Crime & Arrests

Jim Irsay says he was targeted by police during his 2014 arrest ... emphatically believing cops were prejudiced against him because he's "a rich, white billionaire."

The Indianapolis Colts owner made the eyebrow-raising statements to Andrea Kremer during an interview with HBO Sports that aired earlier this week.

In their chat, Kremer asked Irsay if his DUI arrest in Carmel, Ind. some nine years ago was a "low point" for him ... and a few seconds later, he sounded off.

"I am prejudiced against because I'm a rich, white billionaire," Irsay told her. "If I'm just the average guy down the block, they're not pulling me in, of course not."

Carmel police had said at the time of the arrest they stopped Irsay for, among other things, driving too slowly as well as failing to use his turn signal. They eventually put him in cuffs after they claimed he failed their sobriety tests.

Dashcam footage from the scene appeared to show Irsay having trouble walking while talking with cops outside of his car. Cops say toxicology results, meanwhile, showed he had multiple painkillers in his system, including oxycodone and hydrocodone.

Irsay, however, still told Kremer, "The arrest was wrong."

"I had just had hip surgery, and had been in the car for 45 minutes," he said. "And what -- they asked me to walk the line? Are you kidding me? I can barely walk at all."

Irsay eventually pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of operating a vehicle while intoxicated ... and was sentenced to 1 year probation. He told Kremer he only cut the deal with prosecutors because he wanted to get the case "over with."

For the Carmel Police Department's part, it said in a statement to The Indianapolis Star on Tuesday regarding Irsay's allegations, "We are very sorry to hear that comment about our officers and our department."

Chaka Zulu won't be charged for the fatal shooting in June 2022 that left one man dead outside an Atlanta restaurant -- prosecutors are dropping the case after Chaka insisted he fired in self-defense.

On Wednesday, Fulton County prosecutors released a statement to WSB-TV outlining their decision not to indict Chaka, who is Ludacris' manager, over the incident.

"The Atlanta Police Department made an arrest on charges determined at a standard of probable cause, which is their duty in this and all cases The District Attorney’s office investigates cases to determine what can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt at trial ... Our investigation of the facts and analysis of applicable law indicates that this is an appropriate resolution of this case based on the standard of proof required. Because the defendant is now involved in a pre-indictment diversion program, we will not comment further about the matter at this time.”

TMZ Hip Hop broke the story ... surveillance video we obtained showed Chaka and a group of several men, including the slain Artez Benton get into a skirmish outside Chaka's Apt4B restaurant and not too long after, fists were thrown and shots were fired.

Chaka's lawyer Gabe Banks also sent a statement to the local pub ... thanking D.A. Fani Will and her team for their thorough investigation and saying the music industry vet would be focusing on the "nurturing of his family" while also expressing sadness for the loss of life.

Lola Brooke is in a giving mood this week ... the "Don't Play With It" rapper popped up in the Brooklyn neighborhood that molded her to ensure a couple hundred kids have a yummy Thanksgiving!!!

TMZ Hip Hop got this video of Lola and her Team 80 labelmate Bleezy personally serving roughly 200 kids from the Children of Promise organization ... which mentors and provides therapeutic empowerment services to children whose parents are incarcerated.

Lola partnered with Sei Less Restaurant and its co-owner Dara Mirjahangiry to have the kids try something different this go around ... which was dishes with an Asian fusion twist that surely expanded their palate.

There were smiles around as everyone rushed Lola for selfies, and we're told Lolo's mom was also there dropping some knowledge for the kids to grow on.

Lola's a fan of dishing and taking solid advice -- the last time we spoke to her, she was asking Lori Harvey to teach her tips for navigating the high-class dating game.

Un hombre de 69 años está siendo acusado de agredir sexualmente a una adolescente en una colonia nudista de Minnesota durante el verano y ahora se enfrenta a cargos criminales por sus presuntas perversiones.

La semana pasada, Steven Wicklund apareció en un tribunal del condado de Anoka después de haber sido acusado de conducta sexual criminal por presuntamente abusar de una niña de 14 años, en Oakwood Club, en el mes de julio. Esto queda cerca de Stacy, Minnesota, según informó el Star Tribune, citando una denuncia penal.

La niña fue llevada por sus abuelos a la colonia nudista, donde se encontró con Wicklund, quien fue descrito como un "amigo de la familia". La colonia aplica una estricta política de cero relaciones sexuales, al tiempo que ofrece actividades sin ropa.

