.

Octavia Telfair had been arrested in May 2019 after federal investigators said she spewed vile threats toward Samantha Telfair.

Prosecutors claimed after Samantha had testified against Sebastian in his gun case ... Octavia felt it was all treacherous, called Samantha repeatedly and left terrifying threats.

Samantha told investigators that Octavia had told her she would "kill my kids and cut my face." Investigators also said Octavia threatened to kill Samantha, her aunt and her siblings as well.

Octavia was initially charged with transmission of threats to injure ... and at a hearing Friday morning, TMZ Sports has confirmed she pleaded guilty to the charge.

"Yes, it was an argument with my sister-in-law, verbal argument," Octavia said on a video conference call with the court. "Yes, I admit it."

Octavia now faces up to 5 years in prison ... though the guilty plea will likely mean she'll spend far less time than that behind bars -- perhaps even no time at all depending on how the judge sees things.

Octavia is due back in court in July for a sentencing hearing.

Sebastian Telfair -- who famously appeared on Sports Illustrated's cover as a high schooler -- played for several teams in the NBA from 2004 to 2015.

He was a Trail Blazer's 1st-round pick in the '04 NBA Draft.

After his NBA career, Telfair was convicted of possessing an illegal firearm stemming from a June 2017 incident where he was caught with an arsenal of weapons during a traffic stop.

Officials say Telfair had 3 pistols, a semi-automatic rifle, a ton of ammo and a bulletproof vest ... as well as some weed.

He was sentenced to 3.5 years behind bars -- but was released in Sept. 2019 on $500,00 bail after only doing a few days in prison.

The maskless Uber riders who cops say coughed on and attacked their Bay Area driver are paying a hefty price -- one's been arrested and another is surrendering to police.

The San Francisco Police Department says Malaysia King is in custody ... she's reportedly the woman wearing red in the viral video showing the riders coughing, and snatching the driver's phone and mask.

Law enforcement says another suspect, Arna Kimiai, told SFPD through her lawyer that she plans to turn herself in soon. Kimiai is reportedly the one who grabbed the phone and declared, "I got corona."

Newly crowned Super Bowl champ Jaydon Mickens is in trouble with the law ... TMZ Sports has confirmed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers player was arrested last week in Los Angeles.

Law enforcement tells us the 26-year-old -- a Bucs receiver and return specialist -- was pulled over on March 5 after cops say his window tint was too dark.

During the stop, we're told officers found a gun inside the car -- NOT on his person -- and arrested him over it.

Mickens was booked on a felony concealed weapon charge. We're told the LAPD later informed the NFL of the arrest.

The Bucs issued a statement saying they are "aware of the issue regarding Jaydon that occurred in Los Angeles last week."

"He reached out to let us know about the situation soon after it happened and we have been in contact with the league office to ensure they were aware."

"We will continue to monitor the situation but will have no further comment at this time."

Mickens played in Tampa's championship win over the K.C. Chiefs last month ... taking back three kickoffs for an average of 25 yards a pop.

The 4-year NFL veteran was signed by the Bucs back in the 2019 season ... and has served as a key special teamer since.

He caught 7 passes for 58 yards this past season.

Tekashi 6ix9ine says he banked $20 million since his release from prison last April, and his massive hit "GOOBA," his first cash cow, was a highly irregular ripoff ... this according to a new lawsuit.

BEATDEMONS, a TX-based producer group, is suing Tekashi, claiming "GOOBA" is a mirror image of its song, "Regular."

According to the suit, the similarities are eerie -- from the melody, to form, to structure and function. In other words, they say "GOOBA" is a "Regular" steal.

BEATDEMONS claims "Regular" was released in 2018 and a video of the song scored 152,000 views. So they're saying Tekashi or his people must have heard the song and got so inspired they crossed the line and ripped BEATDEMONS off.

The stakes are high, because "GOOBA" was a massive hit ... it has 700M views on YouTube and charted #1 on Billboard's Streaming Charts. The song also went platinum.

BEATDEMONS wants the profits from "GOOBA," which amount to a king's ransom.

Johnny Damon got in a scuffle with cops, appeared to bomb field sobriety tests, and even brought up his Trump support during his arrest last month ... and the wild scene was all captured on police video obtained by TMZ Sports.

Damon and his wife were pulled over at around 1:23 a.m. on Feb. 19 in Windermere, Fla. after cops say he was swerving on the road and driving erratically.

Once a cop stopped Damon ... body cam footage captured the 47-year-old ex-Yankee and Red Sox outfielder admitting to drinking before getting behind the wheel.

Then, an intense standoff between the officer, the ex-MLB star and the baseball player's wife ensued.

In the video, you can see the officer ordered Damon and his wife, Michelle Mangan-Damon, to stay in the car, but neither complied ... and a pushing and shoving squabble broke out.

At one point, the officer grabbed Mangan-Damon's wrist ... before Johnny got involved to separate the two.

The bumping and pushing got so heated, the officer's body camera was actually knocked to the ground.

Fortunately for all parties, backup arrived, and officers were able to settle down the scene.

Damon and his wife repeatedly talked about their support for cops, mentioning over and over, "Blue lives matter."

And, at one point, Damon brought up his affinity for Trump to a cop, saying "Hey, bro, I'm a good f***ing guy. I know people are trying to target me because I'm a Trump supporter."

Damon was then asked to complete some field sobriety tests ... but you can see on the video, it doesn’t look like he exactly passed any of them with flying colors.

Damon was ultimately arrested and booked on multiple charges, including driving under the influence and resisting arrest without violence.

A police report later showed cops said Damon's blood-alcohol level was .30, nearly FOUR TIMES the legal limit.

Damon's wife was also arrested after the stop, and booked on charges of battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest with violence.

Court records show Damon pled not guilty to his DUI charge last month. He's due back in court in May.