Crime

Dominican Republic prosecutors have released new video that shows a different angle of a man shooting David Ortiz in the back ... as well as the motorcycle crash that followed the attack.

Prosecutors say 25-year-old Rolfi Ferreira Cruz and several others were paid around $8,000 to try to kill Big Papi in the D.R. last Sunday night.

Officials say the plan involved two cars and a motorcycle ... and they allege the new video they released late Wednesday shows the whole scene.

You can see in the vid ... two men arrive on the scene riding the same motorcycle, when one gets off near the nightclub that Ortiz is partying at.

The guy casually strolls up the sidewalk ... and then pulls out a gun and fires on the Red Sox legend's back. He then takes off, and gets back on the motorcycle with another man.

But, the new video shows the two men crashed to the pavement just yards away from the shooting ... with one of the men able to flee the scene.

Of course, the other man wasn't able to make a break for it ... getting caught by bystanders and then beaten to a pulp.

D.R. officials say they've arrested six men total in the plot to kill Ortiz so far ... and say there is still at least one man on the run.

As for Ortiz ... his wife, Tiffany, said in a statement Thursday, "David remains in guarded condition in the surgical intensive care following his second surgery. He continues to heal and make progress."

4:48 PM PT -- Cuba was also charged with sexual abuse in the third degree.

1:11 PM PT -- Cuba was just escorted out of the building by cops.

12:30 PM PT -- Cuba's attorney, Mark Heller, just spoke claiming his client is totally innocent. Heller says he's analyzed more than 2 hours of video from the night and nothing shows him commit a crime.

11:45 AM PT -- Law enforcement sources tell us Cuba has officially been charged with one count of misdemeanor forcible touching.

Cuba Gooding Jr. is under arrest for allegedly groping a woman in a Manhattan bar ... after following through with his plan to surrender to NYPD.

Cuba turned himself in Thursday afternoon to the Manhattan Special Victim's Unit. He arrived with with his attorney, Mark Heller ... and he's expected to be booked for forcible touching, a misdemeanor.

Heller told TMZ, on Wednesday, he had seen surveillance video from the Magic Hour Rooftop Bar and Lounge, and felt it showed "no criminality" on Cuba's part. As a result, he said Cuba might not surrender. Obviously, something changed.

As we reported ... a woman called 911 early Monday morning alleging the Oscar winner touched her breast without consent Sunday night at the bar.

We got video of the actor partying it up at the bar with friends. We don't know if the alleged victim appears in the video.

Cuba denies touching anyone inappropriately that night. He was flying out of LAX Tuesday night when he insisted nothing had happened that could even be misconstrued as groping.

Cops will take a mug shot, fingerprints and give Cuba a court date. We expect him to be released shortly thereafter.

David Ortiz's wife is shouting out the man who raced the MLB star to the hospital -- crashing his own car in the process -- in the wake of Sunday's assassination attempt in the Dominican Republic.

"I want to take this opportunity to offer our heartfelt thanks and gratitude to Eliezer Salvador, owner of Presidente Sports, for your quick thinking and swift action on Sunday night," Tiffany Ortiz said in a statement.

"Your heroism and selflessness were the first steps to ensuring David could get the urgent care he required. For that we are eternally grateful."

Salvador runs a sports betting firm in the D.R. and was at the scene when Big Papi was shot Sunday night. When Ortiz went down, Salvador quickly put the legend in his own car and raced to the hospital because he didn't want to wait for an ambulance.

Salvador says he raced at speeds of over 100 MPH and made the trip in under 7 minutes. He later made a social media video showing that he had David's jewelry so the family wouldn't worry.

Tiffany says the quick-thinking decision may have saved David's life.

Ortiz's wife also gave props to the doctors who worked on David.

"To the amazing surgeons, medical team, and staff at the Abel Gonzalez Clinic in the Dominican Republic, there are no words to express our gratitude for the amazing care you provided."

'Without you, our story could have had a tragic ending. You will forever be our guardian angels."

As for David's condition ...

