Crime & Arrests

At a Friday press conference in Tampa, Florida, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the arrest of a California man who allegedly threatened conservative commentator Benny Johnson's life.

George Isbell Jr. was reportedly arrested in San Diego Tuesday this week and was charged with mailing a threatening communication, according to Fox News.

Isbell, 69, allegedly mailed a letter to Johnson sometime around September 18. Bondi said ... "The author of this letter made it very clear that he hated Benny because of his views, and he wanted Benny dead."

Isbell allegedly made other violent statements and referenced the death of Charlie Kirk, who was killed just a few days before letter was sent, authorities said.

Johnson contacted the Tampa Police Department after receiving the letter, and the FBI helped out with the subsequent investigation.

U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida Gregory Kehoe said fingerprints found on the letter implicated Isbell, Fox News reports. Isbell could face up to five years in prison if he's convicted.

Mark Sanchez spent about 20 minutes roaming and, at times, stumbling around downtown Indianapolis before the violent encounter with his alleged victim ... and this new video shows nearly all of his activity.

TMZ Sports obtained surveillance videos tracking the ex-NFL star -- from 12:05 AM, when the alleged victim, Perry Tole, pulled up in his service truck ... to 12:30 AM, when Sanchez fled the scene, bloodied from stab wounds.

When Tole arrives, you see him drive south down the alley ... where, apparently, Sanchez was already on the move. When Tole parks, he's out of camera view, so we don't know if they see each other, but 7 minutes later, Sanchez walks north out of the alley ... stumbling a bit.

Sean "Diddy" Combs had to break some tough news to his 2-year-old daughter after a judge sentenced him to 50 months in federal prison ... and he got emotional when he had to tell her that daddy wasn't coming home as soon as his family had hoped.

Sources close to the situation tell TMZ ... Diddy was talking to the mother of his youngest child, Dana Tran, on the phone after sentencing and she put their toddler daughter, Love, on the phone, and the kid asked her father when she could see him and where he was.

Diddy was at MDC Brooklyn ... and we're told he choked up when Love told him, "I miss you, Daddy." An emotional Diddy replied, "I miss you and love you very much, Love."

Demi Lovato's ex-fiancé Max Ehrich says he's going to rehab after his domestic violence arrest ... and it sounds like he needs help, based on what he's telling us about the leadup to his arrest.

Max tells TMZ ... he was high and in psychosis when he had an altercation with his mom that resulted in him being hauled off to a Florida jail on a battery charge. He says his mom was trying to get him to stop huffing nitrous oxide.

The "Young and the Restless" actor says he went to Florida to stay with his parents ... after allegedly being kidnapped in Los Angeles last week by 3 gang members. He says his alleged kidnappers introduced him to nitrous, and he was high on nitrous for a week leading up to his arrest.

A California woman accused of killing "ER" star Cindyana Santangelo with a silicone butt injection has been convicted of murder ... a year and a half after being convicted in the death of another woman by the same method.

Libby Adame -- nicknamed "The Butt Lady" -- has been found guilty of second-degree murder and practicing medicine without a license in connection with Cindyana's death.

Santangelo died March 24 this year ... investigators said results from her autopsy showed she suffered an embolism from a silicone injection that had been administered earlier that day.

It appears Raja Jackson has ended Syko Stu's time in the squared circle ... as one of the wrestler's good friends tells TMZ Sports he's sure Stu's in-ring time is over following the violent attack.

Douglas Malo -- who actually helped rip Jackson off of Stu during his outburst at a Knokx Pro Wrestling event back in August -- sat down with us this week after prosecutors officially levied charges on Quinton "Rampage" Jackson's son ... and he told us he can't see Stu ever mixing it up between the ropes again.

Malo said the wrestler -- real name Stuart Smith -- simply took too much damage from Raja to even try to make a comeback.

David "Heavy D" Sparks -- one of the two stars of "The Diesel Brothers" -- has been released from federal custody after being arrested following a bench warrant ... TMZ has learned.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, a judge ordered Sparks released from the custody of the U.S. Marshals due to an agreement made by both parties that certain information will be given to 'Utah Physicians for a Wealthy Environment' within 10 days of today's hearing.

As we reported ... Sparks was arrested and booked Tuesday morning in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Demi Lovato's ex-fiancé Max Ehrich's legal situation may have just gotten worse ... 'cause it appears he was streaming on Instagram just prior to being arrested for allegedly assaulting his mother while abusing nitrous oxide.

TMZ broke the story ... Ehrich was arrested Tuesday for battery on a person 65 or older ... and according to the police report, the victim was his mom -- and cops say they were told it all started over an argument for her phone.

The report says just prior to his arrest, Max was streaming on IG ... and one of the viewers apparently recorded the wild footage.

Robert Roberson just scored a major victory -- because his planned execution was just blocked by the highest criminal court in Texas.

Roberson was facing execution on October 16 after being convicted of capital murder in 2002 for the death of his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki, according to NBC News.

The case became notable because Nikki's death was partially attributed to "Shaken Baby Syndrome." Prosecutors believed Roberson had violently shaken his child to the point of causing severe injuries prior to her death.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted an emergency motion for a stay of execution on Thursday. Roberson's original sentence was challenged under the state's 2013 "junk science" law, "which provides for a second look when the science driving a conviction has since been debunked," according to The Texas Tribune.

His legal team had filed several appeals on his behalf, arguing the medical and scientific methods used to convict him in the past have been mostly discredited. Experts have determined the toddler died of natural and accidental causes, according to the Tribune.

Roberson would have been the first man to be executed in Texas for a case involving Shaken Baby Syndrome.

Roberson was supposed to be executed last year ... his execution was stopped just hours before it was set to take place.

The detective who arrested Roberson in 2002 has since claimed he believes Roberson is innocent, and has said he was unaware of Nikki's underlying health issues ... which apparently contributed to her death.

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.