Crime & Arrests

Caitlyn Jenner might not be the only celeb gunning to be the next governor of California, Randy Quaid wants to throw his hat in the ring too, and it sounds like it's all about vengeance.

The "Kingpin" star says he's "seriously considering" running, and already has his platform ... he says corruption is rampant among prosecutors in Cali and he wants to "clean up the District Attorney Offices throughout the state."

Randy's legal issues in California are well documented, so this sounds very personal.

As we reported ... Randy and his wife, Evi, are wanted in Santa Barbara for failing to show up for a court hearing in their 2010 felony burglary case. Remember, the Quaids were charged after they were found allegedly living in a home illegally.

Randy and Evi went to Canada after the felony arrest warrant was issued in Santa Barbara, but Canada didn't want them either, and in 2015 they were arrested in Vermont while allegedly trying to sneak back into the U.S.

California tried to extradite the couple back to the state from Vermont, but the process was denied.

The Santa Barbara District Attorney's Office tells us the case and the warrants for their arrests are still active, which raises a big issue for potential candidate Quaid: How the hell will he campaign for Governor in a state where he can be arrested the moment he steps foot in said state?

Trey Songz will not face criminal charges for his violent altercation with cops at an NFL playoff game ... TMZ has learned.

The Prosecutor's Office for Jackson County, MO tells us they have decided to decline filing charges against the singer, citing insufficient evidence.

We broke the story ... Trey was arrested back in January at a Kansas City Chiefs home playoff game, with video showing what looked like a violent dust-up with a police officer.

The incident started when Songz allegedly refused to wear a mask inside Arrowhead Stadium, despite coronavirus protocols in place at the game.

As we told you, Trey was arrested for trespassing and resisting arrest -- both misdemeanors -- and for assaulting a police officer, a low-grade felony.

The footage police released appeared to show Trey throwing the first punch during his interaction with police, but his camp claimed the officer had it out for him before the brawl. In any event, no charges are being filed in the case.

Keith Ellison -- the Attorney General of Minnesota responsible for leading the way to Derek Chauvin's guilty verdict -- says he felt many emotions after the ex-Minneapolis cop was convicted of George Floyd's murder ... including compassion.

The lead prosecutor in Chauvin’s trial admitted on "60 Minutes" Sunday night that he "felt a little bad" for the defendant afterward ... something he says stems from spending 16 years as a criminal defense lawyer.

Ellison says above all though, he felt gratitude, humility and a sense of satisfaction for holding Chauvin accountable for what he did. He adds that Chauvin definitely deserved to be convicted ... but Ellison wants to remind people that everyone in this process is a human being.

The Minnesota AG also gave his thoughts on how the judge should sentence Chauvin, and says he believes this wasn't a hate crime but rather a crime perpetuated by social norms ... and a lack of accountability.

He says of Chauvin ... "I think that if he looks at history, he has every reason to believe that he would never be held accountable … so history was on his side."

Derek Chauvin faces 40 years behind bars for murdering George Floyd, but that may be just the beginning, because there's another incident that is eerily similar to the killing of Floyd.

Authorities have received video of Chauvin allegedly brutalizing a 14-year-old Black teen, and the feds are now on the case.

The incident occurred in 2017, and the video allegedly shows Chauvin violently subduing the teen ... viciously striking him in the head with such force he needed stitches to close the wound. Chauvin allegedly held him down on the ground with his knee for 17 minutes as he gasped for air ... oblivious to the teen's cry that he couldn't breathe.

One of the prosecutors said there's another similarity with the 2 cases ... "Those videos show a far more violent and forceful treatment of this child than Chauvin describes in his [police] report."

The incident is now under criminal investigation. Federal prosecutors reportedly have convened a grand jury to review the case.

The incident did not escape state prosecutors, who tried to introduce evidence of the incident in the trial that just ended to show a pattern of brutality. The judge turned thumbs down on that request.

As for specifics in the 2017 incident, a woman had called police for help after she said she was attacked by her 14-year-old son and daughter.  When Chauvin arrived, he ordered the boy to get on the ground, and when he refused Chauvin allegedly hit him with a flashlight as he grabbed his throat. The now-former cop allegedly used a neck restraint that he held for so long the teen lost consciousness. The prosecutor who reviewed the video says 8 minutes in Chauvin changed positions and put his knee on the teen's back for another 9 minutes.

