Crime

Lauri Peterson's son, Josh Waring, says an Orange County Jail guard is flat-out lying about Josh's reaction to getting slashed by an inmate ... to cover up a screw-up on the jail's part.

TMZ obtained the criminal report filed for Josh's crazy jailhouse brawl from last month and in it, one of the correctional officers involved claims Josh said right afterward he knew the guards didn't set him up ... or allow the attack to go down on purpose.

Per the deputy's account, he says he asked Josh immediately after breaking up his fight with a razor-wielding prisoner if he knew what happened back there.

According to the report, Josh said, "Oh, I know you guys didn't do that on purpose." Josh also allegedly told the corrections officer he didn't wanna press charges against the slasher. He allegedly explained the guy was in a gang that didn't like him because he's in the protective custody section of the jail.

Josh and his attorney, Joel Garson, are calling BS, telling TMZ ... Josh denies EVER saying anything remotely like that. As for why the guard would fabricate a comment from Josh? Garson calls it a "cover your ass" statement.

When TMZ broke the story of Josh's attack, Garson told us he believes guards showed a blatant disregard for protocol because Josh's attacker shouldn't have been out of his cell at that time.

We know what you're thinking -- there's gotta be video of the guard questioning Josh to clear up the dispute. No dice! The jail tells us their corrections officers don't wear bodycams.

However, Garson tells us he plans to question the deputy under oath during a hearing this week. As we reported, Josh is in the middle of a federal lawsuit he's filed against Orange County and its Sheriff's Department.

The troubled son of former 'RHOC' star Lauri Peterson is recovering after getting slashed in his face during an insane jailhouse ambush ... and TMZ has video of the whole incident.

The brutal attack went down at the Orange County jail in Santa Ana when Josh Waring was on his way back to his cell. He never got there because another inmate jumped out wielding razors wrapped in towels.

This surveillance video of the October 9 showdown shows the attacker sneak into position -- hiding under a staircase -- and then Josh, in pajamas and sandals, is suddenly fighting for his life. Fists start flying and Josh defends himself well for a while -- getting in a few head shots -- but he eventually suffered deep gashes to his chest and face.

The brawl -- which moved off-camera, but was still visible in a mirror -- lasted nearly 90 seconds and only stopped when guards rushed in ... commanding both men to get down on the ground.

Josh's attorney, Joel Garson, tells TMZ ... his client was returning to his cell in the protective custody unit of the jail after making a phone call. He says the normal protocol is for all other inmates to be locked in their cells while another inmate is using the phone.

Garson says guards are supposed to confirm over the intercom that the other inmates are locked away. There's no audio on the surveillance video, so Josh's attorney says he can't tell if that protocol was followed -- but he says he wouldn't be surprised if the attacker was allowed to be out of his cell.

Garson is claiming it could be retaliation against Josh for filing a federal lawsuit against Orange County and its Sheriff's Department for violating his civil rights while he's been behind bars.

Another video shows Josh receiving medical treatment after the attack. He's surrounded by deputies as he describes his injuries. He was concerned the razors used against him weren't sterile, and he could've contracted an STD.

We're told he got 20 stitches to his chest and face, which was slashed from his left eye down to his chin.

The Orange County Sheriff's Department tells us it's opened a criminal investigation into the attack.

Josh has been locked up since 2016 while he awaits trial for attempted murder. He's accused of shooting a man at a sober living home where he was living.

He could get life in prison if convicted.

Garson tells us, based on this video, they are considering adding new claims to the federal lawsuit they've already filed against Orange County.

Kim Kardashian is doing more than just tweeting about an upcoming prison execution -- we've learned she's actually spoken with death row inmate Rodney Reed ... and is lobbying to set him free.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Kim spoke with Reed from death row just last week to discuss his scheduled killing on November 20. We're told Kim believes there are new witnesses and evidence to exonerate Reed, and implicate the real killer.

Reed' brother, Rodrick, posted a thank you note to Kim Monday, saying, "I want you to know you are a major God-send to my family - more than you may ever fully realize in this lifetime. You are a blessing to all the families you advocate for. We're so glad you have publicly voiced that you also believe he is innocent."

Our sources say Kim's been working tirelessly behind the scenes to provide legal resources to Reed as he tries to get a stay of execution.

Reed was convicted for the murder of Stacey Stites in Bastrop, TX -- where cops initially said he'd raped, assaulted and strangled her to death. He's maintained his innocence for over 20 years now, and just recently ... a former inmate claimed to know the real murderer.

A guy named Arthur Snow filed a statement with the court alleging Stites' own fiance -- who served time for a different crime -- confessed to him while behind bars that he killed her for sleeping around. Snow says they were both part of the Aryan Brotherhood in prison. Stites' fiance has denied this.

