Crime

Matt Lauer did not have a single special moment on "Today" during his 20-year run as cohost of the show ... at least according to the producers of an anniversary montage.

NBC released a highlight video Thursday in honor of its morning program celebrating 25 years in the famed indoor/outdoor Studio 1A ... but Lauer's nowhere to be seen.

Check it out ... the 5 and half minute vid opens with Savannah Guthrie talking about the big move to 1A in 1994, and features clips and interviews with several other "Today" stars like Al Roker, Hoda Kotb, Lester Holt, Craig Melvin, Jenna Bush, Carson Daly and of course Katie Couric and Bryant Gumbel.

The montage leaves out Lauer, though, who took over for Gumbel back in 1997 and remained there until November 2017 ... when he was fired by NBC for sexual misconduct.

As you know, Lauer's accused of sexually harassing multiple female NBC staffers during his time with the network, along with specific allegations of exposing himself, giving sex toys as gifts, and having a button under his desk to lock the door without getting up.

The scandal is still clearly on the minds of "Today" honchos who decided to keep him out of the "special" tribute. Interestingly, Ann Curry -- who had issues with Lauer and claims she told NBC brass he was a problem back in 2012 -- was also left out of the montage.

10:49 AM PT -- In addition to the curfew, Durk will need to wear an ankle monitor at all times. He also is prohibited from having any contact, direct or indirect, with gang members.

He also cannot be near or possess any weapons, and must stay at least 200 yards away from the victim.

Lil Durk will soon get his wish and be sprung outta jail ... after a judge granted him bond.

The rapper was in court Thursday in Atlanta for a bond hearing which the judge granted and set at $250k. Durk will NOT be on house arrest but will have a curfew from 11 PM until 7 AM.

TMZ broke the story ... Durk turned himself in to police nearly a month ago after an arrest warrant was issued in connection to a February shooting outside a restaurant called The Varsity. He asked the court to grant him bond ... arguing he's not a flight risk. Obviously, the judge agreed.

Durk will now be free while he awaits trial for his alleged role in the shooting. The rapper's attorney, Manny Arora, tells TMZ ... Durk will post bond and be released Friday.

Durk had been booked for 5 felony charges ... including criminal attempt to commit murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during commission of a felony, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and another charge of associating with a criminal street gang to participate in a crime.

Kendall Jenner's alleged stalker has gone off the radar -- with cops and his family -- and his whereabouts is unknown ... officials are afraid he's trying to get back to L.A. and Kendall.

38-year-old Canadian citizen John Ford was deported from the U.S. earlier this month after ICE arrested him in New Mexico. You'll recall, LAPD arrested him last fall after he scaled a hill and made it onto Kendall's property ... more than once.

Now, we're told Ford's family members in Toronto -- who were supposed to keep tabs on him -- say they have no idea where he is. The last communication law enforcement had with Ford was when they dropped him at the Toronto airport, but he's gone completely MIA since then.

That's a problem for a number of reasons -- not the least of which includes any attempt to return to KJ's place in Bev Hills. Our sources say Kendall and her team are on high alert and prepared to act if need be.

We're told it would be near impossible for Ford to reenter the country at border checkpoints since law enforcement's looking out for him -- however, if he attempts to get in illegally ... all bets are off.

Authorities ask that if he's spotted, people call their local law enforcement.

4:29 PM PT -- Officials say Sixto David Fernandez was the target of the attack because Victor Hugo Gómez believed Sixto "ratted him out" to police years ago.

The gunman who shot David Ortiz in the Dominican Republic earlier this month DID NOT mean to target Big Papi ... so say D.R. officials, who say it was Ortiz's FRIEND they wanted to kill.

D.R. police and prosecutors just announced Sixto David Fernandez -- who was allegedly sitting near Ortiz at Dial Bar and Lounge in Santo Domingo on June 9 -- was supposed to be the target.

Unclear why Fernandez was the target. We're trying to gather information on who Fernandez is and what he does for a living. All we know so far is that cops say he's buddies with Ortiz.

Officials say the gunman who shot Big Papi from point-blank range in the back was confused by the clothing Ortiz was wearing and fired on him instead of Fernandez.

A cell phone image taken of Sixto by one of the alleged accomplices in the crime was allegedly used to identify Sixto for the hit.

But officials say the gunman mistook white items near Sixto as white pants (Ortiz was wearing white pants that night) ... and that's where the confusion all began.

Officials say they were able to confirm all this because they were able to obtain the picture that was circulated amongst the alleged criminals.

Officials also say a man named Victor Hugo Gómez -- a 43-year-old who's wanted in the United States after being caught in a major federal drug bust -- is the one who ordered the hit.

As we previously reported, officials say at least 10 people were paid around $8,000 to complete the hit.

