Crime & Arrests

9:56 AM PT -- TMZ Sports has learned Raja Jackson pled not guilty to the charges during his hearing on Monday. He's now due back in court in November.

Raja Jackson entered a Los Angeles court on Thursday to face criminal charges related to his attack on Syko Stu ... and he made it clear on his way in, he's not ready to comment on the matter publicly.

TMZ Sports shot Quinton "Rampage" Jackson's son as he walked into the San Fernando Courthouse ... and despite being peppered with questions about his case, Raja remained mum.

Wearing a black shirt, black pants and black tie ... Raja stared ahead as he strolled into the building flanked by men who appeared to be his lawyers.

Derrick Groves has had a troubled past, which has included a double-murder conviction, hard time, and an escape from jail.

The inmate was charged with serious crimes years ago -- and he's finally been taken back into custody after spending several months on the lam.

We're going to take a look into his background and see what led up to his eventual capture.

Groves got in trouble with the law back in 2014, when he was charged with attempted second-degree murder in Louisiana. He wound up beating the case, according to CNN.

Groves was later convicted in 2019 for killing two people with an AK-47-style assault rifle at a Mardi Gras Day party a year earlier. That case was later retried on a procedural technicality ... Groves was then found guilty again, on two charges of second-degree murder and two charges of attempted second-degree murder, in 2024. He was sentenced to life in prison.

Before the 2024 verdict was delivered, Groves was charged with battery of a correctional facility employee in April that year, and he eventually pleaded guilty to the charge.

Groves broke out of the Orleans Justice Center alongside nine other men in the early hours of May 16, according to NBC News.

Groves and the other escapees are accused of removing a toilet from a wall and crawling through a hole, scaling a fence and running across an interstate highway.

Various messages -- including taunts reading "To easy LOL" and "We Innocent" -- were written next to the escape hole.

Most of the escapees were apprehended within the month ... another was arrested in June. Several people have been accused of aiding the inmates' breakout.

Groves was eventually caught at a residence in Atlanta, Georgia, in October 2025. The capture was coordinated by several law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service, according to ABC News.

Several tips were sent to Crimestoppers, and the Atlanta Police Department sent out a SWAT team to apprehend him.

Gas canisters were reportedly deployed, and Groves entered a crawl space in the house, where he was found by authorities.

The Palisades Fire devastated a huge swath of Los Angeles when it broke out in January 2025, and its effects are still being felt in the region.

Authorities announced the arrest of a suspect named Jonathan Rinderknecht on Wednesday, accused of starting the deadly inferno.

We're going to take a look into the background of the accused individual and see what's been alleged about his actions before the fire started -- and after it took place.

A 19-year-old man in Staten Island, New York was hospitalized after he allegedly decapitated his mother's boyfriend, which kept him out of court.

Damien Hurstel is accused of bludgeoning to death his mother's boyfriend, then severing the dead man's head at home on Monday, according to the New York Post.

Sources alleged Hurstel was planning to get rid of the body by cutting it up and pounding it out with a hammer before liquefying the remains in a blender, starting with his brain, the Post reports. The victim's head was found in a bathtub with a spoon sticking out of an eye socket.

Hurstel's 16-year-old sister reportedly came home to the grisly scene, and called the siblings' mother ... the woman apparently had an emotional reaction to the discovery in the street in front of her family's home, according to The Independent.

Hurstel since been hit with several charges, including second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon. He reportedly has a history with mental health issues, including schizophrenia.

Hurstel was heading to court on Tuesday when he reportedly suffered a seizure, and the appearance was delayed until Wednesday, when he appeared in front of a judge by video ... he was placed on suicide watch.

Huge update in the investigation into the devastating Palisades Fire in California ... the feds say they've arrested a suspect who they say ignited the inferno.

Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli just announced the arrest of a 29-year-old man named Jonathan Rinderknecht ... charging him with maliciously starting what became January's Palisades Fire.

Essayli says the criminal complaint alleges Rinderknecht started a fire in the Pacific Palisades on New Year's Day ... which morphed into the devastating wildfire that killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of homes and businesses.

11:09 AM PT -- Court documents, obtained by TMZ Sports, show Julian Fleming is facing nine total charges ... including one count of homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence, one count of homicide by vehicle and one count of aggravated assault by vehicle while driving under the influence.

Additionally, the docs note Fleming allegedly had a BAC of .118 shortly after the crash.

9:54 AM PT -- Julian Fleming's attorney, David Bahuriak, tells TMZ Sports ... one of the charges his client is facing is homicide by vehicle -- and he's convinced the prosecution's filing is "wrong."

"In my view," the lawyer said, "the prosecution here took a tragic and unavoidable accident and turned it into a crime when the facts don't support that. The facts don't support criminal homicide."

Bahuriak added Fleming "lost the love of his life" during the crash ... and "this prosecution does nothing to advance the interests of anyone."

Former Penn State wide receiver Julian Fleming is facing multiple criminal charges related to the tragic ATV accident that killed his girlfriend earlier this year.