El Chapo's wife is in talks to do something really shocking, and that's talk ... on reality TV about the family business while El Chapo rots in prison!!!

Emma Coronel Aispuro was recently in Miami for a sit down with none other than cocaine godmother Griselda Blanco's youngest son, Michael Blanco. It was a business meeting, but not THAT kinda biz -- sources familiar with negotiations tell us Emma and Michael were talking about her joining the cast of VH1's "Cartel Crew."

TMZ got these pics of Emma aboard a yacht -- note the bodyguards in black watching over her -- as Michael and his baby mama, Marie, pulled up on their boat for the face-to-face meeting. Michael is already one of the stars of 'Cartel' ... which is currently in its second season.

The scene looked kinda "Scarface"-y ... which, we're guessing, is exactly why VH1's trying to convince Emma to come aboard. Drama sells.

What's crazy about this deal is the fact that El Chapo's gang -- the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico -- is still VERY much active and dangerous, even though he's serving out a life sentence in federal prison.

Just a couple weeks ago, they forced Mexican authorities to release Chapo's son by taking soldiers and cops hostage. Point is, Emma's past is still alive and kicking ... so, you gotta wonder how much she could safely say on the show.

Felicity Huffman is still doing time -- a few hours at a time -- as part of her community service sentence for her role in the college bribery scandal.

The actress appeared to be in good spirits as she left The Teen Project near Los Angeles Sunday, even flashing a slight smile as she walked to her ride.

Felicity spent 3 hours inside the center for the nonprofit organization -- which serves at-risk homeless and sex-trafficked young women -- presumably to chip away at the 250 hours she needs to log per her sentencing guidelines.

As we reported ... Huffman was released from prison after doing just 11 days behind bars at FCI Dublin in Northern California, but she's been serious about settling her debt to society since she got out.

"Spy Kids" star Daryl Sabara has just been hit with 2 misdemeanor charges after allegedly flexing some serious muscle and going to town on somebody's car with his bare hands!!!

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the actor was walking by a parked car near the UCLA campus when he stopped and started ripping off two custom side panels. We're told Daryl booked it after the damage was done.

According to charging documents obtained by TMZ ... Daryl just got slapped with one count of vandalism and one count of tampering with a vehicle. His arraignment is set for later this month in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

Our sources say the incident, which went down in March, was captured on surveillance footage at a housing complex. The car's owner doesn't personally know Daryl and is stumped as to why Meghan Trainor's husband allegedly screwed with the whip.

Green Bay Packers star Za'Darius Smith was stopped in September for allegedly speeding ... and when officers searched his car, they cuffed him for having weed.

According to court records, Smith was pulled over on Sept. 29 -- just days after the Packers' loss to the Eagles -- in Racine, Wisc. after cops say he was going 21 MPH over the speed limit.

Per police records, obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Smith was allegedly doing 81 MPH in a 60 MPH zone in his 2019 GMC Yukon at around 5:30 PM.

The records say when the officer pulled over Smith -- who's car passengers included teammates Rashan Gary and Kingsley Keke -- he smelled a strong odor of marijuana.

The records say after the officer searched the car and found three blunts and a vaping cartridge ... Smith took ownership of them, saying, "I'll put it on me."

Records show Smith was hit with citations -- NOT criminal charges -- for speeding and possessing marijuana ... and the Packers players were then allowed to leave.

Smith is due in court next week to deal with the matter.

"The Packers are aware of the matter involving Za’Darius Smith," a team spokesperson told the Sentinel on Friday. "We will refrain from making any further comment as it is a legal matter."

Smith -- who's been a superstar for Green Bay this year after signing a 4-year, $66 MILLION contract this offseason -- could now be subject to NFL discipline under the league's personal conduct policy.

... All for some weed. Ridiculous.

Supermodel Stella Maxwell just got some much-needed protection ... from a man who allegedly threatened to rape her, shoot her and set her house on fire.

The Victoria's Secret model filed legal docs seeking a restraining order against a man named Ruben Velazquez, whom she claims has been showing up at her house uninvited and sending her crazy threats via Instagram for the past couple months.

Maxwell says he made several scary visits to her residence and sent her dozens of IG messages ... including a photo taken just a few feet from her house.

According to the legal docs, Velazquez also sent alarming messages like "I'm thinking of burning your house" ... "buy a shotgun with long range and leave you lame" and various messages referring to being her husband and saying, "we are going to f*** Stella."

Maxwell says the last message she got from him said, "I'm going to be a serial killer."