Michael Lohan has been arrested again ... this time for allegedly getting illegal kickbacks from a rehab facility.

Lindsay Lohan's dad was taken into custody on 6 counts of illegal patient brokering ... this according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's website.

The 60-year-old allegedly cut deals where he referred drug addicts to a Florida facility and got money for each referral. According to authorities, "Patient brokering corrupts our health care system because decisions are motivated by greed instead of patient needs."

Lohan allegedly got checks totaling more than $25,000.

South Florida, where Lohan has been in the rehab biz for years, is considered the recovery capital of the world. Authorities say the prime patient is someone with good health insurance, so some recovery centers will give these kickbacks because the facility will in turn get paid through the insurance company.

Lohan has had his issues with the law in the past ... domestic violence and restraining order issues among others.

TMZ Sports has obtained police video from Justin Layne's arrest Friday ... and the Steelers DB can be heard in the back of a squad car saying, "They acting like I got some drugs -- I got one blunt!"

The 23-year-old -- who was a Steelers third-round pick in 2019 -- was pulled over after cops say he was doing 89 MPH in a 60 MPH zone in his 2020 Dodge Charger.

During the stop, officers put him in the back of a patrol car while they searched his ride ... and that's when Layne got on the phone with some of his friends to talk them through his situation.

While on the line ... Layne can be heard telling one friend, "I'm nervous as f***, bro. They about to get me."

Layne continued, "They might get me for the pistol, bro." He later told his friend that he had a blunt in the car.

Cops say they eventually found weed residue, a grinder and a loaded Glock 9mm pistol during their search of his car ... and released photos of their findings to TMZ Sports.

Layne was ultimately arrested and booked on a felony charge of improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle.

What's interesting ... Layne mentioned twice during the stop he was an NFL player -- and even at one point told an officer he played for the Steelers.

For their part, the Steelers said they were aware of the situation and were gathering more information.

"Love is Blind" star Mark Cuevas claims a woman from his fiancee's past is now threatening her and their baby ... and cops have made an arrest.

To better understand his death threat story, Mark says his fiancee -- Aubrey Rainey, who is about to give birth to their son -- was one of the victims of a series of hit-and-run crashes last year in Ohio.

According to Westlake PD PIO Gerald Vogel ... the suspect in those crashes is Shayla Harris and she was charged with attempted murder. He says Harris was involved in 2 other crashes similar to Aubrey's accident.

Vogel tells us Harris was released on bond, and she recently sent Facebook and IG messages to Aubrey threatening her and threatening to kill her unborn child.

We're told Mark and Aubrey filed a police report about Shayla's threats, and she's now been arrested by Westlake Police for misdemeanor aggravated menacing.

In Mark's video -- which was seemingly posted before he knew about the arrest -- he claims Harris sent more than 100 messages referencing Aubrey and their baby.

Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Justin Layne was arrested Friday ... after cops say he illegally had a loaded firearm in his car during a traffic stop in Ohio.

Officials for Willoughby Hills Police Dept. say Layne was pulled over at around 1:20 AM after an officer clocked him going 89 MPH in a 60 MPH zone in his 2020 Dodge Charger.

Police say during the stop, they discovered Layne had a suspended driver's license and a warrant for his arrest stemming from a failure to appear in court for a previous traffic violation.

Officers claim they also smelled an odor of marijuana in the car -- and after searching the vehicle, they say they found a loaded Glock 9mm pistol in the center console.

Cops say Layne did NOT have a licensed concealed carry permit, so they arrested him and booked him on a charge of felony improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle.

Cops noted in police documents 23-year-old Layne "was cooperative during the entire process."

In the docs, officers also say patrol squad camera footage caught Layne saying on phone calls "it's over, I'm goin down" and "they acting like I got some drugs, I got one blunt" on his ride to the station.

The Steelers say they are aware of the incident and are gathering information.

Ronnie Ortiz-Magro is in police custody after cops say he was involved in a domestic violence incident ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us the "Jersey Shore" star was busted Thursday in Los Angeles for felony domestic violence.

The arrest is seriously bad news for Ronnie, because he's currently on probation. As we first told you, he got 36 months probation as part of a plea deal he copped last year in a previous domestic violence case involving his ex, Jenn Harley.