"David remains in guarded condition in the surgical intensive care following his second surgery. He continues to heal and make progress."

Michael Avenatti's legal troubles continue mounting ... he's now facing a lawsuit from his former paraplegic client who claims Avenatti stole nearly $4 million from him.

Geoffrey Johnson is suing the lawyer claiming Avenatti took the vast majority of a $4 million settlement payment that Johnson scored years ago but Avenatti wired to himself in January 2015.

In docs, obtained by TMZ, Johnson sued the L.A. County Sheriff's Department in 2012 claiming its deputies roughed him up during a wrongful arrest. Long story short ... Johnson scored a settlement but says all Avenatti's firm did was wire him meager $1,900 monthly payments.

Johnson's now suing for $9.5 million in compensatory damages ... which includes the $4 mil settlement and $5 mil in additional damages including severe emotional distress. Johnson, BTW, is the guy the feds mentioned in its 36-count indictment that could land Avenatti in prison for the rest of his life.

Avenatti's vehemently denied any wrongdoing telling TMZ ... "Mr. Johnson's claims are categorically false and frivolous, and his case will be thrown out of court." Avenatti explained, "He previously agreed on numerous occasions, including in multiple detailed writings which he reviewed, initialed and signed (after a different lawyer reviewed), that I conducted myself ethically at all times."

5:50 PM PT -- Cuba Gooding Jr.'s attorney, Mark Heller, tells us he has viewed surveillance video from the bar and says it shows "absolutely no criminality taking place on the part of my client."

Heller says he's contacted the Manhattan D.A.'s Office Sex Crimes Unit but has not gotten a return phone call. He is trying to find out if they've seen the surveillance video. Heller says he can't believe they would seek to arrest Cuba ... if they'd seen the video.

He says it's up in the air right now as to whether Cuba will turn himself in Thursday, as they'd planned, now that they've seen the video.

Cuba Gooding Jr. will turn himself into NYPD on Thursday and will be arrested for allegedly groping a woman -- but on camera he insists he did nothing wrong, and there's hard evidence to prove it.

Sources connected to the Oscar winner tell TMZ ... he plans to surrender Thursday and expects to be booked for a misdemeanor charge of forcible touching. Cuba was in L.A. Tuesday night -- about to board a flight to NYC -- when a photog asked him directly about the groping allegation.

Cuba says the claim he grabbed a woman's breast Sunday night at Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge in Manhattan ... is absolutely untrue. He says he was there partying with friends, and posed for pics with fans, but says no one was touched inappropriately ... not even by accident.

Aside from the video we posted -- showing Cuba partying that night at the bar -- he says there's also surveillance video that will show he's innocent.

He also tipped his hat to Jon Stewart, who hours earlier had blasted Congress over the 9/11 Victims Fund, and said that's what's really important now.

As for his legal trouble ... Cuba didn't seem worried. Our Sources say he'll surrender at the Manhattan Special Victim's Unit -- and will be accompanied by his lawyers, Peter Toumbekis and Mark J. Heller. Cops will fingerprint him, and take a mug shot.

From there, as Cuba says ... he'll trust the system.

3:32 PM PT -- Dominican Republic police have released the mug shot of the man they say shot Big Papi, 25-year-old Rolfi Ferreira Cruz.

D.R. officials also announced they have now arrested SIX total people in connection with the attack on Ortiz ... and say there is at least 1 other suspect still on the run.

The man who allegedly shot David Ortiz has been arrested ... officials announced Wednesday -- saying the shooter, along with 5 other suspects, were paid 400,000 pesos to kill Big Papi.

As we previously reported, Ortiz was shot in the back on Sunday night as he was sitting in an outside patio area of a popular Dominican Republic nightclub.

D.R. cops say two young men drove up to the scene on a motorcycle ... when one of them got off to fire a single bullet into the Red Sox legend's lower back.

Cops say the guys tried to flee the scene on the bike afterward ... but when it fell to the pavement -- they tried to make a run for it on foot.