Mientras ambos estaban en el club, supuestamente empezaron a tocarse mientras Wicklund le aseguraba que lo que hacían "estaba bien y era normal".

Cuando la chica le pidió que parara, Wicklund supuestamente la ignoró y le puso la mano en los genitales. También le envió mensajes de texto sexualmente explícitos y le pidió fotos de ella y sus amigas desnudas.

Un mensaje decía: "¿Te has estado masturbando o has tenido sexo con tu novia?".

La madre de la chica encontró estos mensajes de texto más tarde y se los entregó a la oficina del sheriff, quien inició una investigación.

A 69-year-old man sexually assaulted a teenage girl at a Minnesota nudist colony over the summer … and he’s now facing criminal charges for his alleged perversions.

Last week, Steven Wicklund appeared in an Anoka County court after he was charged with criminal sexual conduct for allegedly abusing the 14-year-old girl at Oakwood Club near Stacy, Minnesota in July, the Star Tribune reported, quoting a criminal complaint.

Here's how it all went down per the complaint … the girl was brought by her grandparents to the "family-friendly" nudist colony, where she encountered Wicklund, who was described as a "family friend." The colony enforces a strict no-sex policy, while offering non-clothing activities.

While the two were in the clubhouse, they allegedly started touching each other’s bodies as Wicklund assured her "it was fine and normal."

When the girl asked him to stop, Wicklund allegedly ignored her, placing her hand on his genitalia. He also allegedly sent her sexually explicit text messages and requests for naked photos of her and her friends.

One message read, "Have you been masturbating or having sex with your girlfriend?"

The girl's mom later found the texts, turning them over to the sheriff's office, which launched an investigation.

Todd Chrisley won't be celebrating the coming weeks as the most wonderful time of the year ... he's disgruntled about not being able to spend the holidays with his family while locked up.

Todd's attorney, Jay Surgent, tells TMZ ... Todd's very upset about his situation as his first holiday season behind bars begins and he's around other inmates instead of loved ones.

We're told Todd's daughter, Savannah, is planning to visit both Todd and Julie in prison at some point over the holidays ... but it obviously won't be their normal holiday routine.

Remember, Julie's locked up too ... with the Chrisleys sentenced to hard time after being convicted last year in their bank fraud and tax evasion trial.

Savannah, of course, wants her parents home for the holidays ... but it's not happening for a while, even though Todd and Julie have been able to get their 12 and 7-year sentences reduced -- Todd got 2 years off, and Julie got 1 off.

Todd's going to be served a special Thanksgiving spread at FPC Pensacola in Florida ... but it's a far cry from the home cooking he's used to.

While it sounds like reality is starting to sink in, Todd's attorney tells us they are still exploring legal strategies for how to get him home early ... Surgent says Todd has a new court date in March where his legal team will try to reverse his conviction.

Nick Hogan was working a bikini contest at his father Hulk Hogan's restaurant hours before being arrested for DUI in Florida.

TMZ obtained video from Friday's event at Hogan's Hangout in Clearwater ... and you see Nick working from the DJ booth, playing music and introducing some of the winners.

Hulk was one of the judges, and he was also hosting the bikini contest, which featured $5,000 in cash prizes to three winners ... with Nick serving as MC/DJ.

When the contest started, Hulk announced they were giving out free shots ... which is interesting because ... as we first told you, later that night Nick got busted on suspicion of driving under the influence.

Nick's yet to address his DUI bust ... which comes 16 years after a scary car wreck in Clearwater that left a passenger with severe brain damage ... but now we know what he was doing earlier in the night.

Doble golpe para Wayne Brady... estuvo involucrado en un accidente de carro en Malibú y luego terminó en una acalorada discusión que terminó en ataques físicos, y ahora, la policía está involucrada.

Las fuerzas del orden le informan a TMZ que Wayne estaba conduciendo por la autopista Pacific Coast en Malibú el domingo por la noche cuando otro carro lo golpeó.

Nos dicen que Wayne y el otro conductor, un hombre de 51 años de edad, se detuvo y las cosas se calentaron y desencadenaron una intensa discusión que terminó en un altercado físico.

La policía dice que Wayne llamó al 911 después de la pelea y el otro conductor volvió a su carro y se fue. Nos informan que los ayudantes del Sheriff finalmente encontraron al tipo y terminaron arrestándolo por agresión, DUI y atropello con fuga.

