Crime & Arrests

Bryan Kohberger's defense has to go back to the drawing board ... after the judge in his criminal case denied his legal team's efforts to point the finger at four other suspects.

Kohberger is gearing up for a trial this summer after being accused of murdering four University of Idaho students ... and he was planning to argue someone else was the real murderer.

But in legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the judge blocked Kohberger's defense team from presenting evidence to the jury alleging someone other than Kohberger could be the true killer, blasting their evidence as "wild speculation" and "entirely irrelevant."

Donald Trump may have opened Pandora's box with his pardon of Todd and Julie Chrisley ... 'cause now yet another reality star is coming out of the woodwork begging the prez for a favor.

Joe Giudice took to Instagram Thursday to straight-up beg President Trump for a pardon so he can return to the U.S. to visit his kids -- more than a decade after he was deported.

Giudice writes, "I was raised in Jersey, I’m a father of four amazing daughters, and I just want to be allowed to visit them again. President Trump, I respect you and I’m asking for a second chance."

Prosecutors in Diddy's criminal trial are telling jurors the Mann Act charges against Diddy are a slam dunk ... the feds say it's painfully obvious Diddy is guilty of interstate transportation for prostitution.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik is taking the reins on the government's closing argument and she told jurors Thursday the prostitution counts are super simple.

Slavik told jurors the charge does not require force, fraud, coercion, or even consent to find Diddy guilty ... she says Diddy committed a crime if the jury finds he transported people across state lines for the purpose of having sex at freak-offs.

Prosecutors in Diddy's criminal trial are telling jurors how they can find him guilty of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion ... the feds say one strike and Diddy's out.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik is handling the government's closing argument ... and on Thursday, she told jurors if there's a single freak-off jurors find was the result of force, threats of force, fraud, or coercion by Diddy ... then they should find him guilty of sex trafficking.

Slavik told the jury the feds aren't arguing all of the freak-offs Diddy had over the years with ex-girlfriends Cassie Ventura and "Jane" were examples of sex trafficking ... but she says if jurors find one instance of force, fraud or coercion, Diddy's cooked.

Federal prosecutors are presenting their closing argument in the Diddy criminal trial ... and they're telling the jury it won't take much to find Diddy guilty of racketeering conspiracy.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik told jurors in court Thursday … to convict on the RICO charge, they only need to find Diddy agreed he or another member of his organization would commit at least two criminal acts under that charge.

Those acts, prosecutors say, include drug distribution, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and sex trafficking of Cassie Ventura and "Jane."

3:14 PM PT -- Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu just commented on his arrest, releasing a video statement on the matter.

12:48 PM PT -- TMZ Sports has obtained Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu's mug shot.

The man accused of interrupting Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl halftime show by unfurling Palestinian and Sudanese flags during the big performance has been arrested for the stunt.

Louisiana State Police announced on Thursday, 41-year-old Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu has turned himself in to authorities on charges of resisting an officer and disturbing the peace by interruption of a lawful assembly ... after he allegedly disrupted Lamar's Feb. 9 concert at the Superdome in New Orleans.

The LSP claims Nantambu was the one who waved a flag with the message "Sudan and Free Gaza" on it as K. Dot was crooning "tv off" during the break in the Chiefs vs. Eagles championship tilt.

A member of the "Grandpa Robbers" gang, who was just convicted in the multimillion-dollar heist of Kim Kardashian's jewels in Paris, has reportedly died.

Didier Dubreucq's reported death comes as he'd been battling lung cancer -- and just a month after he was sentenced to 7 years in prison -- with 5 suspended -- in connection with the 2016 case.

The convicted criminal was hospitalized during the armed robbery trial as he received treatment for his cancer. He was not in court as his guilty verdict was announced on May 23.

The Seattle man accused of being involved in the bombing of a fertility clinic in Palm Springs last month was found dead in the Los Angeles federal prison Tuesday ... and now we have a better idea how he died.

Federal sources tell TMZ ... Daniel Park -- who was being housed in the Metropolitan Detention Center downtown -- stepped up on a table on an upper tier of the facility and jumped ... plummeting to the ground floor.

Prison staff attempted life-saving measures ... but authorities said the 32-year-old was declared dead at the hospital later that day. It's unclear how many stories he fell.

Diddy's federal criminal trial is entering the final stages, and now we have a sense of how closing arguments will play out ... or at least the schedule and timeline are taking shape.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys were in court Wednesday while jurors were not present, and they hashed out a schedule for closing arguments ... with prosecutors going for 4 hours starting Thursday morning, and the defense making their case the following day.

