Crime & Arrests

5/20 -- 8:02 AM PT -- Authorities have released Austin Maddox's mugshot ... and he appears a bit beaten up, with red marks on his face, and what looks like a partially swollen eye.

Former MLB third-round pick Austin Maddox was arrested during an anti-child predator sting in Florida last month ... and now, the ex-Red Sox pitcher is facing several felony charges.

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office released the results of its five-day "Operation Valiant Knights" bust on Monday ... claiming 27 men believed they were communicating with underage girls online -- but in reality, they were speaking to detectives.

Rich The Kid just took a plea deal in his Miami Beach trespass and resisting arrest case from December that impeded a bomb threat investigation ... TMZ Hip Hop has learned.

We're told the "Carnival" rapper agreed to plead no contest to the resisting arrest and trespassing charges on Monday in exchange for avoiding jail time with a sentence of time served for the 1 day he already spent in Miami-Dade County jail at the time of the arrest ... and a $1,000 fine.

Rich’s lawyers Bradford Cohen and Saam Zangeneh tell TMZ Hip Hop … "We believed that if we proceeded to go to trial we would have been successful."

Scottie Scheffler makes fast friends ... he wasn't in very long, but the world's number one golfer was a hit with fellow inmates -- and even law enforcement -- while behind bars!

TMZ Sports spoke to a man who was locked up with 27-year-old Scheffler Friday morning in Louisville ... and he told us the 2x Masters winner couldn't have been cooler during his couple-hours stay in lockup.

In fact, our witness didn't even know Scheffler was a star athlete, at the center of the biggest sports story in the world, until a police officer gave him the 411 ... saying, "You know you're talking to the number one golfer in the world, right?"

We asked Scheffler's fellow inmate about the golfer's demeanor while in custody.

"He kept saying it was bulls*** that he was there."

Scottie was seemingly popular among law enforcement behind bars, too. We're told he was drawing a crowd, with several jail staff and corrections officials popping out to take a peek at Scheffler.

Our witness even says he heard staff wondering how long Scottie would be held before being released.

Turns out his stay was rather fast. Scheffler, arrested during the 6 o'clock hour, somehow made his 10:08 AM tee time ... where the best player in the world proceeded to birdie the first hole (of course), and shoot a 5-under, 66 2nd round at the PGA Championship.

In fact, Scheffler's fast release (8:40 AM) has been the source of some controversy in Lousiville ... with some questioning how he was sprung so fast despite being arrested on 4 charges, including felony assault, for allegedly injuring (wrist and knee) an LMPD detective.

After he was released, Scottie addressed the incident, calling it a "misunderstanding."

"This morning, I was proceeding as directed by police officers. It was a very chaotic situation, understandably so considering the tragic accident that had occurred earlier, and there was a big misunderstanding of what I thought I was being asked to do. I never intended to disregard any of the instructions. I'm hopeful to put this to the side and focus on golf today."

Matt Prokop -- a former child actor who was the subject of a restraining order for allegedly abusing Sarah Hyland -- has been arrested in Texas, TMZ has learned.

Victoria PD Sergeant Dailey tells TMZ ... Prokop and his girlfriend were out together Saturday when she allegedly told someone Matt assaulted her. Police were called to the location, but say the two were gone when they arrived.

About an hour later, cops say they received a call about a disturbance at another spot in Victoria ... where they say they found Matt and his girlfriend.

Even more drama for the Kansas City Chiefs ... as two players -- Chukwuebuka Godrick and Wanya Morris -- were arrested for misdemeanor marijuana possession in Kansas.

According to the Johnson County Sheriff's Office, the offensive linemen were booked for the same charge early Friday morning ... and were released after posting a $2,500 bond.

23-year-old Morris is a former third-round pick out of Tennessee and Oklahoma ... suiting up for 14 games during the Chiefs' Super Bowl-winning season in 2023-24.

Scottie Scheffler used at least some of his time in jail on Friday to prep for the PGA Championship ... admitting he actually got some stretching in while he was locked up.

The 27-year-old just addressed his arrest following the conclusion of his second round at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky. ... and he was frank with the gaggle of reporters who had gathered to talk about his early-morning run-in with cops.

He said repeatedly he was very confused as to what was going on during the encounter ... and he said, candidly, it all really rattled him.

Steve Buscemi's alleged attacker has been arrested in NYC -- and cops say they picked him up after responding to a call at a homeless shelter ... TMZ has confirmed.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Clifton Williams -- the man police believe is the guy who walked up to the actor and punched him in broad daylight -- was taken into custody Friday after cops responded to a harassment call at a homeless shelter in Manhattan.