Wayne tiene una reputación de ser uno de los tipos más agradables de Hollywood, fuera de ese sketch hilarante "Chappelle Show", por lo que es bastante increíble que alguien supuestamente llegara a las manos con él.

Nos dicen que el departamento de bomberos respondió a la escena, pero Wayne estaba bien y no necesitaba ser llevado a un hospital.

Double whammy for Wayne Brady ... he got into a car accident in Malibu, and then ended up in a heated argument that turned physical, and now cops are involved.

Law enforcement tells TMZ ... Wayne was driving down Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu Sunday night when another car hit him.

We're told Wayne and the other driver, a 51-year-old man, pulled over and things got heated ... in the form of an intense argument escalating into a physical altercation.

Cops say Wayne called 911 after the fight, and the other driver got back in his car and took off down PCH. We're told Sheriff deputies ultimately found the guy and ended up arresting him for battery, DUI and hit-and-run.

Wayne's got a rep for being one of the nicest guys in Hollywood -- outside of that hilarious "Chappelle Show" skit -- so it's pretty incredible someone allegedly got physical with him.

We're told the fire department responded to the scene, but Wayne was OK and didn't need to be taken to a hospital.

GoFundMe has suspended a fundraiser appearing to benefit the family of the Las Vegas teen who was beaten to death earlier this month, and his family claims the solicitation for money is fraudulent.

The fundraiser is titled "Jonathan Lewis Family," and raised nearly $2k since going live last week. The main photo isn't of 17-year-old Lewis, but instead of another man ... a man who according to Jonathan's dad, has no connection to Lewis.

According to the description, the alleged organizer, Cole Charles, is looking to raise funds for Lewis' family ... but it's all pretty vague.

A spokesperson for GoFundMe tells TMZ ... "Our Trust & Safety team has reached out to the organizer for more information. All funds raised on the fundraiser remain safely held by our payment processors while our Trust & Safety team conducts its review."

To be clear, the person running the questionable fundraiser doesn't have access to the cash that's been raised, and it will maintained by GoFundMe until they complete their investigation.

Also ... there's an existing, verified fundraiser that's on the site benefitting the Lewis fam and has raised well over $100,000. Protecting the GoFundMe community is one of the platform's top priorities, and they have a dedicated team reviewing all fundraisers related to this incident.

As we reported, footage from the brutal incident showed Lewis at the center of a beatdown near a Las Vegas high school -- cops said the attack stemmed from stolen headphones and possibly a vape pen ... with everyone agreeing to meet in an alley after school to fight.

GoFundMe ha suspendido una recaudación de fondos que parece beneficiar a la familia del adolescente de Las Vegas que fue golpeado hasta la muerte a principios de este mes, y su familia afirma que la solicitud de dinero es fraudulenta.

La recaudación de fondos se titula "Jonathan Lewis Family" y recaudó casi 2.000 dólares desde que se puso en marcha hace dos días. La foto principal no es del chico de 17 años de edad, Lewis, sino de otro hombre. Un hombre que, según el padre de Jonathan, no tiene ninguna conexión con Lewis.

Según la descripción, el presunto organizador, Cole Charles, está buscando recaudar fondos para la familia de Lewis, pero todo es bastante vago.

Un portavoz de GoFundMe le dice a TMZ: "Nuestro equipo de Confianza y Seguridad se ha puesto en contacto con el organizador para obtener más información. Todos los fondos recaudados permanecen retenidos de forma segura por nuestros procesadores de pagos mientras nuestro equipo de Confianza y Seguridad lleva a cabo su revisión".

Para ser claros, la persona que está ejecutando la recaudación de fondos cuestionable no tiene acceso al dinero en efectivo y se mantendrá por GoFundMe hasta que completen su investigación.

También hay una recaudación de fondos verificada que está en el sitio en beneficio de la familia Lewis y ha recaudado más de $100.000. La protección de la comunidad GoFundMe es una de las principales prioridades de la plataforma y tienen un equipo dedicado a la revisión de todos los recaudadores de fondos relacionados con este incidente.

Como informamos, imágenes del brutal incidente mostraron a Lewis recibiendo una paliza cerca de una escuela secundaria de Las Vegas. La policía dijo que el ataque se derivó de los auriculares robados y posiblemente un vaporizador con todo el mundo de acuerdo en reunirse en un callejón después de la escuela para luchar.

El hermano de Polo G, Trench Baby, es acusado de matar a un hombre en un tiroteo en Los Ángeles y actualmente está en una celda de la cárcel después de ser acusado de asesinato.

