Crime & Arrests

The family of Kaylee Goncalves is pissed over the plea deal offered to accused murderer Bryan Kohberger ... and they are taking shots at prosecutors.

The Goncalves family tells TMZ ... "The death penalty is merely an illusion in the criminal justice system. When available, it serves as a bargaining tool for the State, and when rarely applied, it’s never enforced due to a highly inefficient appellate process."

As we reported ... Kohberger will plead guilty to four counts of first-degree murder, but prosecutors will take the death penalty off the table and recommend life without the possibility of parole.

The family of Xana Kernodle is livid over the plea deal offered to accused murderer Bryan Kohberger ... and they told prosecutors they had better not dare go through with it.

Kim Kernodle, Xana’s aunt -- who was so furious she was in tears -- tells TMZ ... prosecutors floated the idea of a plea deal a few days ago and the family made it clear ... NO WAY.

When we spoke with Kim, she was on a conference call with prosecutors. She says prosecutors told her the defense approached prosecutors with a plea deal, and the prosecution went along to "spare the families" the pain of a trial. Kim says that's ridiculous, because at least 2 of the families -- hers and the Goncalves family -- wanted Kohberger to face a jury.

Wess Roley -- the man accused of setting a brush fire and launching a sniper-style ambush on firefighters in Idaho this weekend -- once had dreams of becoming a firefighter himself, according to investigators.

Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris revealed the 20-year-old's ambitions at the Monday press conference -- but says it's unclear if that had anything to do with Sunday's deadly incident.

Officials also revealed Roley died from what appears to be a self-inflicted shotgun wound. So far, no manifesto, no confirmed suicide note ... and no clear motive.

Bryan Kohberger may never face a jury for allegedly slaughtering 4 University of Idaho students ... he has just struck a plea deal to save his own life, and the family of one of the victims is furious.

Kohberger was charged with 4 counts of first-degree murder, and prosecutors were seeking the death penalty. Kohberger pled not guilty.

According to the deal, Kohberger will plead guilty, but prosecutors will no longer seek the death penalty. Instead, they will recommend life without the possibility of parole.

Hours after jury deliberations in Diddy's federal trial hit a bump when the jury foreperson sent a note about Juror No. 25 being unable to follow instructions ... a second communication from the jury room was sent to the judge.

Just around 4:50 PM ET Monday, Diddy was brought back into the courtroom by federal marshals ... Judge Arun Subramanian announced he'd received two new notes from the jury.

The first note sought clarification on the racketeering-related count -- "If an individual asks for a controlled substance and the person hands it over, it is distribution?" The defense and prosecution attorneys both told the judge they wanted to weigh in on this note.

Diddy's defense made a big deal in court about a scrapbook one of his former assistants -- who testified Diddy raped her -- says she made for his birthday ... and now we're seeing it for the first time.

The ex-assistant, who took the stand under the pseudonym "Mia," testified about making a scrapbook for Diddy's 45th trip around the sun ... Diddy's defense attorney Brian Steel showed it to jurors back in May, and it's now been entered into the public record as a defense exhibit.

The scrapbook features a glowing letter to Diddy ... with Mia writing at the end, "I love you forever and eva and eva."

Here's the verdict sheet jurors in Sean "Diddy" Combs' federal racketeering and sex trafficking trial were given as they deliberated his fate ... and you can see the charges laid out against him.

The first count is racketeering conspiracy ... and Judge Arun Subramanian told jurors that in order to convict Diddy here, they must find he agreed with at least one other member of the alleged Combs Enterprise to commit two predicate acts within 10 years of each other.

There are 8 qualifying crimes for the RICO charge ... kidnapping, arson, bribery, witness tampering, forced labor, sex trafficking, transportation for purposes of prostitution, and drug distribution.

There's already a dramatic development as the jury began deliberating in Diddy's federal criminal trial in NYC ... a note was sent by the jury to the judge in the courtroom within about an hour of when deliberations began.

Judge Arun Subramanian announced at about 1:15 PM ET ... "We have received a note from the jury." He said the note from the jury foreperson reads, "We have a juror, Juror 25, who we believe cannot follow your honor's instructions," and the foreperson wanted to meet with the judge about it.

