Crime & Arrests

Bad news for Bryan Kohberger ... prosecutors in Idaho just got the green light to seek the death penalty if he's convicted of murder in his upcoming trial.

A judge ruled Thursday that capital punishment will be on the table if Kohberger is found guilty of murdering four University of Idaho students.

Kohberger's legal team was trying to have the death penalty ruled out ... citing his recent autism diagnosis ... but the judge ruled against him.

Jillian Lauren's leaning on her husband, Scott Shriner, during this difficult time -- quite literally -- in her first sighting since being arrested for the attempted murder of a cop, using her husband to help her traverse their driveway.

The Weezer bassist's wife was seen leaving their home in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of Los Angeles Wednesday afternoon ... holding tightly to his wrist with one hand while carrying a red leather travel bag on her right arm. No injuries are visible, but she may be needing the extra support due to a gunshot wound to her shoulder following her police encounter earlier this month.

The two are packing up the car ... unclear where they're going -- but, we doubt it's far given the charges facing Lauren.

Shocking moment in the Karen Read retrial ... with her defense team getting one of the prosecution's key witnesses to admit a major part of her testimony to the grand jury that indicted Read wasn't true at all.

The bombshell admission happened Wednesday in court, when Kerry Roberts was getting cross-examined by Read's legal team.

Roberts, a close friend of late Boston police officer John O'Keefe, admitted she did NOT hear Read ask Jennifer McCabe to search Google about hypothermia on the morning the three women found O'Keefe dead in the snow.

Robert Crimo III, the man who 'fessed up to a deadly 2022 mass shooting at a July 4 parade in Highland Park, Illinois, just got sentenced ... and a judge is locking him up and throwing away the key.

A judge in Illinois this morning sentenced Crimo to seven consecutive sentences of natural life in prison without the possibility of parole ... which is exactly what prosecutors were gunning for here.

The sentences come down on the heels of a couple emotional days in court ... with survivors and family members of those Crimo killed testifying about how their lives changed when he pulled the trigger.

Skai Jackson's baby daddy Deondre Burgin is back in the slammer -- after cops say he was arrested in Kentucky on an outstanding misdemeanor warrant from Ohio.

According to law enforcement, Burgin was picked up at a gas station on April 17 in Kentucky when a Taylor Mill police officer recognized him from the National Crime Information Center database. We're told he's currently locked up on a $25K bond.

Authorities in Hamilton County, Ohio, had an outstanding warrant out for his arrest for failing to display a license plate on his vehicle in March ... and then failing to show up for his court date.

12:36 PM PT -- KTLA reports Alejandro Acosta Oliveros has been released on bail.

A suspected serial cat-killer was busted in Southern California this week for animal cruelty after he was caught on video trying to grab a cat, cops say.

Footage shared by the Santa Ana Police Department on Wednesday allegedly shows 45-year-old Alejandro Acosta Oliveros scooping up a cat between two cars in Orange County -- and his arrest follows several reports of cats being abused and killed.

Cops say Oliveros was positively ID’d by multiple victims and witnesses, and he was charged after officers found evidence of the crimes at his Santa Ana home.

Billy McFarland's giving up the iconic FYRE Festival brand ... announcing he's decided to sell amid all the scrutiny surrounding the second version of the event.

The founder of FYRE Festival released a statement Wednesday ... letting fans know the last two years have been a commitment to finishing what he started and making things right following the absolute debacle that was the first FYRE Festival.

Billy points out FYRE Festival has dominated headlines for years ... grabbing the attention of news agencies, documentarians and many fans around the globe -- and, the event needs a team more experienced than him to get the second event over the finish line.

A juror in the 1996 Menendez brothers' murder trial says the shotgun-wielding brothers share the benefit of being famous and having white privilege ... as well as the support of one of the most recognizable faces in the world -- Kim Kardashian!

And this is why, the juror tells TMZ, Erik and Lyle Menendez could receive clemency and ultimately get released from a California prison ... after serving decades behind bars for shootings their parents, Jose and Kitty, to death in their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989.

The juror, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, tells TMZ ... freedom is certainly a possibility for the brothers given the fact that Erik and Lyle are "well-known, white-looking, or attractive," despite the fact that they are Latino.