It was a pretty boring day inside the courtroom, with Diddy keeping a singular AirPod in his ear for much of the proceedings and mostly looking down at his lap. Two of Diddy's sons, Quincy and Justin, were in court too, and they were fighting to stay awake, as was much of the gallery.

Joe Rogan talked with cops after Liver King challenged him to a fight via social media ... and Joe told police the fitness influencer appeared to be "significantly unstable."

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, cops in Austin, Texas say the former "Fear Factor" host told them he interpreted Liver King's string of social media rants as threatening ... which is why cops were called and eventually led to LK being arrested on a charge of making a terroristic threat.

Police say Joe told them he'd never had any sort of contact with Liver King -- real name Brian Johnson -- and was unaware why he'd "be targeting him" ... and cops say Rogan went on to tell them he'd been told Liver King "has a significant drug issue."

The man accused of killing "King of the Hill" voice actor Jonathan Joss is claiming self-defense -- according to his lawyer.

Attorney Nico LaHood says Sigfredo Ceja Alvarez -- known as "Freddy" to friends and family -- is pleading not guilty, and insists he's innocent, adding ... "It’s difficult for anyone who's been accused of something they didn’t do, especially murder."

Alvarez was arrested earlier this month after allegedly shooting and killing his neighbor, Joss, during a heated argument in San Antonio, Texas, according to cops. The late actor’s husband, Tristan Kern de Gonzales, immediately dubbed it a hate crime -- claiming homophobic slurs were hurled by Alvarez before the fatal shot.

Pacman Jones went off on cops during his public intoxication arrest earlier this month -- unleashing a verbal tirade on them before throwing elbows at one ... and his wild behavior was all captured on police video that TMZ Sports has just obtained.

Cops initially stopped the former NFL star in Covington, Ky. on June 7 to question him about a dispute at a nearby bar ... and almost immediately, Jones became combative.

You can see in the body camera footage, he raised his voice and attempted to walk away ... but he was able to briefly calm down to explain his side of the situation to officers.

“Love Island” contestant Cashel Barnett has been held in a Utah jail since last month, facing charges of allegedly brutally assaulting his ex-girlfriend in front of their child ... and now he's facing even more felonies for allegedly sexually assaulting the same victim.

According to court docs obtained by TMZ … Utah prosecutors leveled three new charges against the reality star on Tuesday -- including aggravated sexual assault, aggravated assault, and domestic violence in the presence of a child.

Per the docs ... Cashel slapped and choked his ex-girlfriend while sexually assaulting her last November. This after he allegedly withheld any physical contact for a month because the alleged victim asked him to get a job to help support their child.

Rapper Silentó began his 30-year prison sentence this week with an unrecognizable appearance, sporting a completely shaved head.

The 27-year-old rapper -- born Ricky Lamar Hawk and best known for his multi-platinum single "Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)" -- was processed into the Georgia Department of Corrections this week for his role in the 2021 shooting death of Frederick Rooks III, his cousin.

Silentó's expression is emotionless in the mug shot, and his T-shirt appears oversized and hanging off his neck.

In a stunning move, the day before closing arguments in Diddy's federal criminal trial in NYC, prosecutors have pulled back on some key testimony during the trial -- specifically attempted kidnapping, attempted arson, and aiding and abetting sex trafficking.

Prosecutors said in a letter to Judge Arun Subramanian, the Government is following His Honor's instructions to "streamline" the jury instructions.

Prosecutors are still arguing Diddy allegedly kidnapped former employee Capricorn Clark (who was taken to a building and given a lie detector test to determine if she stole Diddy's jewelry), and Cassie (when she was allegedly held at the London Hotel) -- but, they're simply suggesting the "attempted kidnapping" language be removed from the instructions to the jury.

7:42 AM PT -- Liver King was arrested Tuesday evening by the Austin Police Department on a charge of making a terroristic threat over his recent social media threats against Joe Rogan, TMZ can confirm.

Law enforcement tells TMZ they obtained an arrest warrant after they contacted the former "Fear Factor" host ... who said he's "never had any interaction with Johnson and considered the posts to be threatening."

Officers detained him without incident at the Four Seasons Hotel at approximately 6 PM ... and he was then transported to the Travis County Jail and charged with the Class B misdemeanor.

The investigation remains open.

Liver King was arrested Tuesday evening in Austin, Texas ... shortly after posting a string of unsettling videos, including one where he challenged Joe Rogan to a fight.