25-year-old Rolfi Ferreira Cruz admitted to being the man behind the gun ... but said from his D.R. jail cell last week Ortiz was NOT his intended target.

Prosecutors say regardless of who the intended target was ... they still plan to pursue serious criminal charges against all of the alleged suspects.

9:52 AM PT -- Police arrested Tyson Wednesday morning after he was allegedly involved in a dispute with another individual around 2:45 AM.

Actor Richard Tyson -- best known for his role as the villain in "Kindergarten Cop" -- is in some serious hometown trouble after getting arrested.

The actor was busted early Wednesday morning for harassment and public intoxication in Mobile, Alabama. Tyson was born there and his brother, John Tyson Jr., was the former Mobile County District Attorney.

Cops in Mobile have not released the details behind what exactly led to Tyson's arrest.

Tyson has played TONS of TV and movie roles. Aside from his star-villain turn in 'Kindergarten' ... he also played Staff Sergeant Daniel Busch -- one of the soldiers in a doomed chopper -- in 2001's "Black Hawk Down."

He's still working a lot in Hollywood ... with more than a dozen projects in the works, completed or near completion.

But, of course, his biggest role is still as Cullen Crisp ... the drug dealer who went toe-to-toe with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1990 flick, "Kindergarten Cop."

Story developing ...

R. Kelly once again wiped the slate clean when it comes to back child support ... 'cause he's all paid up until the next round ... according to his attorney.

Steven Greenberg says his client forked over the delinquent $32k in child support and interest that ex-wife Drea Kelly was demanding. Greenberg tells us the cash covers everything owed up to this point, and R. Kelly "doesn't owe one more single solitary cent" ... at least 'til next month's $21k child support payment is due.

As for how exactly R. Kelly's coming up with this kind of dough right when he needs it -- when just a few months ago it seemed he was struggling -- Greenberg tells us he assumes the singer's rolling in the royalties, although he notes he's not certain about that.

We know R. Kelly's been working some gigs here and there for income, but it doesn't seem he's been hitting the road much since his paid appearance in April. His crisis manager, Darrell Johnson, says they're working to secure more work in the near future.

The royalties thing could make sense -- R. Kelly's music streams have seen a spike since he's been corralled back into the spotlight. Presumably, those are paying off for him now.

Either way, Greenberg tells us that there shouldn't be any more significant issues with R. Kelly's child support payments going forward. He says he can't guarantee they'll always be made right on the dot, but they'll get to Drea without major hiccups as his criminal case proceeds.

Cuba Gooding Jr. and his accuser were nearly face-to-face one full hour AFTER he allegedly groped her breast in the NYC bar ... and she appears to be trying to interact with the actor. The question is ... why?

We've combed through well over an hour of the surveillance footage we obtained, and it shows one final encounter between the accuser and Gooding. Based on the video's time stamp ... at 11:19 PM on June 9 ... Cuba, his GF, Claudine De Niro, and the accuser all walked into the rooftop deck area of Magic Hour Rooftop Lounge.

The interaction is interesting ... Claudine walks in first and goes to talk to some friends. A mere TWO seconds later, the accuser walks in right behind Claudine ... and just THREE seconds later, Cuba walks into frame, accompanied by a security guard.

Gooding walks in the opposite direction of his GF, and walks right past the accuser. He's within a couple feet of her when a bar host starts walking and talking with him. The accuser attempts to walk right behind them, but is intercepted by the security guard, who gestures for her to walk in the opposite direction.

What's unclear is if she is trying to confront the Oscar winner about the alleged groping, or if she's trying to hang out with him.

Remember, this is 64 minutes after the accuser's first contact with Cuba ... when he clearly, and admittedly, touched her thigh. Right after that, she claims he touched her breast without consent. Gooding says he only reached for her hand to kiss it.

Back to 11:19 PM ... Claudine eventually followed Cuba and walked to the far end of the bar, off-camera with him, the host and the security guard. We know police arrived shortly thereafter. It's unclear exactly when the accuser called police -- whether it was before or after this 11:19 PM interaction.

Worth noting that at no point on the surveillance video we've obtained do you see an angry interaction between the accuser and Gooding that required security to step between them -- as was initially reported.

Brittney Taylor has been ordered to stay the hell away from the woman she allegedly beat during a wild brawl in her luxury Manhattan apartment complex.

A judge in New York has signed off on a temporary order of protection against the 'Love & Hip Hop' star. Brittney must now stay away from the woman, and if she's got any firearms, she's gotta turn them over to cops.

The temporary order of protection will stay in effect through December 14.

According to cops, Brittney hurled a cell phone at the woman, striking her in the forehead during their weekend melee. Police say Brittney also scratched up the woman's neck.

