Crime

Offset got pulled over by a cop who had trouble spelling his name, and it was all downhill from there ... except for a very small bone thrown his way at the end.

The traffic stop went down in late March in Sandy Springs, GA outside Atlanta, and according to the cop's body cam footage -- obtained by TMZ -- the rapper very much sounds like a guy who knows he's about to rack up a few tickets.

Things start off on the wrong foot when Offset asks the cop to turn his flashlight off and gets a stern "no" ... and Offset responds in kind when he's asked for his name.

It gets a bit more contentious when Offset asks why he got pulled over and isn't satisfied with the answer. Both parties then make it known they're recording each other -- pretty standard 2019 stuff.

When the cop finally reveals he's writing Offset THREE citations, Cardi B's hubby accuses him of being mad he's in a nice car ... and suggests the officers kids would be disappointed in him.

Offset also vows to beat the tickets in court, but turns out he wasn't up for the challenge. According to legal docs ... he paid the $470 in fines for speeding and failure to maintain his lane, along with $100 for missing a hearing in the case.

The good news -- Offset's citation for not having a license was dismissed, and of course ... he only got a warning from the cop to avoid a 4th ticket.

Ex-Michigan State star and NBA player Mateen Cleaves has been acquitted on ALL charges in his rape case ... after a jury determined the hooper was not guilty in court on Tuesday.

Cleaves -- who led Michigan State to a national title in 2000 -- was accused of taking a woman to a motel in 2015 and held her there against her will. The woman claimed Cleaves forced himself on her and raped her.

A jury of 9 women and 3 men deliberated for 2 1/2 hours before reaching the verdict.

Cleaves -- who has adamantly maintained the sex with the accuser was consensual -- had support from legendary Spartans coach, Tom Izzo, who attended the closing arguments in the Flint courtroom.

The guy who appeared, ON VIDEO, to swipe Frances McDormand's Oscar for Best Actress at the 2017 Academy Awards is walking away scot-free ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us 47-year-old Terry Bryant will not be prosecuted. As for why ... well, Bryant should send a big fat thank you to Frances.

We're told she was not willing to cooperate with investigators, so a judge dismissed the whole matter. Law enforcement sources tell us Frances wasn't down to work with cops from the beginning because she was embarrassed by the whole caper. She had merely left her Oscar to be engraved at the end of the ceremony, and then it turned into a whole media circus.

We're told Frances didn't even want to file a police report, but because the Academy of Motion Pictures actually owns the statuette ... it was listed as the victim, not Frances. However, she was the witness and prosecutors needed her testimony.

The D.A. tells us, "The District Attorney’s Office today told the court that we are unable to proceed at this time. The defense moved to dismiss the case, and Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Sam Ohta dismissed it."

You'll recall ... Frances' golden statue went missing after the broadcast when she was backstage talking to the media. Bryant was seen parading around with an Oscar that was later identified as McDormand's ... and was eventually arrested.

McDormand won the statuette for her portrayal in 'Three Billboards,' and in her epic speech ... she called on more diversity in the industry, from top to bottom.

Todd Chrisley's daughter, Lindsie Chrisley, is concerned her family might come after her in the wake of her very public accusations of extortion -- so now, she's protecting herself.

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ ... Lindsie is taking the beef with her family so seriously she's hired an armed security guard who will protect her practically around-the-clock. The new muscle was front and center when we saw Lindsie Monday outside her attorney's Atlanta office.

She made no attempt to hide it ... she's concerned about retaliation, even from a family member.

Our sources say Lindsie even went to her local police dept. to voice her fear about her father or brothers getting violent after she accused them of extorting her with an alleged sex tape. She claims they were trying to coerce her into lying about their tax woes.

Our sources say Lindsie's spending $130/hour for her security guard, who is an off-duty police officer.

Despite having said she eventually wants to reconcile with her family, Lindsie's obviously worried about her immediate future. Her troubled brother, Kyle -- who's publicly supported Todd in this feud -- was arrested for battery back in 2012, when Lindsie claimed he'd hit her in the face.

Check out her response on how she's coping with all the family drama -- Lindsie tells us she's disgusted by her dad and brother ... and now it sounds like the bridge between them is toast.

Chris Brown doesn't have to worry about a criminal case against him in Florida anymore -- the charge for allegedly sucker punching a photographer has been dropped.

