Crime & Arrests

The Minnesota lawmaker and his wife -- who survived being shot by a masked man dressed as a cop who allegedly targeted them -- have spoken out about the suspected politically motivated attack ... and the details of the scenario are harrowing.

In a statement released to media ... State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette said they are continuing to recover after both were struck with a combined 17 bullets when the cop-impersonator opened fire at the front door of their house last weekend.

The state senator was shot nine times ... and he remains in critical but stable condition. Yvette, shot eight times, was released from the hospital Thursday.

Sean "Diddy" Combs' ex-assistant Brendan Paul says he didn't see any force or coercion from his former boss when it came to "freak-offs" with "Jane" ... and he says he was absolutely not a drug mule.

Brendan, a former Syracuse University basketball player and aspiring music producer, took the stand Friday in Diddy's criminal trial in NYC and told jurors about his 18 months working as an assistant to the music mogul.

During cross-examination from Diddy's defense attorney Brian Steel, Brendan testified he would often talk to Diddy's former girlfriend "Jane" before and after freak-offs ... and he said she did not come across as hesitant or apprehensive, and he says there was nothing from her indicating she was not a willing participant.

Brendan Paul, Diddy's alleged "drug mule" -- who's been given immunity by Judge Arun Subramanian to testify in the music mogul's federal trial after confirming to the judge he's received a subpoena and intends to invoke the 5th Amendment -- took the stand in the federal trial Friday ... and the testimony is expected to revolve around drugs, TMZ has learned.

Remember ... Diddy's former assistant was arrested in March 2024 at the Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport when authorities allegedly found cocaine and marijuana candy in his bag. The arrest occurred at the same time federal law enforcement raided Diddy's properties in L.A. and Florida.

The charges against Paul were dropped after he completed a pretrial diversion program ... and, now he's testifying at his former boss' trial.

Chris Brown was back in court Friday morning to answer a charge related to his alleged 2023 bottle-throwing incident at a London club.

The rapper showed up at Southwark Crown Court in the British capital and was greeted by a sea of fans and photographers outside.

Sporting a blue suit and black tie, Chris was all business as he stepped out of his SUV and walked inside the courthouse without uttering a word.

Law enforcement in Washington state says Travis Decker is likely still alive and hasn't taken his own life while on the run like Brian Laundrie, but the trail has gone cold ... and there's no info about an imminent threat to the public.

Chelan County's Sheriff Mike Morrison tells TMZ ... they still believe Decker is alive since there are still tips coming in regarding potential sightings.

We're told the tips have not panned out yet, but Sheriff Morrison is thankful for all the civilians who call in, as well as all the extra law enforcement personnel who are still vigorously trying to locate Decker while juggling their duties to their own territories.

Forget reasonable doubt, one of the jurors who voted to acquit Karen Read of a murder charge in her retrial says he felt she's completely innocent.

Juror No. 4, a man named Jason, joined us on "TMZ Live" Thursday and we asked him what the feeling was like on the jury ... did they vote not guilty because of reasonable doubt, or due to a belief she was innocent?

Jason tells us he doesn't think Karen even hit her then-boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe, with her car ... as prosecutors claimed. He pointed out that jurors were shown video where Karen's taillight was working just fine after the alleged collision.

A day after Karen Read was acquitted of the murder of her Boston cop boyfriend in a Massachusetts retrial, Read's attorney Alan Jackson is revealing he had significant doubt about his client receiving fair treatment under the law ... but he's doubling down that he had no doubt she was innocent.

Jackson went on Howie Carr's podcast Thursday and admitted he was nervous before yesterday's verdict was read ... but he says he doesn't think he'll ever run into another lawyer in his lifetime who's ever won back-to-back murder acquittals!

ICYMI, the murder retrial of Karen Read -- a former finance professor accused of killing her boyfriend, John O'Keefe, in 2022 -- ended with the jury finding Read not guilty of charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence, and leaving the scene of an accident causing injury or death.

The Diddy trial went dark Thursday to observe the Juneteenth holiday ... but prosecutors were working overtime, releasing new exhibits showing a cache of weapons and ammo, as well as drugs -- and, of course, baby oil!

Federal prosecutors released the trove of photos that appear to paint a much fuller picture of what federal agents confiscated inside Diddy's Los Angeles mansion during the March 2024 raid.

Homeland Security Investigations agents snapped the images as they recovered pistols, long guns and rifles from inside the security office, as well as bullets, body-armor-piercing ammo and a high-volume ammunition magazine.

Florida’s Attorney General James Uthmeier just cooked up the wildest plan yet -- turning the gator-infested Everglades into an immigration detention center for Trump’s mass deportation mission.