One of the guys -- the alleged shooter -- was able to escape ... but the other suspect, Eddy Vladimir Feliz Garcia, was beaten to a pulp on the scene by bystanders before he was handed over to cops.

Now, D.R. officials are saying they've caught the suspected shooter and arrested him ... and have also detained 3 additional people they say contributed to the ambush.

Officials say 6 total individuals were paid 400,000 pesos (the equivalent of $8K) to kill Ortiz in what they believe was a highly-orchestrated attack.

They say the ambush involved 2 vehicles and 1 motorcycle ... and announced 5 of the suspects are now in custody, but one remains at large.

A motive has yet to be determined.

During the press conference, officials also presented the gun they believe was used to shoot Ortiz.

Big Papi underwent surgery late Sunday night to repair the damage the bullet caused ... with surgeons saying they needed to remove his gallbladder and parts of his intestines.

David underwent a second procedure on Monday night after he returned back to Boston.

In a statement released Wednesday by Ortiz's wife, Tiffany Ortiz, she said, "His condition is guarded and he will remain in the ICU for the coming days, but he is making good progress towards recovery."

6/12 4:13 PM PT -- The hearing just went down in L.A. ... and Avenatti is now officially in the clear. He just tweeted, "Today I attended the hearing in the matter relating to the allegations of Ms. Miniutti. At the conclusion of that hearing, I was again informed that NO CHARGES will be filed against me. As I predicted long ago, I was not charged because I did nothing wrong."

Michael Avenatti will not be charged with any crime in connection with his domestic violence arrest.

The L.A. City Attorney just announced it will hold an informal hearing in which the alleged victim, Mareli Miniutti, and Avenatti will appear separately and talk about what happened back in November, when the woman claimed he got violent with her ... something Avenatti denies.

The City Attorney says the woman "will be advised of services available to her." As for Avenatti, the City Attorney says "The suspect will be informed that although we decline to file charges at this time, this matter remains open and we may file charges at any time prior to the expiration of the statute of limitations."

As we reported, the L.A. County D.A. declined to file felony charges.

Mareli also got a temporary restraining order against Avenatti ... a hearing on that matter has been postponed until next month.

Wendy Williams is having some carefree fun with that guy she met in L.A. -- and while she's aware of his criminal history, she adds ... it makes no difference because, "I'm not stupid!"

Wendy and the guy, Marc Tomblin, were all over NYC Tuesday doing some hardcore shopping, and yes ... even stopping by an ATM to make a withdrawal. The pics are kinda ironic, considering Tomblin has a record for armed robbery.

According to court records, Tomblin pled guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon in Charlotte back in 2013. Police say he was part of a group of 3 people who robbed a man at gunpoint. He was sentenced to 15-30 months -- none of which is a surprise to Wendy.

The talk show host tells TMZ ... Marc had already told her about his conviction, and her assistant also gave her a heads up. Wendy says her reaction is, "I am a 54-year-old grown ass woman. I know what I'm doing."

Wendy describes it as just good fun between friends, something she deserves.

After all, as she put it ... "Look, my husband had a full baby with a woman he was involved with for 15 years ... where I was cooped up only to be a show pony. Now, I'm living my life."

As for the pics of them at an ATM -- Wendy says she thought, "Oh my God, if cameras are there it will be, 'there she is giving him money.'"

TMZ broke the story, Wendy met Tomblin while she was partying with her pal, Blac Chyna. Wendy says she was jonesin' for barbecue potato chips and orange soda one night, and he knew where to score both.

She joked on social media she was old enough to be his mother -- but Tomblin was still by her side late Sunday night when she got emotional, talking about her family drama.

6/11 11:26 AM PT -- The judge has declared a mistrial on the remaining 8 charges ... saying the jury was deadlocked and unable to reach a verdict.

It's unclear if prosecutors intend to retry the case.

Ex-NFL star Kellen Winslow Jr. has just been found GUILTY of forcible rape -- along with lewd conduct and indecent exposure -- and he's now facing serious prison time.