It's a huge win for the singer, who got arrested last year after the altercation with a photog in a Tampa nightclub called AJA Channelside. We got some video of the alleged incident, but the State's Attorney's Office tells us, "After a thorough review of the facts and information from the alleged victim, our office determined there was insufficient evidence to prosecute."

More specifically, sources with knowledge of the case tell TMZ ... the photog "lacked credibility."

In case you need a refresher, Chris was booked to appear at the club, and according to club management ... Chis and co. were pissed the photog was snapping pics of them when they'd already tried shutting him down and refused any photos. Apparently, the guy kept at it while Chris was in a DJ booth, and CB allegedly lost it.

The photog says Chris socked him in the mouth, and caused some gnarly injuries. Chris was able to leave that night uncuffed, but about a year later ... he was nabbed by cops on an open warrant for his arrest when he returned to the Sunshine State.

As we reported, officers were waiting in the wings at Chris' concert in West Palm Beach last year, and after he was done performing ... they took him in to the station, where he posed for this mug shot. He was released shortly afterward on $2,000 bond.

Chris has gotta be happy about this -- considering he's still got an open rape investigation going on in France. He has not been charged there.

Miami Dolphins RB Mark Walton just cut a sweet plea deal with prosecutors ... his gun, drugs and battery cases are all now closed -- and the dude won't have to spend a second more behind bars for any of his alleged crimes.

Walton was arrested three separate times in the past year -- once for marijuana possession, once for an alleged battery and the third for leading cops on a wild police chase.

TMZ Sports obtained footage of the third arrest ... and you can see in the video, Walton in BIG trouble with officers -- getting tased and still managing to flea the scene.

In total, Walton was facing six charges for the three arrests ... including a felony gun charge. He was facing YEARS in prison if convicted.

But, we spoke with Walton's attorney, Michael Gottlieb, on Monday ... and he tells us Walton reached a deal with prosecutors in court to close everything out.

Gottlieb says in exchange for pleading no contest to a misdemeanor gun charge ... Walton had every other one of his charges dismissed.

His punishment, per Gottlieb, was six months of non-reporting probation. Gottlieb also says Walton will have to complete a driving course.

It's great news for the 22-year-old ... the tailback just signed a deal with the Dolphins this offseason, and is fighting like hell to make the team's roster.

Walton was a Cincinnati Bengals fourth-round pick back in 2018 ... but he was cut by the team after his third arrest in April.

Abel and Ola Osundairo are back in Nigeria, but this trip has no Jussie Smollett connection ... the brothers are there offering free medical services in their homeland.

Abel and Ola returned to Lagos this week ... far from the ongoing Jussie drama in Chicago.

The brothers organized a free medial outreach program, offering various free services ... like checking blood glucose levels and blood pressure, and calculating people's body mass index. Doctors were also on hand, prescribing medicines and treatments.

The brothers set up shop outside a local business and hundreds of people showed up to take advantage.

Remember ... the last time the Osundairo brothers were in Africa, they had just staged a fake attack against Jussie on a Chicago street -- at least that's their story, and cops and prosecutors believed them. Jussie says the "attack" was real.

This trek was all about community service and healthy living ... and no one cut them a check for $3,500.

The man who was once tight with Leo DiCaprio and help financially back movies like "Wolf of Wall Street," "Dumb and Dumber To," and "Daddy's Home" is selling his home ... kind of. It's actually being sold by the U.S. Dept. of Justice to recoup some of the billions of dollars the guy allegedly stole.

Jho Low, a Malaysian financier, is a fugitive from justice, charged with money laundering billions of dollars, among other things. He used to be friends with Leo and even took trips and partied with him. Unbeknownst to Leo, the guy was allegedly a hardcore crook, and when Leo found out he severed ties. Leo had to return an Oscar he got from Jho Low as a birthday gift -- a Best Actor Oscar Marlon Brando received in 1955 for "On the Waterfront."

As for the house, it sits above the Sunset Strip and the pics are pretty amazing. Jho Low bought it in 2012 for around $40 mil, but it's now being auctioned for $24,500,000.

The pics don't reflect what the house currently looks like. For some reason, Jho Low dismantled the inside and it's more of a shell now. Nonetheless, we're told there have been 5 offers and it's going into escrow as part of a court-ordered sale.

It's listed by mega-realtor Ernie Carswell.

Lil Yachty is looking at Boosie Badazz's weed case in Georgia with a glass-half-full type of mentality -- and doesn't seem to think he'll do jail time if convicted.