Fuentes policiales le dicen a TMZ Hip Hop que Trench Baby (nombre real Taurean Bartlett) ha sido acusado por el asesinato de Dashaun Berry, de 20 años. Nos dicen que Berry fue asesinado en un tiroteo la madrugada del 10 de junio en un estacionamiento de North Hollywood.

Nos informan que los paramédicos declararon muerto a Berry en la escena cuando lo encontraron a la 1:30 AM con heridas de bala.

La policía cree que el incidente fue solo el primero de una serie de crímenes que Trench Baby supuestamente pasó a cometer en los meses siguientes.

También ha sido acusado de robo en primer grado por un incidente 15 de agosto y se enfrenta a un cargo adicional de disuadir a un testigo por la fuerza o amenaza el 10 de septiembre.

Se nos dice que ambos cargos implican el mismo hombre.

TMZ Hip Hop publicó la historia, poco después del presunto robo de agosto, la policía irrumpió en Polo y TB en su casa de Los Ángeles y los detuvo.

Polo y TB también fueron investigados por un presunto altercado en un estudio de Burbank con una mujer que dijo que la había sido golpeada en la cara, pero los fiscales dijeron que no había pruebas suficientes para presentar cargos por eso.

11/22 -- 6:32 AM PT -- Trench Baby aka Tauren Bartlett’s attorneys Bradford Cohen and Zoey Aron are speaking out for the client and tell TMZ Hip Hop …"The case against Mr. Bartlett is an example of the Los Angeles State Attorney's Office trying to charge a young man with very little physical evidence and a lot of hearsay. No murder weapon, no motive, his cell phone does not place him on the scene, no gunshot residue, and there is no eye witness identifying him. He was actually given a 2 mill dollar bond, but once he made the bond, the State attorney, who has spoken about justice reform, went back and pulled the bond.

"We expect to move this case forward and demonstrate why this incident could not have been Tauren and is most likely one of the several other suspects that police have questioned regarding the incident."

Polo G's brother Trench Baby is accused of killing a man in an L.A. drive-by shooting ... and is currently sitting in a jail cell after getting charged with felony murder.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ Hip Hop ... Trench Baby (real name Taurean Bartlett) has now been charged for the murder of 20-year-old Dashaun Berry. We're told Berry was killed in a drive-by shooting in the wee hours of June 10 in a North Hollywood parking lot.

We're told paramedics pronounced Berry dead at the scene when they found him at 1:30 AM with gunshot wounds.

Cops believe the incident was just the first in a string of crimes Trench Baby allegedly went on to commit in the following months.

He's also been charged with first-degree residential robbery for an August 15 incident -- and faces an additional charge of dissuading a witness by force or threat on September 10.

We're told both of those charges involve the same man.

TMZ Hip Hop broke the story ... shortly after the alleged August robbery, police swarmed in on Polo and TB at their L.A. home and arrested them.

Polo and TB were also investigated for an alleged altercation in a Burbank studio involving a woman who said she had been punched in the face ... but prosecutors said there was insufficient evidence to file charges for that one.

Trench Baby is being held without bail.

Nick Hogan's fresh DUI arrest is opening some old wounds for the family of the man who was severely injured in the guy's 2007 crash -- and they think Nick hasn't learned his lesson.

TMZ talked to John Graziano's mother, Debra ... who says she isn't surprised over Nick's latest bust -- telling us he appears to have been as careless now as he was almost 20 years ago when he got into another car wreck as a teen -- which changed her son's life forever.

While it remains to be seen if Nick will be formally charged in this new case ... Debra says she believes his past incident with John -- who suffered severe brain damage in '07, riding passenger alongside Nick at the time -- should be factored into whatever happens here.

To Debra, the fact Nick got popped again all these years later shows a "total lack of respect for what (he) did to another person’s life and you’re still driving reckless."

She adds, "I can only pray that at some point in his life, while he still has the chance, that he turns his life around. Until then I hope no one else gets hurt." Debra goes on to say that the '07 accident and the saga that followed continues to take its toll on her/her loved ones.

Debra says, "I grieve the virtual loss of my son on a daily basis. I thank God daily that at least I have John here with us at home." She says while John has lost most of his ability to function normally, she's grateful he's alive and surrounded by people who care about him.