And, there's more ... "I will find you" and "You are going to have to kill me." As well as, "I [will] leave you in a wheelchair."

A treasure trove of dangerous items seized from Ted Bundy's infamous Volkswagen Beetle now have a new owner ... Zak Bagans.

The "Ghost Adventures" star tells TMZ ... he bought a ton of Ted's murderous memorabilia from a key detective who worked the Bundy case ... and the big-ticket item is Ted's murder kit, which includes Bundy's ski mask and a red-handled ice pick.

Also in Zak's haunted haul  -- 2 mismatched gloves, a flashlight, orange wire, Glad trash bags, a brown gym bag, white clothesline rope and strips of bed sheets used for tying up his victims.

The items were seized by cops when they pulled over Ted's car way back in 1975 ... and they were in former detective Jerry Thompson's possession until his wife sold them to Zak.

Bundy's ski mask is the pièce de résistance -- Ted wore it during his gruesome crimes -- and Zak tells us it's terrifying and oozes bad energy.

The murder kit is pretty spooky on its own ... and Zak tells us he also bought Bundy's trial papers, photos, audiotapes and evidence samples ... and it's all headed to his Haunted Museum in Vegas, where everything will be displayed publicly for the first time.

As we first reported ... Zak previously dropped $50,000 on the glasses Ted used to disguise himself and elude authorities.

Bagans says he wants to display part of Ted's dark history so folks learn about the "monsters that walk among us."

Kevin Spacey won't be charged in a sexual assault case in Los Angeles because the alleged victim died during the investigation ... TMZ has learned.

Spacey was accused of forcing a male massage therapist to touch his genitals during an in-home session back in 2016. The therapist claimed he suffered emotional pain and distress from the incident ... but Spacey denied everything.

The L.A. County District Attorney's Office just rejected the case because the alleged victim passed away during their investigation. Without a victim, the D.A. said the case could not be proven. Law enforcement sources tell us the man died of natural causes a few weeks ago.

We broke the story ... the L.A. County D.A. declined to file charges against the actor for another case in which a man claimed he was sexually assaulted by Spacey in 1992. The D.A. concluded it was well beyond the statute of limitations.

Felicity Huffman is swapping her prison green jumpsuit for a business casual look ... but she's still serious about settling her debt to society.

The "Desperate Housewives" star and her hubby, William H. Macy, headed into a downtown L.A. building that's homes to the federal probation offices. Unclear exactly who Felicity met with a hearty handshake outside the building, but we do know she was required to check in with her probation officer within 72 hours of being released from prison.

As we reported ... Felicity got outta jail Friday after doing just 11 days behind bars at FCI Dublin in Northern California for her role in the college bribery scandal.

She quickly made her presence felt ... and might have even made a friend or two while in the big house.

Anyway, as part of her sentence, Felicity also has to log 250 hours of community service -- which she might have gotten a jump on last month -- and remain under supervised release for one year.

Certainly looks like she's toeing the line when it comes to sticking to her sentencing guidelines.

Dave East is off the hook for misdemeanor battery stemming from his Vegas three-way gone wrong ... and it's all because he told the judge he sustained a concussion during the fight.

Dave's attorney, Stacey Richman, tells TMZ ... she submitted medical documentation showing Dave suffered a concussion during the altercation, and as a result, the criminal case against the rapper was dropped. Richman says that injury shows Dave did not instigate the incident, and "he attempted to responsibly quell the situation."

Court records confirm the criminal case has been dismissed.

We broke the story ... Dave was cited for misdemeanor battery in Vegas last month after cops said bottles and punches were thrown in the middle of his 3-way sexual encounter at the Delano hotel.

As we reported ... Dave told cops one of the ladies started hurling champagne bottles at him from across the room, and he claimed two made contact. Richman said Dave went for a CAT scan after the incident ... and apparently the results showed he sustained a concussion.

David Schwimmer's home became a landing pad for a guy who pivoted in the wrong direction -- and, unfortunately, he got arrested for it ... TMZ has learned.

A spokesperson for the NYPD tells us that a 29-year-old man named Eric Rosa was arrested early Sunday morning around 12:30 AM ET for criminal possession of a weapon and criminal trespass. So ... what's that got to do with our good friend, Ross Geller, you may ask?

As it turns out, the place this guy was nabbed at happened to be Dave's East Village residence -- a luxurious 6-story house, per online records -- but it doesn't appear to be an attempted break-in or targeted on the face of things ... so Dave should be able to rest easy.

Here's what happened, per law enforcement sources with direct knowledge. We're told Rosa somehow made his way to a high up ledge that connected David's building to a separate neighboring property, and the guy literally fell into Dave's back yard.