Adam Silver is vouching for Toronto Raptors President Masai Ujiri -- saying the guy is a good dude ... but the NBA commish tells TMZ Sports he's still investigating Ujiri like he would anyone else.

Of course, Ujiri is facing some stiff allegations after shoving a cop after Game 6 of the NBA Finals ... with the officer's attorney saying his client suffered a concussion and a jaw injury in the altercation.

In fact, the Alameda County Sheriff's Office says it's pursuing a criminal misdemeanor battery charge against Ujiri ... saying it's set to meet with prosecutors this week.

When we got Silver out in NYC on Tuesday ... he told us he's known Ujiri for years -- but has still launched a full investigation into the allegations nonetheless.

"I've known Masai Ujiri for a long time," Silver says ... "I know he's a very decent person. But, at the same time, we of course respect law enforcement that does a great job protecting our fans in the arena."

"So, there's been an allegation here, so it's our job to look into the facts and make sure that everything's handled appropriately."

2:10 PM PT -- According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, cops were unable to find any DNA on the gun found in the same car YT was riding in. We're told because there were 3 people in the vehicle, investigators could not determine who the weapon belonged to, so YT will not face any charges.

The D.A.'s Office also cleared up details on the car accident that triggered the search. It was actually the police cruiser that was "unable to stop in time" before it hit Thug's Rolls-Royce.

Someone's gotta pay for what the D.A. deemed, "minor damage."

Young Thug's lawyer, Michael Goldstein, tells us, "I commend the District Attorney's Office for making the right decision after carefully reviewing the facts and body worn video over the past 9 months. The fact so much time and work went into this decision reinforces trust in our system of justice."

Young Thug will NOT be prosecuted in his L.A. gun case ... TMZ's learned the District Attorney is rejecting the case.

The D.A.'s Office tells us ... the case was rejected earlier this month due to insufficient evidence. YT's attorney, Michael Goldstein, confirmed to us the case is now closed. TMZ broke the story when cops busted Young Thug back in August -- a member of Thug's crew ran into a police car, which triggered a vehicle search. That's when cops discovered the weapons.

YT -- who was seen in handcuffs and escorted to a waiting cruiser -- was booked just after for carrying a concealed weapon in a vehicle ... a felony. The bust came on the night he was celebrating the release of his new album, "Slime Language" and his 27th birthday.

So, the arrest was quite the double whammy ... but now it's water under Thug's bridge.

Screenwriter and director Max Landis is being accused of sexual abuse and emotional torture ... as 8 women have gone public with their allegations.

The women claim the son of legendary director John Landis has a pattern of manipulative and vicious behavior. Many of the accusers claim he got violent and even raped them during their relationships.

The allegations come on the heels of one of the women, Ani Baker, taking to Twitter to warn other women about Landis, saying ... "the experience/aftermath of this person is really destructive, and it will be riddled with pain and emotional work that you don't need to spend your precious energy on."

Baker claims once, after they had sex, she playfully slapped Landis' butt and he responded by violently putting his hands around her throat and threatening to kill her.

While Baker may have opened the floodgates with her post, she's hardly the first woman to accuse Landis of abuse. He was widely accused of misconduct on social media back in 2017 when the Will Smith movie "Bright" was released -- which was written by Landis.

Actress Anna Akana wrote, "Written by a psychopath who sexually abused and assaults women, right? Cool."

The women claim Landis' MO is to use his circle of friends, which he dubbed "The Colour Society," to entice women to get close to him ... then torment them through a series of insults, intimidation, humiliation and in some cases, sexual violence. One woman described him as a "cult leader."

Another accuser, in the Daily Beast expose, claims Landis would pretend to hit her, then laugh when she flinched. Another claims he fat-shamed her, while another described him this way ... "He would systematically try to have sex with all the women I knew. We’re not people to him.”

Landis is also accused of forcing abuse and humiliation porn on a woman, and the worst of it -- forcefully holding down a woman and raping her despite her saying "no" repeatedly.

The cop who says he was attacked by Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri after Game 6 of the NBA Finals now claims he suffered a concussion during the incident ... and he's threatening to sue.

"He has a serious concussion; a templar mandibular joint injury, which is a serious jaw injury,” the officer's attorney David Mastagni told KPIX 5.

The incident went down Thursday in the moments after the Raptors beat the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena in Oakland ... the cop says Ujiri got violent over a dispute over credentials.

Alameda County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Ray Kelly said the officer claims Ujiri struck him in the chest and head. Ujiri is being investigated for misdemeanor battery.

"It’s an unprovoked significant hit to the jaw of the law enforcement officer," Mastagni said.

Officials have told TMZ Sports they are hunting for more video of the incident -- so far, the only footage that's surfaced publicly shows the direct aftermath ... NOT the alleged blow to the face.