A jury deliberated in a San Diego courthouse for the past week before reaching a verdict Monday on 4 of the 12 counts he's facing ... finding Winslow guilty on 3 of the 4, including the forcible rape of 58-year-old Jane Doe #2.

He was also found guilty of indecent exposure to Jane Doe #3 and guilty of lewd conduct regarding Jane Doe #5.

He was found NOT GUILTY on a second lewd conduct charge regarding Jane Doe #5.

35-year-old Winslow was initially arrested back in June 2018. Officials say he kidnapped and raped 2 transient women in 2 separate incidents -- one in March and another in May.

A 3rd woman later stepped forward and also claimed Winslow raped her 15 years ago while she was unconscious.

Kellen was also accused of exposing himself to two other women in separate incidents over the past year as well.

All of Winslow's accusers testified during his trial -- which began on May 20.

Winslow had previously denied all the accusations ... insisting, "I am an innocent man" and called the whole thing a money grab.

The jury is going back into the deliberation room to discuss the 8 remaining charges.

More trouble for Aldon Smith ... the ex-NFL star was arrested (again) for allegedly driving under the influence.

Smith -- a former All-Pro linebacker -- was arrested early Tuesday morning on suspicion of DUI in Mission, Kansas ... after cops say he was speeding and illegally changing lanes.

Officials say they suspected Smith was drunk ... so they put him through sobriety testing -- which he bombed.

Police placed him under arrest and hauled him off to Mission Police Department ... where he was processed.

Cops say they tried to administer a breathalyzer ... but Smith refused.

Officials then issued citations to Aldon ... and after he posted bond, he was released to a friend.

This ain't the 1st alcohol-related incident involving Smith ... he's been popped for at least 2 other DUI's in the past.

His drinking got so bad ... Aldon checked himself into alcohol rehab last March -- and his former fiancee told us she feared for his life.

Kendall Jenner just got a little peace of mind -- her alleged stalker who crawled up onto her property has been kicked out of the country.

John Ford -- the 38-year-old Canadian citizen who twice showed up at Kendall's home last year -- has been deported from the U.S. following his hearing in El Paso, Texas. Good news for Kendall, because authorities feared he could get violent.

We broke the story ... Ford was arrested by ICE in New Mexico in March after the law enforcement agency hunted him down.

Jenner's alleged stalker's had an expired visitor visa and was in the country illegally, and after his arrest an ICE spokesperson told us it "very well have prevented a violent crime," adding ... "Our special agents acted quickly on this tip to ensure that this obsessive behavior didn't escalate to become a tragedy."

As we reported ... Ford scaled a hill at Kendall's home last October and ended up by her swimming pool. He came back again shortly thereafter and ended up on her porch.

Tiger Woods says he is NOT responsible for a man's death last year ... and wants a lawsuit against him thrown out -- this according to court docs obtained by TMZ Sports.

The golf legend is currently being sued by the parents of Nicholas Immesberger -- who claim Tiger, his girlfriend and Woods' The Woods restaurant all contributed to their son's drunk driving death in 2018.

In the initial lawsuit, Immesberger's parents say the 24-year-old worked as a bartender for Woods' restaurant in Jupiter, Florida.

They say Nicholas knew Tiger personally ... and, in fact, was recruited to work at the place by Tiger's girlfriend, Erica Herman, herself.

But, they say things took a terrible turn on Dec. 10, 2018 ... when they allege Nicholas was overserved alcohol after a shift at the restaurant -- and then allowed to get into his car.

Immesberger died on the drive home -- and was found with a blood-alcohol level of .256, more than 3 times the legal limit.

Now, Tiger is officially responding to allegations he was responsible for the death ... saying in court docs he shouldn't be a defendant at all in the case.

"Mr. Woods, in short, did not sell alcohol to Mr. Immesberger," the lawsuit states ... "He has no connections to the events described in the complaint."

As for Tiger's girlfriend, Herman has also filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit ... saying she, too, was NOT responsible for Immesberger's death, claiming she was not at the restaurant on the day of the accident.