You might've guessed it by now ... our law enforcement sources say cops believe the guy was pretty wasted and lost his balance trying to walk between buildings.

Anyway, we're told that while the man was in David's yard ... he found a brick and used it to smash David's window, completely shattering it. Our sources also say that responding officers believed the guy was trying to alert someone that he needed help getting out.

Well, it got somebody's attention alright. We're told a person inside heard the commotion and called 911. BTW, David himself was NOT home during the incident. Still ... pretty freaky.

"Supernatural" star Jared Padalecki was arrested at a club he tends to frequent quite often -- which makes this story all the more ghastly.

Jared -- who plays Sam Winchester on the show, opposite Jensen Ackles -- was busted by cops early Sunday morning in Austin, TX outside of a lounge called Stereotype. Per his booking sheet, he's facing two counts of assault and one count of public intoxication.

Based on video TMZ obtained in the moments leading up to Jared's arrest ... you can see why. The guy was getting physical on the sidewalk, and cops had to get involved.

Eyewitnesses on the scene tell us that at first, Jared allegedly struck a bartender in the face from inside the establishment ... and that a friend tried calming him down outside, but got put into a headlock after a standoff, which you can see here in the footage.

We're also told he got into it with the general manager of the place, and allegedly struck him in the face as well. Eventually, Jared was restrained by police ... but not before pulling out what we're told was a wad of cash, and allegedly flashing it to the officers.

As for Jared's connection to Stereotype -- it's a bit hazy, but he's definitely a regular and might even be an investor too. Local reports suggest he straight-up owns the joint -- he and Jensen own respective businesses in Austin aside from this, BTW -- and we could probably buy that, considering he was there opening night last year, and drops in a lot.

Myles Garrett was one cool hombre after getting sucker punched in the face by a fan in the street -- which you can clearly see here in the body cam footage and 911 call on the day of.

TMZ Sports obtained the footage from the scene after the Browns defensive end had been socked by a dude in the streets of Cleveland, and it's clear he wasn't rattled or even all that injured. Myles just wanted it taken care of, so he filed the necessary report.

In the body cam footage from the responding officers, you see Myles explain what exactly happened. From his words, it sounds like a dude -- whom cops later ID'd as a suspect named Richard Perez based on license plate info -- tricked Myles into a street side photo-op.

Myles tells the officers that he was in the middle lane on the phone with someone, when he noticed somebody in another vehicle next to him waving their phone at him in what he took as wanting to take a pic with him.

He eventually obliged once he was done with his own phone convo. Myles says he cracked his window just enough so the man could get a clear shot, but as soon as he did the man snapped away

We also got a hold of the 911 call Myles placed right afterward, and again ... the guy sounds stoic and matter-of-factly. A testament to his toughness for sure ... we doubt most folks in that sitch would be nearly as collected as Myles is here in both scenarios.

Wanna join the Ohio University club rugby team?!? Great, here's whatcha (allegedly) gotta do.

Slam a "mad dog" handle, run around naked, chug a beer and then "tag a car" with your genitals!!! Still want in?!?

It's all part of an alleged hazing incident at OU, according to newly released documents stemming from a University-wide investigation into several clubs, fraternities, sororities and even the marching band!!!

In short, the school believes it has a problem with aggressive hazing after receiving a ton of complaints, according to student outlet The Post.

TMZ Sports obtained the report that was submitted in October about the OU Men's Rugby Organization:

"A friend contacted me after being forced to drink a 'mad dog' handle, which is liquor then forced to run around naked then chug a beer and tag a car with his genitals.

"This is not the first time I’ve heard of forced drinking within the Rugby team. Or coerced drinking I should say."

The school has taken swift action against the rugby team -- ordering them to "cease and desist" from all organizational activities. In other words, they're suspended from operating.

The allegations against the fraternities are pretty bad too ... one complaint said a fraternity made blindfolded pledges sit in a basement while listening to the same song on repeat for hours.

Another allegation says Delta Tau Delta members forced pledges to carry pieces of fruit on their bodies at all times and if an active member saw them, they could smack the fruit out of their possession.

If they successfully knocked the fruit away, the pledge had to replace the piece with a larger fruit item the next day, progressing up to the size of a watermelon.

As for the marching band ... they allegedly forced new members to muddy up their band jackets and then wear them!!! Some people complained new members were pressured to drink alcohol. The allegations against the band are definitely not the worst.

Still, the Marching 110 was also ordered to cease and desist.

University officials have issued a statement saying the school is "committed to a safe and respectful campus environment that aligns with our institutional values of citizenship, civility, character, community, and commitment."