We're told cops say Clifton started making a lost property police report and showed officers ID ... when they recognized his name and then took him into custody. The NY Post broke the news first.

Paul Pelosi's attacker has received his sentence ... a federal judge has given David DePape 30 years for his brutal 2022 hammer attack on Nancy Pelosi's husband.

Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley sentenced DePape to 30 years for assault and 20 years for attempted kidnapping for the incident -- the maximum sentence for the crimes. The sentences will run concurrently, so it comes out to 30 years instead of 50.

CNN reports the judge said the sentence had to reflect the serious nature of the incident.

A driver was arrested early Friday morning after leading Los Angeles cops on a WILD chase through the streets and eventually onto the freeway ... which ended with a bloody crash.

This whole thing reportedly kicked off in the Santa Monica area -- and while it's unclear why exactly police officers first tried to pull this woman over ... it quickly became clear she wasn't going to stop, and the cavalry got called in to take her down the longer she kept driving.

The pursuit lasted quite a while, and the more erratic it became -- the more news helicopters arrived to capture the action ... at one point, it made its way onto the busy 405 freeway.

7:11 AM PT -- Scottie Scheffler just teed off -- receiving a huge ovation from the crowd as he began his first hole of the day.

The drive was far from his best -- it landed in the rough ... although it certainly wasn't a bad shot -- especially considering how his morning went down.

6:53 AM PT -- Scottie Scheffler just released a statement on his arrest -- and he says it was all just one big misunderstanding.

A St. Louis cop got lit up last weekend while detaining a suspect -- and by that, we mean he fired up a cigar and started puffing away ... which was all caught on video.

The unidentified police officer took multitasking to a whole new level Sunday as he borrowed a lighter from another nearby officer to ignite his stogie while straddling a man on the ground whom he was placing under arrest outside Marquee Restaurant & Lounge.

As you can hear, bystanders and the suspect himself try to lighten the mood -- no pun intended -- as they jokingly offer up their own lighters to the cigar-toting officer.

Gypsy Rose Blanchard is facing some serious backlash over her Mother's Day tribute -- and now, she's defending herself ... this while fending off serious threats online, TMZ has learned.

GRB tells TMZ ... her heartfelt tribute on TikTok -- which mentioned her late mother, Dee Dee, as well as other mother figures in her life -- was simply meant to acknowledge her stepmother Kristy and boyfriend Ken Urker's mom ... as they've done a lot for her in recent years.

We're told the post was in no way meant to be disrespectful to Dee -- whose name she invoked in her lengthy tribute, which a lot of people took offense to ... and yet, Gypsy's being inundated with hate as a result -- including some major threats on her safety.

The suspect in a terrifying choking and sexual assault -- captured on camera -- is in police custody, thanks to the man's mother.

NYPD arrested 39-year-old Kashaan Parks Saturday, and booked him for rape, strangulation, assault, sexual abuse, public lewdness and harassment. Police released video of the alleged crime last week, showing the suspect walk up behind the unsuspecting victim and throw a belt around her neck.

The woman was choked unconscious, according to police, before the suspect dragged her in between 2 cars and sexually assaulted her.

Gypsy Rose Blanchard is kinda getting roasted for not being familiar with some Gen Z slang that some people feel like is right up her alley ... and yes, there's a touch of irony here.

In a new video making the rounds online, Gypsy Rose is getting all dolled up when she's asked about what's shocking her about the world of today now that she's out of prison -- and she says Gen Z is throwing her for a loop with all their zippy phrases.

Gypsy says Gen Z has a whole new language she's just not familiar with -- including slang terms like "mother" and "slay" ... which she says are totally foreign to her. Of course, some couldn't believe she'd say that ... y'know, in light of what she was behind bars for.

The 45-year-old man who stole and destroyed a Jackie Robinson statue in Kansas pled guilty on Thursday to multiple charges, including theft, and is now facing over 19 years behind bars!

Remember, the large Jackie statue was stolen on January 25 from a youth baseball park in Wichita, KS ... only to be found burned and destroyed days later at a nearby park.

Multiple people were captured on surveillance video taking the statue, but only one person, Ricky Alderete, has been arrested and charged.

Hunter Biden reportedly has a new documentary in the works all about his life -- and now, it looks like Sean Penn has entered the chat ... who's a bit of a doc head himself these days.

The President's embattled son -- who's in the middle of a criminal case right now, and who'll be going to trial soon on gun-related charges -- was photographed out in Malibu Thursday, cozying up next to none other than the Oscar winner ... and they were chopping it up.

The pics were taken outside of Soho House, a social club there, and it looks like SP was enjoying a smoke while HB was trying to go somewhat incognito with shades and a hat.