The officer -- whose identity has not been made public -- has not filed a lawsuit yet ... but it seems it's only a matter of time at this point.

"All options are on the table. No options are off the table," Mastagni said ... adding, "No options are being ruled out as to how to rectify the situation."

Cuba Gooding Jr. remembers 2 things distinctly about his accuser -- that he absolutely did NOT touch her breast, and also that unlike most fans he meets ... she claimed to LOVE one of his worst movies.

Cuba's lawyer, Mark Heller, tells TMZ ... the actor says when his accuser approached him at the NYC club, sitting down on the couch next to him and his girlfriend ... she said she was a fan of his movies, especially "Snow Dogs." If you've seen it, you know why that would stand out to Gooding.

That initial interaction is what you see in the surveillance video TMZ obtained.

We're told, Gooding initially thought she was messing with him because she shouted out "Snow Dogs" over his Oscar-caliber classics, but he decided to be friendly since she was a fan.

As for the touching that's evident in the video ... Heller says Gooding admits placing his hand on her thigh as a cordial gesture -- as friends might do when sitting closely. Then he says he brought his hand up to her hand -- NOT her breast -- and brought her hand to his lips for a kiss. Again, Gooding says it was all a "friendly gesture."

The actor insists he did not touch the woman's breast and wasn't hitting on her ... as he was ever mindful his girlfriend, Claudine De Niro, was sitting in between them.

After the encounter, Cuba and Claudine went downstairs at the club to make out on a couch when the accuser confronted Gooding's security about the alleged groping. We're told Gooding says he had no idea what she was talking about and was confused about who she even was, because he'd met so many people that night. He then got up to leave.

When the case hit the media, Gooding claims he only remembered his interaction with the woman ... mostly because the surveillance video triggered his memory about her love of "Snow Dogs."

As for initial reports about club security having to break up a heated argument between Cuba and the accuser ... Heller says it didn't happen. He adds there are no witnesses nor video to support it either.

Bill Cosby's dishing out parenting and life advice to his fellow inmates ... no joke.

Bill's rep, Andrew Wyatt, says the famous inmate's a busy man behind bars with as many as 4 lectures per week. He's been doing this for around 3 months ... with crowds that often swell to more than 100 fellow prisoners.

Cosby's pitch ... that the inmate's lead by example for their kids and stay outta prison in the future. Cosby's urging the inmates to re-bond with their kids immediately upon getting out. Cosby's clearly trading on his all-American dad image from "The Cosby Show" ... and it's resonating with the prisoners.

Cosby works most with a group called "Man Up" -- inmates set for parole -- talking life lessons, keeping out of trouble and not getting locked up again.

We're told Cosby's also lecturing on finding work post-prison, giving them tips on interviewing techniques. He also lectures on substance abuse -- tips on how to stay clean. As you know, Cosby was convicted of drugging Andrea Constand, as well as aggravated indecent assault, for which he got a 3 to 10-year sentence.

And, he's mixing in his life lessons with comedy, which is laced through the lectures.

Cosby got skewered on social media for his Father's Day tweet for calling himself "America's Dad" ... but the comedian truly embraces the title in prison.

Kim Kardashian's West is helping convicts who were just trying to make a living selling drugs ... at least that's the way a former drug kingpin who served hard time sees it.

"Freeway" Rick Ross -- who went to federal prison in 1996 after making millions as a drug kingpin during the '80s crack cocaine epidemic -- made his sentiments clear at LAX ... selling drugs is not a violent crime -- it boils down to simple economics.

Ross says drug dealers are mostly trying to support their families, and that's why they got in the game. He praises Kim for spearheading the Lyft partnership ... which will help up to 5,000 soon-to-be-released prisoners get a ride to job interviews.

Ross tells us this is a huge deal ... even though he had a girlfriend to drive him around once he got out in 2009 ... many others at the halfway house with him weren't so lucky.

The ex-drug boss also praises Kim for doing the right thing ... even if it means working with President Trump.

A Dominican Republic hoops team showed MAJOR love for David Ortiz over the weekend ... ditching its normal set of unis for jerseys with Big Papi's face as the logo.

It all went down Sunday ... when Huellas del Siglo -- a local team in the D.R. -- rocked some bright orange gear that featured a picture of Ortiz tipping his Red Sox cap with the words "Big Papi" written underneath.

Of course, Ortiz was nearly killed last week when a man opened fire on his back outside of a nightclub in Santo Domingo.

But, fortunately for everyone, the MLB legend is doing better after surgery ... and Huellas del Siglo was so happy for the news, they broke out the custom jerseys against San Carlos.

"Today we pay homage to the living legend David Ortiz," the team said of the uniforms in Spanish ... "and we continue to pray for his total recovery."