A Florida man tried to buddy up with a sheriff's deputy during a high-speed chase ... allegedly offering him a vodka spritzer -- even though they were actually going after him!

The wild scene went down in Highlands County, FL this past weekend ... when deputies claim they chased 39-year-old Richard Christopher Smith of Miami -- sharing body cam video from their interaction.

The Highlands County Sheriff's Office footage from the chase ... kicking off with a guy driving a minivan showing an officer a can of what they claim is a can of Ketel One Vodka Spritz.

Michael Lohan may spend the rest of 2025 behind bars ... 'cause a judge ordered him to spend 9 months in jail for violating his probation when he was arrested back in February, TMZ has learned.

The father of Lindsay Lohan was in court Wednesday in Florida, where the judge hit him with jail time, but noted he'll receive a credit of 38 days for time served.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us ... Lohan pled guilty to violating his probation in connection with his February arrest in Texas on a "continuous violence against the family" felony assault charge for allegedly beating up Kate Lohan.

A Florida man ended up behind bars last weekend after he was busted for allegedly roughing up an 11-year-old girl who he thought pelted his home with eggs.

The crazy incident occurred Saturday afternoon at a Tampa, FL, apartment complex and was partly captured on dramatic video recorded by a witness.

Check it out ... the suspect, Marius Mutu, is seen pinning the girl to the ground outside the building as she screams and cries for help. The girl swears to god she didn't do anything wrong, but her words fall on deaf ears. Mutu won't let her go.

Jelly Roll is one step closer to getting his felon status dropped as he continues to distance himself from his troubled past.

The country singer -- who has been in the slammer more than three dozen times -- was endorsed for a pardon by the Tennessee Board of Parole on Tuesday following a 45-minute hearing.

He was present for the monumental meeting and seemed to be overjoyed after the vote was cast ... pictures show him hugging Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall. Hall shared the snaps on X, writing ... "A year ago, I wrote ⁦@GovBillLee asking for a full Pardon for Jason 'Jelly Roll' Deford…..today the Board unanimously recommended his Pardon. It’s now in the hands of our Governor."

Scott Peterson did not kill his wife and unborn child and was wrongfully convicted ... at least according to the Los Angeles Innocence Project, which claims it has new evidence that will exonerate him.

The L.A. Innocence Project filed a petition Friday with the Los Angeles Court of Appeals after investigating the Peterson case for over a year ... claiming he's innocent and his conviction should be overturned ... according to multiple reports.

As you know ... Scott's wife Laci Peterson was 8 months pregnant with Peterson's child when she disappeared on Christmas Eve 2002. Her body was found in the San Francisco Bay months later, and he became a prime suspect when it was revealed he was having an affair with his massage therapist.

Love knows no boundaries -- nor bars -- 'cause Joe Exotic's just tied the knot in prison with fellow inmate Jorge Marquez, who's serving time for immigration-related issues.

The "Tiger King" star spilled the beans on IG Tuesday, sharing a pic with his much-younger hubby, all suited up for the big day, with the caption, "Never been more proud of someone. Meet my husband, Jorge Flores Maldonado."

There were a few congrats, but Joe seemed to anticipate some haters, so he threw in a warning in the comments -- "You know the rules. Be nice or get the 👢👢."

Reps for Karmelo Anthony -- the high schooler accused of killing Austin Metcalf at a track meet earlier this month -- say he's been "forced to evacuate" his Texas home ... over repeated instances of harassment.

Next Generation Action Network -- which has been helping Anthony in his murder case since his April 2 arrest -- claimed Monday the 17-year-old is now in "an undisclosed location" after he and his family have been the targets of "death threats, continued harassment, and physical intimidation."

In announcing Anthony's move, NGAN officials shared some videos and pictures they say show some of the disturbances the family's had to deal with in the wake of the teen's arrest.

Kanye West is claiming he and a now-incarcerated male cousin sexually experimented with each other when they were kids -- an experience he's turned into a new song, believing it contributed to both of their dark paths.

Debuting a new grungy song called "COUSINS" on Monday, Ye sings about stumbling upon adult magazines as a kid, noting the mags he found in his late mother Donda's possession were of the homosexual variety.

Ye says he eventually showed the mags to his cousin and they reenacted the male-on-male kissing scenes ... leading Ye to eventually "suck his d!ck" until the age of 14.