We got the rapper Saturday cruising around in Atlanta in a red Ferrari with a beautiful gal riding passenger, and asked what he made of Boosie's legal predicament there ... where he's currently facing two felonies and possible jail time for a little bit of weed.

TMZ broke the story ... the Coweta County D.A. hit the Louisiana MC with two charges -- possession of less than an ounce of marijuana, and possession of a controlled substance -- which are both felonies and carry max sentences of at least 1 year in prison, depending on how many grams he had on him at the time of his bust in April.

Yachty plays the semantics game with us, trying to get to bottom of what the reality of the situation is. Our camera guy got it right though -- Boosie's facing this sentence, which doesn't necessarily mean it's been handed down yet ... or that he'll actually receive it.

That's key for Yachty, who says there's an important word here giving him a feeling that Boosie probably won't be sent back to jail for this one.

Time will tell, we suppose. Remember, Boosie was sent to prison back in 2009 on drug charges in his home state -- which initially started with a marijuana charge -- that him kept him locked up for several years. He was ultimately released early in 2014.

It could've been way worse for Boosie Badazz ... but it's still pretty bad, because he's facing 2 felony charges in Georgia from his April drug bust.

The D.A. in Coweta County slapped the Louisiana rapper with possession of less than an ounce of marijuana, and possession of a controlled substance. When you see it's less than an ounce of weed, ya might think it's not that serious, but Georgia ain't Colorado or California -- it still takes marijuana very seriously.

As we reported, Boosie was arrested back in April when cops pulled him over in his white Dodge Charger for swerving lanes and nearly hitting another vehicle. During the traffic stop, officers found the ganja, one handgun and more than $20,000 in cash.

Prosecutors decided not to charge Boosie for the gun possession.

It's unclear why he got the pass. Boosie did have a passenger in the car, who is also facing the same 2 drug charges. If convicted, both men are looking at least 1 year in prison ... depending on how many grams of green they had. Remember, Boosie previously did 5 years in Louisiana for drug charges.

One last piece of accounting in the case -- prosecutors tacked on a traffic violation for Boosie ... failure maintain his lane.

Former No. 1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins was burglarized in Los Angeles ... and TMZ Sports has learned the thieves made off with the NBA star's shoes and luggage.

Law enforcement sources tell us the 24-year-old -- who's been in L.A. training for the NBA this summer -- had his place broken into earlier this month.

But, we're told cops described the scene as "amateur hour" ... because the burglars left jewelry and other valuables in the heist, and only took about $1,000 worth of the stuff instead.

We're told the thieves stole a pair of Wiggins' casual Nikes and his luggage -- and also made off with his rental SUV Escalade. But, we're told authorities were able to locate the vehicle a short time later.

As for Wiggins' property, the LAPD is currently investigating ... but no arrests have been made, and his stuff hasn't been recovered yet.

By the way, sources close to the situation also tell us the break-in appears to have had nothing to do with the string of burglaries that impacted celebs in the city over the past year -- describing this incident as random.

Wiggins has been one of the Minnesota Timberwolves' best players since entering the NBA in 2014 ... starting in 400 games in his 5-year career.

Ex-JUCO star Kishawn Holmes -- exonerated this week after being charged with rape -- tells TMZ Sports he was jumped by 18 men and stabbed in jail, and now that he's free, he's gunning to make the NFL.

As we previously reported, Holmes -- a star junior college running back -- was convicted of rape in 2018. But, new evidence emerged, and in December, Holmes conviction was thrown out after it was ruled he didn't get a fair trial. He was granted a new trial.

Fast forward to an L.A. courtroom Thursday ... the district attorney told the judge the state didn't wish to proceed with the case.

We're told the DA has no plans to re-file the charges.

We talked to Kishawn the day after his case was dismissed ... and he walked us through the moment he found out he was free.

"I just broke down in front of the courtroom. I just fell."

Kishawn says his time in L.A. County Jail was TERRIBLE ... where he experienced serious violence.

"I was in jail for 2 years, man. I got jumped by 18 people of a different race. Nose broken. Stitches in my eye, dislocated jaw. I got stabbed. I been in riots. I went to war. Hell and back, hell and back."

Now that he's out of jail ... and in the clear legally, Holmes says he wants to be an advocate for people falsely accused of serious crimes.

"Now I can be a voice. A voice for the wrongly accused. The voice for the females and males out there who actually had something happen to them, and they don't have a voice, and people don't want to hear them out."

