Crime & Arrests

2:23 PM PT -- Just hours after a judge in Texas agreed to drastically reduce Karmelo Anthony's bond amount, the 17-year-old is out of the local county jail.

A local reporter, Steven Dial of FOX 4 Dallas, captured the moment Anthony walked out of the facility ... where he's been since April 2.

Karmelo Anthony -- the teenager charged with the murder of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf -- had his bond drastically reduced during a court hearing Monday morning ... from $1,000,000 to $250,000.

Mike Howard, Anthony's new attorney, argued the $1 million bond was unnecessary ... as his client has no history of criminal activity.

"Give this young man a chance to get out of jail and be with his family," Howard said.

Taylor Lorenz is inserting herself into the Luigi Mangione case -- well, hypothetically -- 'cause she’s weighing in on what her verdict would be if she had a seat on that trial jury.

The ex-Washington Post columnist swung by "TMZ Live" Monday ... and we grilled her on which route she'd go on Luigi's fate -- guilty with the death penalty, guilty with prison time, or not guilty via jury nullification. Let’s just say, it wasn’t an easy call for the outspoken journo.

Check it out ... Taylor tells us she's firmly against the death penalty, so that one’s off the table -- but when it comes to the other two options, she’s torn ... because we haven't seen the potential evidence presented yet.

An alarming situation is playing out at UnitedHealthcare HQ in Minnesota -- cops say a man is in custody after reports of an intruder ... and we've learned the guy told law enforcement he had a gun, and now the FBI is involved.

Our sources tell us the man is currently being detained by authorities ... and the FBI and police are questioning him after finding a gun in his car. This comes months after Luigi Mangione allegedly shot former UHC CEO Brian Thompson to death in Manhattan.

Before being taken into custody, the guy was on the phone with law enforcement while sitting in his car ... he reportedly sounded agitated as he asked for a negotiator, admitted he had a pistol, demanded $1 million, and said he wouldn't be taken alive.

Diddy says the feds have him all wrong and he's just an innocent man ... because he's pleading not guilty to a couple new charges against him.

The Bad Boy Records founder appeared in court Monday in Manhattan for his arraignment on two new charges ... one for sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and another for transportation to engage in prostitution ... a couple things he says he definitely didn't do.

Feds tacked on the charges in a recent superseding indictment ... the third one we've seen so far in the Diddy case. Diddy showed up in court today with white hair and a short beard, and pled not guilty to the superseding indictment charges.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro's alleged arsonist had his mugshot publicly released Monday -- and the guy certainly appears glum.

The Dauphin County District Attorney's Office released the booking photo of Cody Balmer, who allegedly set fire to Shapiro's house while the governor, his wife, his kids and another family were inside as they celebrated Passover -- the Jewish holiday -- this past weekend. Luckily, the Shapiros and their guests made it out of the blaze alive and unscathed.

Check out the mug shot ... Balmer looks like he just lost his dog, with his droopy face and sullen eyes. Prosecutors just hit Balmer with a truckload of charges, including attempted murder, aggravated arson, burglary, reckless endangerment, terrorism and other offenses.

The man accused of setting Governor Josh Shapiro's Pennsylvania home on fire confessed to the shocking crime after ordering his ex-girlfriend to drop a dime on him to the police, according to new court records.

Cody Balmer was arrested Sunday by the Pennsylvania State Police after his former girlfriend allegedly told police Balmer admitted to setting fire to the governor's house and asked her to tell the authorities.

The docs say shortly thereafter Balmer surrendered at Pennsylvania State Police headquarters and gave a blow-by-blow account of the incident, telling officers he was "harboring hatred towards Governor Shapiro."

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office is apologizing to the Menendez family for not giving advanced warning that crime scene photos would be shown at a recent hearing ... but, they add the choice was made to show the full truth.

In a statement to TMZ ... the L.A. County D.A.'s Office tells us they apologize for the upsetting nature of the crime scene photos they showed -- adding it wasn't the office's intention to upset the members of the family.

However, we're told these hearings are "intended to be a place where the truth, no matter how painful, is brought to light" ... so, the photos needed to be shown in order to depict the brutality of the crime.

Governor Josh Shapiro and his family were evacuated from the Pennsylvania Governor's Residence after celebrating Passover when a man allegedly set fire to the building ... and, the suspected arsonist is now in custody.

Cody Balmer -- a 38-year-old man from Harrisburg, PA -- was arrested after cops say he hopped over a fence onto the property and forcibly entered the residence before setting it ablaze.