Sam Haskell Jr. aparentemente no pudo soportar el horror representado en una película de terror, algo que le dijo a un amigo a principios de este año, a pesar de estar acusado exactamente por el mismo motivo.

TMZ obtuvo mensajes privados de Instagram, de mayo de 2023, en los que Samuel, el hijo del agente de Hollywood Samuel Haskell Sr., le dice a su ex entrenador personal Troy Piedade que la película "The Forever Purge", le dio náuseas a "causa de los cuerpos desmembrados".

Echa un vistazo a la conversación por ti mismo. Es bastante reveladora.

Como se puede ver, Sam trae a colación el filme de terror y escribe: "Forever Purge fue un poco diferente, personas realmente siendo descuartizadas en México, de verdad, es difícil para mí disfrutar de una película sobre eso, prefiero Purge 2 Anarchy". Luego continúa diciendo que quiere hacer una película con Troy.

Hablamos con Troy, que nos dice que en el transcurso de los 14 años en los que conoció a Sam sintió algo un poco raro cuando empezó a entrenarlo en 2009 en Bally's en Encino.

Dice que siente que Sam era muy problemático y que el tipo se metía con la gente del gimnasio porque sabía que él lo protegería.

A pesar de su extraño comportamiento, Troy dice que nunca pensó que su ex cliente llegaría tan lejos, al punto de cometer un asesinato, algo que las autoridades del condado de Los Ángeles han alegado contra Sam.

Troy dice que él y Sam se mantuvieron en contacto a través de Instagram después de que dejara el gimnasio, en donde regularmente discutían sobre películas de terror y fitness, incluyendo esta breve charla sobre cuerpos descuartizados. Lo que es importante aquí es que las fuentes policiales de Los Ángeles nos dicen que eran conscientes del interés de Sam en las películas de terror y que están revisando eso para este caso.

El lunes, el fiscal de Distrito del Condado de Los Ángeles, George Gascón, anunció que Haskell Jr. fue imputado con tres cargos de asesinato por la muerte de su esposa de 37 años, Mei, y sus padres Gaoshan Li, de 72, y Yanxiang Wang, de 64.

Esto se produjo después de que publicáramos un video que parece mostrar a Sam tirando lo que bien podría ser un cuerpo. Una persona viviendo en la calle encontró un torso humano en el mismo contenedor de basura al día siguiente.

Hay más videos que parecen mostrar a Sam dando y/o recibiendo otras bolsas, que los jornaleros alegaron contenían restos humanos.

Sam Haskell Jr. apparently couldn't stomach the gore depicted in a horror movie -- something he told a pal earlier this year ... even though he's accused of being a butcher.

TMZ has obtained IG DMs from May 2023 that Samuel -- the son of Hollywood super-agent Samuel Haskell Sr. -- sent to his ex-personal trainer Troy Piedade ... which touched "The Forever Purge," a flick that SHJ said made him queasy 'cause of the dismembered bodies.

Take a look at the back-and-forth between them yourself ... it's pretty eye-opening.

As you see, Sam brings up 'The Purge' and writes ... "Forever purge was a little different fools really be getting chopped up in Mexico for real it's hard for me to enjoy a movie about it, I'm down with purge 2 anarchy." He then goes on to say that he wants to make a movie with Troy.

We talked to Troy, who now tells us that over the course of the 14 years that he knew Sam ... he sensed something a bit off when he started actually training him in 2009 at Bally's in Encino.

Troy says that he feels Sam was very troubled, claiming that the guy would go out of his way to mess with people at the gym ... because he knew he (Troy) would protect him.

Despite his odd behavior, though, Troy tells us he never thought his former client would go as far as murder ... something the authorities in L.A. County have alleged against Sam.

Troy says he and Sam kept in touch over IG after he left the gym, where they regularly discussed topics such as horror movies and fitness ... including this brief chat about chopped-up bodies, which Sam said were too much for him. FWIW, law enforcement sources tell us the LAPD is aware of Sam's interest in horror movies and they're looking into it.

On Monday, L.A. County District Attorney George Gascón announced that Haskell Jr. was hit with 3 counts of murder in the death of his 37-year-old wife, Mei, and her parents ... 72-year-old Gaoshan Li and 64-year-old Yanxiang Wang.

Of course, this came after we published video that appears to show Sam dumping what very well may have been a body. A homeless person found a human torso at the same dumpster the very next day.

There's more video that appears to show Sam giving/receiving other bags ... which day laborers alleged contained human remains. Seems like the cops believed them.