In a video posted to X on Thursday, Uthmeier chomped into his bold plan -- building a holding center right in gator territory, proudly calling it "Alligator Alcatraz." His pitch? Who needs barbed wire when you’ve got built-in bite patrol from Florida’s finest reptiles? Y'know, a bit like the sharks circling Alcatraz!

The 39-square-mile site -- a remote, dormant airport facility called the Miami-Dade Collier County Training Facility, about an hour due west of downtown Miami -- offered to the Trump administration comes with its own landing strip for flying in undocumented immigrants and, according to Uthmeier, could cage up to 1,000 people in just 30 to 60 days once construction begins.

11 AM PT -- We just found out what Karen Read and her crew ordered at her celebratory steak dinner last night -- and it was a serious feast.

A staffer at Mastro’s Ocean Club tells TMZ the group dug into multiple seafood towers, a spread of sliced steaks -- including bone-in ribeyes and bone-in filets -- and wrapped things up with butter cake, chocolate cake, and key lime pie.

Another source tells us the 3-hour-long dinner featured lobster, mashed potatoes, and asparagus ... with each guest ordering their own alcoholic drinks

Now that’s an order!

Karen Read celebrated her huge victory in court Wednesday at one of the finest steakhouses in Massachusetts ... she was as happy as a clam -- and so was her dad!

Read showed up last night at Mastro's Ocean Club in the Boston seaport to gnaw on a big juicy steak and other yummy delicacies following her acquittal in her retrial for the 2022 murder of her police officer boyfriend, John O'Keefe, and two other charges, including motor vehicle manslaughter. But, Read was found guilty on a lesser charge of driving under the influence and handed a sentence of a year on probation.

As Read, her dad and her lawyers arrived at the restaurant, a bunch of journalists gathered outside and began hurling questions at Karen. One of the reporters asked how she was feeling ... and Read cracked a big smile, saying, "Happy. I'm happy, thank you."

Diddy's defense played jurors an audio recording of Cassie confronting a man who she says had told her he'd been shown a video of her doing a "freak-off" ... and now we're finally getting to hear what was played for the jury.

In a batch of freshly released Diddy defense exhibits, there's an audio file that Diddy’s defense team says features Cassie making death threats to a man she calls Sugit.

The recording was played in court over a month ago during Cassie's testimony but it's only now being made public.

R. Kelly is scared out of his mind and desperately begging to be let out of prison, according to members of his legal team -- who say the singer broke down in tears during a recent phone call, as he fears for his life, and his health spirals behind bars ... TMZ has learned.

Nicole Blank Becker, one of Kelly’s attorneys, tells TMZ ... the 57-year-old is petrified to find himself back in prison after he was released from the hospital, and he's fretting about his health and safety. Kelly is currently locked up in the Special Housing Unit in a North Carolina prison.

"He’s emotional, and he cried intermittently on the phone call" on Monday, Becker tells us, adding, "Again, out of fear for his life."

R. Kelly is claiming he's marked for death after an overdose that left him hospitalized this week ... but one of his alleged victims is calling BS on what she sees as a ploy to get sprung from the can.

Here's the deal ... the disgraced music mogul is asking for temporary release to home confinement -- for the third time -- after alleging Bureau of Prisons staff at his federal center in North Carolina purposefully gave him too much medication.

Lisa VanAllen, an accuser who was a witness in Kelly’s 2008 child pornography trial and 2002 federal trial, tells TMZ ... she doesn't buy for a moment there's a grand plot to kill the convicted human trafficker -- 'cause he's not even important anymore!

Shedeur Sanders was busted for allegedly driving over 100 miles per hour on the highway early Tuesday morning ... this according to court records.

The 23-year-old fifth-round pick and his girlfriend were pulled over in separate cars around 12:24 AM ... when cops stated he was driving 41 miles over the posted speed limit.

The quarterback was issued a citation ... and will be able to plead his case in front of a judge on July 3 -- or just pay a $250 fine and move on with his life.

Antonio Brown is still clearly not stressing over the warrant that was just recently issued for his arrest ... he was seen on a livestream on Wednesday smoking, joking and gambling.

The former NFL wideout popped up on Kick in an effort to promote a crypto casino platform ... and in video from his time in front of the camera, you can see he was in great spirits despite the felony attempted murder charge he's now facing in Florida.

Brown lit up an unknown substance, took several puffs of it ... and gambled on screen.

Karen Read's acquittal turned the outside of the courthouse into pandemonium ... with her assembled supporters exploding into cheers -- and, Read herself even said a few words.

The Massachusetts woman -- who was just acquitted on second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence, and leaving the scene of an accident causing injury or death -- walked out of the courthouse in Dedham, MA, with her lawyers and father to meet a crowd of chanting, cheering fans screaming for her.

Read started off by thanking her legal team for keeping her afloat over the last couple years during both of her trials.