Photos of the fire damage show the inside of this part of the residence -- a large room meant for holding big gatherings -- burned badly ... with ashes covering the floor and tables while only a stack of plates in the center of one table seemed to have survived.

The Menendez family is blaming the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office for the hospitalization of Terry Baralt -- Erik and Lyle's aunt ... claiming the graphic crime scene photos they were shown did a number on her health.

In a press release from the Justice for Erik and Lyle Coalition -- a collective of family members fighting for the brothers' release -- the group confirmed our story that Baralt had been found unresponsive in her hotel room.

The coalition says the D.A.'s office didn't give the family a heads up that they would be presenting photos of the crime scene at Friday's resentencing hearing ... a violation of Marsy's Law, a law designed to protect the victims of crimes.

Lyle and Erik Menendez's aunt, Terry Baralt, has been rushed to the hospital after being found unresponsive in a Los Angeles hotel room ... TMZ has learned.

Our sources tell us Terry -- who is 85 and battling colon cancer -- has been exhausted, stressed and traumatized in the last year as the entire Menendez family works to get the two brothers released from prison.

It all came to a boiling point Friday when the Menendez brothers appeared in a Los Angeles courtroom for a resentencing hearing. During the tense hearing, the defense team went at it with prosecutors while the Menendez family looked on.

Rosie O’Donnell has revealed her friendship with an infamous convicted killer -- Lyle Menendez -- saying she feels "safe" to be vulnerable with him.

The actress, comedian, and former talk show host opened up about their close bond during a recent chat with the New York Times ... revealing she and Lyle -- who is serving life in prison without parole alongside his brother Erik Menendez for the first degree murder of their parents -- became pals in 2022 after his now-estranged wife reached out to her.

Rosie said she and Lyle began speaking on a "regular basis" via a tablet phone, and their friendship grew naturally.

A California man was arrested by cops over the weekend for threatening to bomb the Coachella Music & Arts Festival.

Davis Darvish, a 40-year-old man from Santa Monica, allegedly approached a security guard at a Southern California casino on Saturday and made the threat to bomb the popular music festival where hundreds of celebrities hang out and perform.

According to reports, cops caught up with Darvish about an hour after he made the initial threat and that's when the Cathedral City Police Department searched Darvish's car but thankfully no explosives, weapons, or bomb-making materials were found.

Diddy's trial begins in just a few weeks ... and, it seems some of his infamous "freak off" tapes may actually be shown to the jury -- if a new proposed questionnaire is any indication.

The rap mogul's lawyers submitted this questionnaire late Friday ... and, according to the Associated Press, it contains questions about potential jurors' willingness to watch sexually explicit videos or videos that depict physical assault.

Diddy's team also reportedly wants to know about jurors' views on people with multiple sexual partners.

Scott Shriner and the rest of Weezer are living embodiments of the axiom "the show must go on" ... 'cause they performed at Coachella mere days after Shriner's wife was arrested.

The beloved rock band hopped up to perform at the popular music festival in Indio Saturday ... and, they played some of the hits -- belting out songs like "My Name is Jonas" and "Hash Pipe."

Watch the clip ... Shriner looks focused on the music -- shredding alongside Rivers Cuomo onstage, a significant achievement given the difficult position his wife is in.

Erik and Lyle Menendez will get their day in court to seek a new sentence, and possibly win their freedom ... after an intense battle with L.A. County D.A. ended with the judge ruling in the brothers' favor.

The Menendez brothers appeared remotely in the L.A. County courtroom Friday where D.A. Nathan Hochman and his team of prosecutors presented their case to the judge for withdrawing the petition to resentence Erik and Lyle -- a petition that was filed by the previous D.A. George Gascon, and which the newly elected Hochman vehemently opposes.

The brothers -- wearing prison blues -- were seen on a video screen in court, and visibly reacted as prosecutors repeatedly stated that they had not changed since their conviction ... because they never admitted their claim they purchased guns in fear for their lives was a lie.

Luigi Mangione says Uncle Sam wants to kill him as a political stunt ... and his defense is calling on a judge to stop the feds from pursuing the death penalty if he's convicted.

In new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Luigi's attorneys claim the federal case against him is political, arbitrary, capricious and breaks from established death penalty protocol.

Luigi's defense also rips a social media post from Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Justice Department ... claiming the post makes it look like Luigi's already been found guilty.