Crime

Taylor Swift was almost visited by a guy who was ready to roll up to her East Coast home with a bat, gloves, lock picks and a crowbar -- but cops nabbed him.

Police in Westerly, Rhode Island arrested a 32-year-old man named David Page Liddle this past Friday after reports came in that he was acting suspicious at a park in the Watch Hill neighborhood, where Taylor has a mansion at the highest point in the area.

By suspicious, we mean people called in saying the guy had a backpack on with a metal bat sticking out. When police arrived, they say Liddle tried to scram, but they intercepted him.

Cops say Liddle told them he'd just gotten into town from New York, and before that ... from Nashville and Memphis. He allegedly said he was trying to "catch up with Taylor Swift" so she could help him with his music career. Police say he wanted to pay her a visit.

Well, police searched his backpack and found a cache of suspected burglary tools -- aside from the bat, they found 30 lock picks, a crowbar, gloves, a flashlight, screwdrivers and a rake.

That paired with the fact that he was allegedly witnessed near her property earlier in the day was enough for cops to arrest him -- Liddle was booked with possession of burglary tools and a weapon other than a firearm. Taylor was not at home when he showed up to her property.

The stakes are not only high for A$AP Rocky in his Swedish assault case ... the European nation itself could be forced to pay UNTOLD MILLIONS if he's ultimately cleared.

There's something we found about Swedish law that ups the stakes dramatically ... if someone is charged with a crime and is found not guilty, the country could be on the hook for all the money the victorious defendant lost as a result of incarceration and the trial.

In A$AP's case ... that's a fortune. He's already been in jail for going on 3 weeks and it's all but certain he'll be formally charged Thursday with aggravated assault. The chances of getting sprung from jail once he's charged are slim to none, because Sweden considers him a flight risk.

By the time he goes to trial, months may have passed, and that means a bunch of scheduled concert dates will go down the tubes.

He's already had to cancel 12 shows and is booked for 7 more through the month of September.

It's unclear exactly how much Rocky gets paid for each gig -- but between 2014 and 2017, reported booking fees from each concert range from $80k to $120k. It's 2019, so let's just say his flat quote these days is north of $100k.

The longer he sits in jail, the more the stakes go up ... $2 mil, and maybe a lot more.

Harvey Weinstein has an accuser who is coming after him a second time ... Paz de la Huerta, who spent part of the day Monday with NYC prosecutors.

We got Paz at the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, flanked by her attorney, Mark Heller. As they were leaving, Paz and Mark told us the meeting was about Weinstein, but they wouldn't get more specific.

You'll recall ... Paz is one of several women who've claimed Weinstein sexually assaulted them, and she even sued the disgraced movie producer over two alleged incidents, but the Manhattan D.A. declined to criminally prosecute Weinstein.

They say the D.A. wants to meet them again on Thursday ... unclear why.

She also sheds some light on her hospital scare a couple months back.

The man who attacked A$AP Rocky's crew will NOT be prosecuted for any crime, despite the fact that he incited the violence and persisted in harassing the rapper before A$AP finally snapped.

Swedish prosecutors just said they believe the guy who harassed Rocky attacked his bodyguard in self-defense, after being pushed and lifted by his neck. The initial video does not show anyone getting physical with the guy, but prosecutors have drawn that conclusion.

To the contrary, you hear Rocky in the first video trying to diffuse the situation, saying no one wants to go to jail.

Nevertheless, prosecutors say the guy was acting in self-defense when he hurled his headphones at Rocky's bodyguard, cutting his head.

Here's the bizarre part ... the bodyguard has already been CLEARED by Swedish authorities. So, on the one hand the bodyguard acted appropriately, and on the other he incited the violence and caused the other guy to act in self-defense. In other words, it doesn't make sense.

The man was never taken into custody during the investigation, despite the fact that Rocky was detained a day after the incident and remains in jail 2 1/2 weeks later, and no charges have been filed.

It's clear Rocky will be charged with aggravated assault ... prosecutors mistakenly said as much last week. If convicted, he faces 6 years in Swedish prison.

The Swedish justice system is apparently an immovable force, because the Prime Minister has essentially told President Trump and the State Dept. to butt out after their attempts to free the rapper.

A$AP Rocky says race is not an issue in his detention, TMZ has learned ... but the reality is, he has to say that.

There's certainly plenty of smoke ... as we reported, G-Eazy -- a white rapper -- was arrested in Sweden for assault and cocaine possession, yet he only spent a day-and-a-half in jail, pled guilty, coughed up $9k and he was on his merry way.