Cuba Gooding Jr. was inebriated before he allegedly got handsy with a woman who was trying to do him a solid ... at least that's how it was reported to cops.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the actor's known for hanging out at the Magic Hour Rooftop Bar and Lounge in NYC, and Sunday night he was throwing back several drinks.

We're told the alleged victim brought Cuba a water while he was partying and singing karaoke because she thought he was drunk. While they were talking, Gooding allegedly grabbed her breast ... and a "heated argument" broke out.

Our law enforcement sources say the altercation got so intense, security had to step in to squash it, but Cuba still didn't leave for another hour and a half. We're told the alleged groping incident went down around 10 PM, and the woman called 911 just before midnight to report it.

Police arrived shortly afterward to interview the bar staff who confirmed Cuba had been there and said he's a regular. Cops say they also checked security footage, which showed him leaving the club.

Our sources say cops haven't seen any footage of the alleged groping, but the investigation remains open.

As we told you ... video of Gooding Jr. at the venue on the night in question shows him having a good ol' time with pals. At one point, he appears agitated with someone. It's unclear if that person is the alleged victim.

Felicity Huffman's fresh off playing a villain on Netflix -- and in federal court -- but in real life, she and William H. Macy are celebrating getting their kid into a cap and gown.

The couple attended daughter Sophia Grace's high school graduation ceremony Monday, as the L.A. High School of the Arts Class of 2019 was honored. The proud parents showed up dressed for the occasion ... for which they've been preparing for a couple weeks.

We've seen Sophia's mom and dad buying graduation balloons and flower arrangements, and now the big day was finally here. It couldn't have come at a better time for Felicity ... who's been going through it professionally and personally.

She officially entered her guilty plea last month in the college admissions scandal, and is now looking at the possibility of up to 4 months in prison when she's sentenced in September.

And, then there's all the buzz around Felicity's role as Linda Fairstein in the Netflix limited series, "When They See Us."

The series paints the former Manhattan prosecutor as the mastermind behind the false convictions of the Central Park 5 -- and Fairstein's been publicly lambasted since the series debuted.

Felicity plays her pretty brilliantly, but PR-wise -- on the heels of her federal case -- a Disney fairy godmother role might have been better. Timing.

Lil Xan can claim he pulled a gun on a stranger in self-defense, but right now cops are looking at the incident as a possible case of assault with a deadly weapon.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... LAPD's elite Robbery-Homicide Division has taken over the investigation which could lead to a very serious felony. We're told when the alleged victim first went to police over his Friday night run-in with the rapper -- captured on video obtained by TMZ -- the officer filed a report for assault with a deadly weapon.

Although, Xan never fired ... it rises to assault with a deadly weapon if the alleged victim feared he might be shot.

In addition to cops seeing the video we posted, our sources say detectives are also looking to pull video from nearby businesses and high-rise residential buildings. There's also a restaurant across the street that may have surveillance vid of the full encounter. That could provide more context beyond our video, which starts when the argument is already in full swing.

We're told detectives want to speak with Lil Xan to get his side of the story. After that, cops could present their case to the D.A.'s Office ... OR get a warrant to arrest him.

TMZ broke the story ... the alleged victim called out Xan for calling Tupac's music "boring" last year. Things quickly escalated ... with Xan pulling a gun out multiple times, and pointing it at the man.

The 22-year-old rapper said he only pulled the gun because he thought he was about to be attacked.

The man who copped to giving Demi Lovato a near-fatal overdose -- but was never charged with a crime -- is now facing what many Demi fans would call karma.

According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ ... Brandon Johnson is facing 3 misdemeanor counts for shoplifting and possession of heroin and ketamine after allegedly trying to swipe some pricey merchandise from a Macy's.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... Johnson walked into a San Fernando Valley Macy's and picked out a Michael Kors backpack, a pair of pants, a Puma hoodie and went into a fitting room. We're told Johnson walked out with just the backpack and tried to bolt after not paying for the items, but store security stopped him.

Our sources say the backpack was stuffed with stolen items, totaling $440, and the drugs.