Raja Jackson has been hit with multiple criminal charges -- including one felony -- over his violent attack on Syko Stu earlier this summer.

Court records TMZ Sports has obtained show Quinton "Rampage" Jackson's son was formally charged in Los Angeles County on Tuesday with one felony count of battery with great bodily injury and one misdemeanor count of battery on a person.

Raja -- who's facing up to seven years behind bars if convicted on the felony count and six additional months if convicted on the misdemeanor -- is due in court for arraignment later this week.

The knife Perry Tole claims he needed to protect himself from Mark Sanchez might actually have been in violation of a strict policy with his employer ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Restaurant Technologies -- the delivery company the 69-year-old was working for at the time of the alleged attack -- told us, like many companies, its rulebook "includes language restricting the possession of weapons while performing work duties or on company property."

Speaking to police, Tole stated he pulled out a knife on the former New York Jets quarterback after pepper spray wasn't effective -- stabbing him multiple times in the upper torso.

David "Heavy D" Sparks -- one of the two stars of "The Diesel Brothers" -- has been arrested following a bench warrant that was issued October 2 ... TMZ has learned.

This all stems from a failure to pay fees owed in connection with a Clean Air Act lawsuit from a plaintiff listed as Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment.

The 40-year-old Sparks reportedly owes $843,602.23 in costs that they've allegedly failed to pay back in the course of over three years.

Word of the Mark Sanchez stabbing has made it all the way to the Oval Office ... with President Donald Trump sharing his two cents on the former NFL quarterback's arrest.

No. 45-47 addressed the wild story during his appearance on Greg Kelly Reports on Monday ... and while he claimed to not know all the details, he's certain "something bad happened."

"That was too bad," Trump said. "He's a nice guy, I don't know what happened. Something bad happened. Something a little crazy happened."

The alleged victim in the Mark Sanchez stabbing incident has been released from the hospital, the 69-year-old's lawyers tell TMZ Sports ... but with serious injuries that make it hard to even talk, he's got a long road to recovery.

We spoke with attorneys Erik May and Eddie Reichert on Monday -- the men representing Perry Tole -- who was severely wounded after an altercation with the former NFL QB early Saturday morning in downtown Indianapolis.

"He's released from the hospital, recovering, and hopeful that he'll regain function to, you know, his ability to speak," May said.

Mark Sanchez's family is breaking its silence for the first time since Saturday morning's stabbing incident ... saying the former star quarterback continues to receive medical care, while also thanking fans for their support.

"This has been a deeply distressing time for everyone involved. Mark and our family are incredibly grateful for the concern, love, and support we’ve received over the past few days," Mark's brother, Nick, said in a statement to TMZ Sports.

"Mark remains under medical care for the serious injuries he sustained and is focused on his recovery as the legal process continues. We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the first responders and medical staff."

Intense police body camera footage shows the moment cops in Michigan took out the gunman who shot up a Mormon church ... and there's a hail of bullets.

The Grand Blanc Township Police Department just released the dramatic footage, and you hear cops shouting at the gunman to drop his weapon.

Officers are heard yelling "shoot him," "get on the ground," and "drop the gun now" before gunshots ring out. Cops armed with assault rifles were making their way through the church parking lot when they neutralized the shooter.

Mark Sanchez appeared to be in a world of pain after Saturday's stabbing incident in Indianapolis ... with new surveillance footage showing the bloodied former quarterback holding his torso and struggling to walk right after his altercation with a delivery truck driver.

The 38-year-old ex-New York Jets star was captured on video around 12:30 AM ... right after his violent confrontation that resulted in his hospitalization with multiple stab wounds.

In the clip, obtained by the NY Post, Sanchez turns a corner to make his way down a sidewalk ... and it's clear he was struggling.

8:06 AM PT -- Maxwell's attorney David Markus tells TMZ ... “We’re, of course, deeply disappointed that the Supreme Court declined to hear Ghislaine Maxwell’s case. But this fight isn’t over. Serious legal and factual issues remain, and we will continue to pursue every avenue available to ensure that justice is done.”

Ghislaine Maxwell just hit a legal brick wall ... the U.S. Supreme Court flat-out rejected her bid Monday to overturn her conviction for conspiring to sexually abuse minors.

The Supreme Court wasted no time on its first day back with the decision -- killing any shot at a retrial for Maxwell -- who was convicted back in 2021 ... all while the Trump administration continues to catch heat for keeping the Epstein Files still under wraps.

The justices didn’t explain why they turned away the appeal.

Kathryn Dennis will have to do some jail time in connection to her DUI arrest last year ... 'cause a judge sentenced her to serve 30 days.

According to online booking records, Dennis was taken into custody aropund 7 PM ET on Friday night in Berkeley County, South Carolina to begin her 30-day incarceration.

We broke the story ... Dennis was arrested last year after cops said she got into a three-car collision in Goose Creek, South Carolina.