A$AP's been in jail going on 3 weeks and he hasn't even been charged, and when that happens it will only be for aggravated assault ... an assault that was provoked by the alleged victim.

That said, our A$AP sources say he has made it clear to all in contact with him ... he doesn't think he's being held because he's black. That's consistently been his story.

Here's the reality ... if A$AP or his team DARED suggest he's being held because he's a black rapper, there would be hell to pay with the prosecutor and probably the judge as well. We've spoken with Swedish Embassy and other officials, and they're all adamant ... they do not discriminate. If foreigners suggested otherwise in court, our sources say it would be a disaster.

We're told A$AP will be charged and will then face 6 years in prison. The best defense they got is provocation by the alleged victim.

One thing's clear by now ... all the work the State Dept. and President have done trying to lobby Swedish officials hasn't worked ... in fact, it may have been counterproductive because prosecutors may not like what they consider intermeddling, and the Prime Minister is siding with them.

Jay-Z's 40/40 Club in NYC appears to have been visited by some would-be criminals who left their mark ... and now have the venue on edge.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... NYPD took a criminal mischief report over the weekend after the club's staff called cops and reported someone had jacked up their front door, in what the staff believed to be an attempted break-in.

We're told cops were shown photos of the damaged door, which looked like someone chipped away at it with some sort of instrument. However, officers noted the door had since been fixed.

Our sources also tell us that the police reviewed surveillance footage from the club, but found no clear evidence of a crime being committed. They're currently investigating whether this could've been an attempted break-in, and the case has been assigned to a detective.

Now, sources close to the 40/40 Club tell us the venue staff feels strongly this was a failed attempted break-in, based on what they've seen on their own cameras.

We're told the club is in possession of footage that shows two suspicious men hanging out in front of the building Friday afternoon, where one of them appears to come to the door in question ... according to the staff who reviewed it, anyway. The alarm didn't go off.

Our 40/40 sources also say that upon further review of more surveillance video, the staff noticed these two guys had been hanging around the club all week, with suspicious vehicles driving by around the same times as well. We're told the club feels they were staking the place out.

Now, it should be pointed out that the two men of concern are NOT suspects in the probe yet, as police didn't feel there was enough there to list them as such.

Well, this is a first ... a rapper was arrested in Georgia for weaponizing banana pudding.

Seriously.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Young Dro was arrested on July 5 for allegedly throwing a plate of banana pudding at his girlfriend during an argument at their Atlanta-area home.

We're told the two had been arguing over money -- but things got heated and the food started flying ... with both sides launching whatever delicious items they could find at each other.

Cops were called to the scene -- and despite the fact his GF made it clear she didn't want to press charges, they arrested Dro anyway.

He's now facing 2 counts of misdemeanor battery/family violence.

He's still in jail too -- according to law enforcement sources -- because he's also being held on a child support contempt order. The legal docs say he owes almost $41k in back child support, and needs to pay $10k to be released from custody.

Our Young Dro sources say the child support case involves another baby mama -- not his current GF who he had the pudding spat with -- and the rapper claims he's all paid up ... so it's a clerical error.

Young Dro's best known for his 2006 track "Shoulder Lean" featuring T.I. ... and had another hit single in 2013 called "FDB."

A$AP Rocky's hometown congressman isn't sure if President Trump is genuine in wanting to help free him -- but he says it doesn't matter ... as long as the end goal is achieved.

We got Rep. Adriano Espaillat in NYC Sunday -- where he represents A$AP's home borough of Harlem -- and asked what he made of Trump saying he'd guarantee Rocky's bail if need be.

As we reported ... Trump tweeted out an update on the legal sitch in Sweden -- where A$AP's been jailed for about three weeks now -- and said he spoke the Prime Minister, assuring him the rapper wasn't a flight risk, and that he'd even vouch for his bail.

Rep. Espaillat says Trump being willing to put his own rep on the line for A$AP's bail is somewhat irrelevant, 'cause as he points out ... money's not really the issue here.

Our guy asks if DT's just using this as a re-election tactic to tap into a new demographic of potential voters come 2020, but the congressman won't go there. He tells us he doesn't wanna speculate on potential motives -- but what he is sure about is that those wanting to get A$AP freed will take any help they can get at this point, including from 45.

Hard to tell if POTUS' involvement is going to help A$AP, because the Swedish PM says he made it clear that their judicial system is independent and won't be subject to outside lobbying.

'The Chi' star Sonja Sohn was arrested for cocaine possession ... TMZ has learned.

Sohn, who also starred in "The Wire," was arrested Sunday at 2 AM in North Carolina for cocaine possession, possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

The paraphernalia charges are misdemeanors, but the cocaine charge is a felony.