It's unclear if Jenn was involved in this alleged incident. Ronnie avoided jail last time, but getting arrested while on probation could churn up a whole host of problems for him.

Ronnie's attorney, Scott Leemon, tells TMZ, "We have just learned of the new allegations against Ronnie and need some additional time to further investigate. As such, we will not be making any other statements at this time.”

Story developing ...

The infamous Palm Beach mansion where Jeffrey Epstein sexually assaulted many of his young victims has been reduced to rubble.

The demolition came 5 months after Florida real estate developer Todd Michael Glaser inked a deal to buy the waterfront property for $18.5 mil. He vowed to obliterate the 14,000 square-foot mansion.

Proceeds from the sale will go to a Victims' Compensation Program, which will distribute the funds to some of Epstein's victims. Epstein had been locked up in a Manhattan federal jail for sex trafficking when he killed himself behind bars back in August, 2019.

Palm Beach real estate broker Lawrence A. Moens told the Palm Beach Daily News he only got involved "to ensure it would be wiped off the map of Palm Beach."

Brett Favre is weighing in on the Derek Chauvin verdict ... saying he truly believes the ex-cop did NOT intentionally kill George Floyd, but his actions were downright inexcusable.

Chauvin was found guilty on all 3 charges stemming from the May 2020 incident on Tuesday ... and is now facing up to 40 years behind bars.

The NFL legend spoke about Floyd's death on his "Bolling With Favre" podcast on Wednesday ... condemning Chauvin's handling of the situation, but explaining why he feels it's "hard to believe" he intended to kill the 46-year-old man.

"I’m aware of the outcome. I find it hard to believe, and I’m not defending Derek Chauvin in any way. I find it hard to believe, first of all, that he intentionally meant to kill George Floyd," Favre said on Wednesday.

"That being said, his actions were uncalled for. I don’t care what color the person is on the street, you do not, I don’t know what lead to that video that we saw, where his knee is on his neck, but the man had thrown in the towel."

Favre continued ... "It was just uncalled for. Much like the video that surfaced last week of the cop who pulled over the African-American service man, who was afraid to pull over in the dark and chose to ride it out until he got to a gas station. Understandably so, especially in today’s world."

"And the cops actions, of course he was fired immediately, was uncalled for. Just absolutely uncalled for, and wrong. So Derek Chauvin, I obviously don’t know him, know anything about him, but he should not, he should’ve gotten up.

"Long before that. I didn’t watch the day-to-day ins and outs of the trial, but I’m really not surprised at the outcomes. Fair or not, he deserves something. What, I don’t know, but he was absolutely wrong."

Favre also addressed the backlash he faced last week after his comments about wanting to keep politics out of sports ... saying he stands by what he said.

A cop was so concerned for Marshon Lattimore after finding a gun near his groin during a police stop last month that he straight-up warned the NFL star, "You're gonna shoot your dick off."

... and the whole incident was caught on police video obtained by TMZ Sports.

Lattimore and three others were stopped in Cleveland on March 26 after cops say the driver of the vehicle had committed multiple traffic violations.

In video of the stop, you can see officers swarmed the car immediately ... and confronted Lattimore right away.

In the clip, cops say they smelled a strong odor of marijuana coming from the car ... and then asked Lattimore if there were firearms inside the ride.

Eventually, Lattimore revealed he DID have a gun on his person ... and told cops it was located in the groin area of his jeans.

"You're gonna shoot your dick off," one officer said as he removed the firearm from Lattimore's pants.

"Get yourself a holster, brother," another cop told the New Orleans Saints corner.

As cops were conducting searches around the car, one of the officers apparently realized Lattimore was an NFL player ... and said out loud, "You play for the Saints?!"

The cop then scolded the 24-year-old for putting himself in the position ... explaining, "It's not like you're a, you know, f***ing chump out there, bro!"

Ultimately, cops say they found Lattimore's gun showed up in the system as stolen ... and they arrested him, booking him on charges of failure to notify and receiving stolen property.

FYI, the stolen property charge is a 4th degree felony -- which carries a maximum punishment of 18 months in prison. So yeah, that's a big deal.

The other three passengers in the car were also arrested.

Lattimore's case is currently playing out in the court system.

Lattimore is one of the best defensive players in the NFL ... and is expected to ink a massive contract extension with the Saints when his rookie deal expires after the 2021 season.