Diddy and his lawyers were huddled in the courtroom at this announcement.

The man accused of sparking a forest fire and then ambushing firefighters in a calculated sniper-style attack in Idaho has been identified as 20-year-old Wess Roley, TMZ can confirm.

A law enforcement source tells TMZ Roley's body was not taken to the Kootenai County Coroner’s Office in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, because they don’t actually hold bodies. Instead, his remains were transferred to the Spokane, Washington Medical Examiner’s Office, which handles cases from Kootenai County just across the state border.

Since his ID, a haunting photo has surfaced -- showing Roley staring straight into the camera with a chilling, almost sinister glare.

Chris Brown's putting one part of his legal battle over an alleged nightclub fight behind him -- as he seems to have reached a settlement with the guy who sued him over it.

Abe Diaw sued Chris back in 2023, claiming the singer struck him with a tequila bottle during an appearance at TAPE nightclub in London -- but on Friday, Abe filed docs asking an L.A. County judge to dismiss the suit.

According to the docs, Diaw wants it dismissed with prejudice ... meaning he can't refile it, and that typically means there was a settlement between the parties. We don't know if there was any money exchanged ... we've reached out to attorneys for Chris and Abe.

Jurors in the federal criminal trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs in NYC are now deliberating after receiving instructions from Judge Arun Subramanian for more than an hour Monday morning.

After the jury of eight men and four women was seated, Subramanian went through each of the charges as the gallery looked on ... telling jurors "Actions may speak louder than words."

The judge told jurors they should decide for themselves how credible they found each witness ... "The evidence is the testimony," he said while reminding the jurors to take note of the acts of everyone they considered to be participants in the events presented.

Julie and Todd Chrisley are opening up about the pain, perspective, and personal growth that came with prison -- and the pardon that set them free.

In a new interview with ABC News, the former reality TV stars sat down to reflect on their prison experience and the emotional toll of being separated and eventually reunited following more than a year behind bars.

"I was angry at God," Todd admitted when asked about his first night in federal prison. "And when I went to bed that night and the lights went out, I cried myself to sleep and I said, 'God, why are you allowing this?'"

Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz all paid their respects at the funeral for Melissa Hortman -- the Democratic lawmaker shot and killed earlier this month -- and her husband Mark.

The former president, his VP and the governor of Minnesota sat in the front row of the proceedings held at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis Saturday and were pictured standing together solemnly.

Biden walked through the rotunda of the building during the day ... and crossed himself in a religious gesture himself when he stopped before the caskets. He stood quietly for a time, then kneeled, crossed himself again and moved on.

A busy street in Fresno, California, turned into a shooting gallery after police opened fire at a suspect who had allegedly attacked his ex-girlfriend and chased her in his car.

The Fresno PD released on Friday bodycam footage and surveillance video that captured the entire May 7 incident, which ended with Martin Campos in handcuffs without so much as a scratch following the hail of police gunfire.

According to cops ... Campos kicked things off that day with a broad daylight attack on his ex as she was in her car with her daughter in a shopping center parking lot.

It's the final countdown ... closing arguments in the Diddy criminal trial are now in the books after an explosive day in court ... with the defense taking aim at Cassie and Jane, and prosecutors getting the last word.

Diddy's defense attorney Marc Agnifilo put on a big show handling the defense's closing argument all by himself ... getting dramatic and theatrical as he paced before the jury and explained why he feels the charges against his client are bogus.

With Diddy's family watching from the gallery, Agnifilo told jurors Diddy was a victim of the government's bedroom policing ... and he warned us all, we could be the next targets if the feds don't like the way we have sex ... as he says was the case with Diddy.

Federal prosecutors went to their closer Friday as they got the last word in the Diddy criminal trial ... and their star lawyer tried to pick apart an animated closing argument from Diddy's defense.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey, who is known for her closing arguments, handled the government's rebuttal to Marc Agnifilo's impassioned defense of Diddy.

Comey tried to poke holes in Agnifilo's arguments ... a reversal of roles in this trial, as Diddy's army of lawyers spent the past 7 weeks poking holes in the prosecution's 34 witnesses.