Police tell us ... she was arrested and brought into the station at 2 AM and bailed out 6 minutes later.

She posted $1,500 bail and left the station.

She will be arraigned Tuesday.

Sonja played Detective Shakima Greggs on all 5 seasons of "The Wire." She plays Brandon's mom, Laverne, on "The Chi."

A$AP Rocky may actually be in even more peril as he lingers in a Swedish jail BECAUSE the U.S. government tried to help him.

The prosecutor has shown no sympathy for A$AP, despite the fact that the person he is accused of assaulting assaulted him first, and it's all on video. Nevertheless, sources connected with the case tell TMZ, the prosecutor has been immovable on the subject of release pending charges, despite the fact that the U.S. State Dept. and now the President of United States got involved.

As we reported, the State Dept. waged a full court press last Thursday, trying to get A$AP out of jail, to no avail. The prosecutor mistakenly played his hand Friday when he released a statement an indictment will be filed against Rocky. His office said it was a mistake to say that, but the intentions are clear.

Sources connected to the case actually think intervention by the State Dept. and the President -- who essentially said he would guarantee bail if they would release Rocky -- could actually BACKFIRE because they are trying to get in the prosecutor's business.

The Swedish Prime Minister as much as said so Saturday, after Trump got him on the horn and lobbied for A$AP's release, telling Trump about "the complete independence of the Swedish judicial system, prosecutors and courts." A spokesperson for the PM said, "He [the PM] underlined that in Sweden everyone is equal before the law and that the government cannot and will not attempt to influence the legal proceedings."

Translation ... butt out.

Soulja Boy is making some huge changes to his lifestyle following a stint in county jail ... and that means shrinking his social circle and shying away from social media.

Sources close to Soulja tell TMZ ... his three months in L.A. County Jail served as an eye-opener, and now that he's back home, he's cutting people off and cutting off his time on Twitter and Instagram.

The biggest change ... we're told Soulja kicked a bunch of people out of his crib in the San Fernando Valley, the same home that was burglarized when he was locked up.

TMZ broke the story ... crooks hit Soulja's home and made off with $500,000 in cash, jewelry and his iPhone -- which the alleged thieves used to go live on Soulja's IG account -- and when SB caught wind of the burglary in jail, he was convinced it was an inside job.

Soulja's inactivity on social media is also related to the burglary ... we're told he's still upset about it, and he just wants to keep to himself and stay away from the masses.

As we first reported ... Soulja was sprung from jail last Sunday, getting out 146 days early due to a combo of good behavior, time served and overcrowding. Back in April, SB was sentenced to 240 days and 265 days of community service for violating his probation.

Prosecutors have finally hit Darren McFadden with charges in his wild Whataburger case ... charging the ex-NFL star with 2 misdemeanors that carry jail time if he's convicted.

McFadden was arrested back on January 21 after cops say the 31-year-old was asleep at the wheel of his 2019 GMC Yukon in the drive-thru at a Whataburger in Texas.

Officials say during the incident, McFadden resisted officers ... and it all ended up with the ex-running back's driver's side and passenger windows being smashed in.

Now, TMZ Sports has learned prosecutors have finally hit Darren with charges for the altercation -- charging him with resisting arrest and DUI with a BAC of greater than or equal to .15.

Both counts are defined as Class A misdemeanors in Texas ... which means McFadden is facing up to 2 YEARS behind bars and $8,000 in fines if he's convicted.

McFadden is due in court in October to face the charges.

Darren was a superstar at Arkansas before the Oakland Raiders drafted him with the 4th overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft.

Jussie Smollett's lawyers say the Osundairo brothers misquoted alleged defamatory statements they thought his team made, but turns out ... their own attorney said 'em.

Mark Geragos -- who repped Jussie during his criminal trial when he was still in the hot seat in Chicago -- filed legal docs asking a judge to toss the Osundairo Bros.' defamation lawsuit against him, one of his colleagues and his firm, which they filed in April.

One of the main quotes the brothers were suing over in their initial complaint was something they alleged attorney Tina Glandian -- another one of Smollett's attorneys -- said to the media that implied they were part of "illegal" Nigerian steroid trafficking.

The quote the Osundairos attributed to Glandian in their lawsuit read, "platform ... is all about being steroid-free ... Their whole thing is, you know, all-natural bodybuilding. It's ridiculous."

Welp, Geragos points out in his court filing that Ms. Glandian never said that at all -- in fact, it was their attorney, Gloria Schmidt, who said that to the Chicago Tribune in early April ... word-for-word. That alone, Geragos argues is enough grounds for dismissal -- but there's more.