Cops in Louisiana are on the hunt for Aldon Smith ... they say the new Seahawks pass rusher committed 2nd-degree battery at a coffee shop in the New Orleans area on Saturday.

According to a wanted bulletin from the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Office, Smith allegedly committed the crime while at the French Press Coffee House near Home Depot in Chalmette.

Officials say the entire incident was captured on video, according to WDSU in New Orleans.

Cops added in the bulletin, "The subject does not have a local address but has relatives in the New Orleans Area. Subject was last observed in a white in color Nissan sedan with an unknown license plate."

Smith is no stranger to trouble with the law ... he's been arrested multiple times in the past few years -- though he had famously cleaned up his life and rejoined the NFL last season.

31-year-old Smith was a star for the Dallas Cowboys in 2020 ... recording five sacks and two fumble recoveries.

He just signed a one-year contract last week to play for the Seahawks in the 2021 season.

Story developing ...

Derek Chauvin's conviction was a stunning statement by a diverse jury that brutalizing a citizen will even get cops punished, but it's critical to know how close Chauvin came to getting away with it.

The way these cases have gone in the past ... the police department issues a statement, and if there's no citizen-generated video, it's often the end of it. In Chauvin's case, the initial police report -- written before any video surfaced -- made absolutely no mention of his conduct ... cutting off George Floyd's air supply for more than 9 minutes.

The Minneapolis PD issued a statement after Floyd's death on May 25, 2020, passing his death off as a "medical incident."

The day after Floyd's death, the PD put out a statement, saying police responded to a "forgery in progress" and advised the suspect "was sitting on top of a blue car and appeared to be under the influence."

The statement goes on ... "Two officers arrived and located the suspect, a male believed to be in his 40s, in his car.  He was ordered to step from his car. After he got out, he physically resisted officers. Officers were able to get the suspect into handcuffs and noted he appeared to be suffering medical distress. Officers called for an ambulance. He was transported to Hennepin County Medical Center by ambulance where he died a short time later." It went on to say "At no time were weapons of any type used by anyone involved in this incident."

The statement notes there was body cam video, but there was no mention of what it showed.

MPD eventually updated their release to call it a "critical incident" and to say that as more info became available, it'd been determined the FBI was going to get involved.

The case flew under the radar until Darnella Frazier posted video of what REALLY happened. There was a clear cover-up by cops who never said anything about Chauvin's knee, and we may never have known what really happened if it weren't for 17-year-old Darnella and her cellphone.

Remember ... Chauvin had issues with excessive force on the PD before he encountered George Floyd, yet he remained on the force and he might still be a cop if it weren't for Frazier's video.

This is Derek Chauvin ahead of his first night in jail as a convicted murderer ... he had his new mug shot taken Tuesday evening after he was led out of court in handcuffs.

Chauvin is being held in Minnesota Correctional Facility-Oak Park Heights. The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office checked him into the jail -- which he'll call home, until sentencing in about 8 weeks -- around 5 PM Tuesday, immediately after he was found guilty of murdering George Floyd.

We know Chauvin prepped to make at least one phone call after arriving at the jail -- TMZ broke the story, Chauvin scribbled the phone number for Eric Nelson, his defense attorney, on the palm of his left hand. The smudged pen marks were visible on his hand as the bailiff led him out of the courtroom.

Chauvin posed for his first mug when he was arrested for the murder of George Floyd in May 2020.

Swae Lee is finally hearing from his brother facing a first-degree murder charge in his father's death ... and TMZ has the first look at their phone call from jail, and it's powerful.

The rapper and his mother, Bernadette Walker, got super emotional as they dialed up her son, Michael Sullivan, as he sits in a Mississippi jail and asked about the night in January 2020 when Swae's stepfather -- who helped raise him -- was gunned down.

The emotional jail phone call is part of Swae's new docuseries on Snapchat, "Swae Meets World," which premiered last Saturday and features Swae talking about his stepfather's death on camera for the first time.

Michael, who suffers from a mental illness requiring medication, tells Swae what was going through his head the night his father, Floyd Sullivan Jr., died ... and it sounds pretty intense.

TMZ broke the story ... Swae and Slim Jxmmi's half-brother was arrested for murder the day after their stepfather was shot to death, and Michael's been charged with murder and is facing life in prison if convicted.