Before Kishawn was locked up, he had a legit shot at playing professional football ... and, even while behind bars, he dreamed of playing ball.

"I used to be in my cell at night, like Kishawn Holmes, the 30, the 20, the 10."

Heather Locklear just pled no contest to 8 misdemeanors, including 6 involving battery on a police officer or EMT, and she's getting a sentence that will hopefully help her -- a sentence that does not involve jail.

The judge decided the appropriate sentence was 30 days in a residential mental health facility. The judge stayed a 120 jail sentence. Of course, that means Heather must complete the 30 days of treatment or else she could face the jail sentence.

Sources connected to Heather tell TMZ she wanted to take responsibility for what she did and wants to get help so she avoids such trouble in the future. She'll also be on 3 years of informal probation -- meaning unsupervised. Heather was also ordered not to possess weapons, non-prescribed medications or alcohol.

The judge said Heather must enroll in the treatment program by Sept. 6.

As we reported, Heather was arrested in February and again in June of last year. In the first incident, she was allegedly under the influence and attacked her boyfriend and a responding police officer. In the second incident, police responded to a disturbance call and allegedly a heavily intoxicated Locklear attacked a cop and an EMT.

Heather has been fighting substance abuse and coping with mental illness for years. She's been placed on an involuntarily psychiatric hold in the past and has gone to rehab a number of times.

We're told she's been getting professional help and the 30 days in a mental health facility will be the latest move to help her beat these demons.

Jeffrey Epstein's autopsy has just been released and it confirms what our sources told us this week ... he committed suicide by hanging himself.

The New York City Chief Medical Examiner confirmed the cause of death, refuting conspiracy theories that the disgraced financier may have been murdered.

As we first reported ... Epstein's blood vessels in his eyes popped when his air supply was cut off by the bed sheet that was wrapped around his neck. We were told he suffered petechial hemorrhaging ... which occurs when someone hangs himself or is strangled or smothered.

Authorities say they're confident this was a hanging.

As you know by now ... Epstein also suffered multiple fractures in his neck bones caused by the way the hanging occurred. We're told the bed sheets were tied to the top of a bunk bed and Epstein either hurled himself off the top bunk, or had his feet to the ground and hurled himself forward to cut off his air supply.

Authorities believe the former is true ... and could explain why his hyoid bone was fractured. Epstein attempted suicide on July 23 and was placed on suicide watch but taken off 6 days later.

The fallout from Epstein's suicide has been swift. Two prison guards were suspended and the warden was reassigned following major lapses in protocol at the correctional facility.

The real-life priest who starred in "The Exorcist" is now accused of repeatedly sexually abusing one of his students at a Jesuit High School in upstate NY.

Father William J. O'Malley played Father Dyer in the 1973 classic horror flick, but before and after his Hollywood success ... he taught at McQuaid Jesuit High in Rochester. One of his students just named O'Malley in a massive lawsuit filed this week against multiple defendants.

According to docs, obtained by TMZ, O'Malley allegedly sexually abused a then 17-year-old student "multiple times" in '85 and '86. His accuser claims the abuse took place in a classroom, in school hallways and also at school-sponsored events.

As it turns out, O'Malley left McQuaid High after the '85-'86 school year and took a job at Fordham Prep in the Bronx. McQuaid officials say they have no record of any sexual abuse complaints against O'Malley ... so it doesn't appear that was his reason for leaving.

The allegations were made in a lawsuit filed this week under NY's new Child Victims Act ... which gives alleged victims a 1-year window to make claims that would previously have expired under the statute of limitations.

O'Malley is now 87 and living at Fordham University. He was fired from Fordham Prep School in 2012, reportedly for having an "abrasive" old-school teaching style.

Prosecutors in the R. Kelly cases revealed some of the evidence they have to prove R. Kelly took underage women across state lines for sexual purposes.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, federal prosecutors in New York have more than a dozen flight records, birth certificates for a number of women, hotel receipts, bank records, medical records and various other business documents. They also have Uber records, photos and text messages.

One of the hotel receipts is for the Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel. Another is for the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut and the Planet Hollywood resort in Vegas.

The end game for prosecutors is to prove R. Kelly violated the Mann Act, which makes it a crime for people to transport people across state lines for illicit sexual purposes.

Kelly is facing criminal charges in multiple jurisdictions -- New York federal court, Illinois federal court, Illinois state court and Minnesota state court.