Geragos and co. say that the brothers also paraphrased something they claimed Geragos said on a podcast he does with comic Adam Carolla, alleging the celeb attorney dragged their reps through the mud by indicating they'd attacked Jussie, committed perjury and conspired to make false statements to clear their names.

Geragos submitted transcripts of his podcast during the time of the criminal legal proceedings, and he notes ... he never said the brothers' names, nor did he say or indicate what they attributed to him. Another example Geragos cites for nixing this thing.

Long story short ... Jussie's attorneys say the brothers can't get their quotes straight, and by falsely attributing statements to Geragos and co. ... the suit should be axed, and the Brothers should also be punished with sanctions for allegedly lying to the court.

It was a shocking scene. An enormously popular Hong Kong actor who has a number of American movie credits -- is in the hospital after a man jumped onstage and stabbed him ... and the dramatic scene plays out on video.

Actor Simon Yam -- who appeared in 'Lara Croft: Tomb Raider' -- was onstage Saturday for the opening of a new store in the southern province of China. He was speaking to the crowd when a man walked onstage, pulled out a knife from his pocket and lunged at Yam with the weapon, stabbing him in the abdomen. The assailant then follows up by slashing Yam and then trying to stab him a second time.

Security intervened and subdued the assailant, who was taken into custody.

64-year-old Yam, who also appeared in 'The Cradle of Life' starring Angelina Jolie, "Election," "Exiled" and many other movies, is recovering from abdomen wounds and wounds on his arm from the slashes.

Kansas City Chiefs star Tyreek Hill will NOT be suspended by the NFL over allegations he physically abused his 3-year-old son ... the NFL said in a statement.

Long story short ... the NFL says it conducted a thorough investigation but ultimately could not reach a definitive conclusion that Hill beat up his kid.

"Over the past four months, we have conducted a comprehensive investigation of allegations regarding Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill," the NFL said.

The K.C. Chiefs star was suspended from all team activities back in April after disturbing audio surfaced featuring the NFL star arguing with his girlfriend, Crystal Espinal.

During the argument, Espinal accuses Hill of breaking their 3-year-old son's arm and claims the kid is "terrified" of the NFL star ... to which Hill responds, "You need to be terrified of me too, b*tch."

Hill denied all wrongdoing -- and in a later piece of audio that went public, Tyreek can be heard denying a 2014 attack on a then-pregnant Espinal ... saying, "Did I hit you? Tell me the truth in my eyes right now. Look at me."

NFL reporter Albert Breer says league officials were NOT able to interview Espinal for their investigation despite multiple attempts.

The NFL says they were careful not to interfere with the investigation being conducted by law enforcement officials ... but they also admit they simply did not get access to ALL of the information in the case.

"The information developed in the court proceeding is confidential and has not been shared with us, and the court has sealed all law enforcement records," the NFL said.

"Local law enforcement authorities have publicly advised that the available evidence does not permit them to determine who caused the child's injuries. "

"Similarly, based on the evidence presently available, the NFL cannot conclude that Mr. Hill violated the Personal Conduct Policy."

Now, Hill -- who had been suspended from team activities pending the investigation -- has been cleared to return to the Chiefs.

"He may attend Kansas City's training camp and participate in all club activities."

The league says Hill will "continue to be subject to conditions set forth by the District Court, Commissioner Goodell, and the Chiefs, which include clinical evaluation and therapeutic intervention."

The league is also leaving the door open when it comes to the case -- saying, if further information becomes available through law enforcement, the pending court proceeding, or other sources, we will promptly consider it and take all appropriate steps at that time."

The Chiefs released a statement on the NFL's decision ... saying "the club fully supports the conditions for return laid out by the league and will continue to monitor any new developments in the case."

"We are glad to welcome Tyreek back to the team and look forward to the start of training camp next week."

Slim 400 thought he was a goner as a hail of bullets rained down on him during a drive-by shooting in Compton ... but he miraculously survived, and now he says he can't be stopped!!!

Slim joined us on "TMZ Live" Thursday and gave us the lowdown on last month's ambush, which sent him to the ICU and into surgery 4 times after he was shot NINE TIMES by masked gunmen.

The "Bruisin" rapper admits he thought he was toast when the shots were popping off ... and he details the shooting, telling us why he was able to make it out of there alive.

It's pretty impressive ... Slim is walking around on his own less than 3 weeks after being shot, and the only noticeable injury is a loss of hearing in one ear, which he hopes will restore in time.

Slim explains why he taunted his shooters -- who are still on the streets -- and tells us what minor changes he's making after his brush with death. Sounds like he's heeding YG's advice to "stay dangerous."