Crime

Fake vaccine cards are selling like crazy ... and demand has shot up over the past few weeks, smack in the middle of the omicron surge.

First of all, this is terrible, and if it's not a crime ... it should be. The cards are going for around $250 ... $50 a pop more than they were going for back in September, and that means demand is high.

We're told thousands of people are hawking fake vaccine cards ... pretty shocking.

The folks studying the surge of fake cards tell us the price of the bogus cards will continue to rise as Omicron spreads and as people need to prove they've been jabbed ... and the holidays are accounting for increased sales.

The cards were originally sold on the dark web, but sellers have become emboldened as everything gets even more political and they're now selling the cards much more openly ... on various forums and chatrooms.

Kodak Black found himself behind bars on New Year's Eve -- albeit briefly -- but it sounds like it might be a big misunderstanding ... at least according to his attorney.

KB's lawyer, Bradford Cohen, tells TMZ ... yes, his client was indeed arrested early Saturday morning near Pompano Beach, FL on a misdemeanor trespassing charge -- but insists it's a bogus bust ... based on nothing but a cease-or-desist letter from 4 months ago.

Here's the deal ... Cohen says Kodak went to his old neighborhood of Greenacres to hang out with some pals for the holiday, and to also pay off credit card debt for 5 families living in the area who'd shelled out for Christmas gifts for their kids and loved ones.

At some point while he was there, we're told the cops showed up and took Kodak into custody -- telling him he was in violation of a letter issued by the local Housing Authority.

You might recall that letter ... it was fired off in response to Kodak delivering AC units to people there in Sept., which the HA apparently didn't appreciate. Anyway, it seems Kodak's mere presence this time around triggered a call to the Broward County Sheriff's Office.

Here's why Cohen thinks the arrest was unwarranted -- for one, he says the C&D never made its way to Kodak, meaning it wasn't served properly in that it was sent to his record label, and not him personally. Second, he says that letter says nothing about not coming onto the grounds, so it shouldn't have served as the basis of any arrest.

Derek Chauvin is experiencing the consequences of his actions, leading a dismal life in prison, under intense security and with few freedoms ... a fate he sealed for himself.

Chauvin's been locked up for 8 months now in the Administrative Control Unit, a sector of restrictive housing with extensive security inside Minnesota Correctional Facility-Oak Park Heights. He's got surveillance cameras on his every move, and the prison staff checks on him every 30 mins.

A rep for the facility tells us Chauvin remains isolated, without job opportunities, educational programs or contact with other inmates. Not only that ... he showers, eats, goes to the bathroom and sleeps all in the same cell. We're told he gets about an hour each day outside his cell for exercise.

While life behind bars may suck, it fails to create sympathy considering what he did to George Floyd in May 2020.

Detectives working to find out who killed Drakeo the Ruler are fighting an uphill battle, finding it hard to get anyone who may have info on the suspect to come forward and talk ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... investigators are mostly relying on surveillance and cellphone footage to crack the case. As we reported, he was stabbed in the neck backstage at the Once Upon A Time in L.A. festival on Dec. 18.

Our sources say detectives attempting to chat with witnesses to the scuffle ... but they're not talking, which makes it hard/next to impossible to nab the culprits.

Detectives are starting to go another route -- looking to see if the Slim 400 murder might be connected to Drakeo the Ruler's demise.

As we reported, there's a lot of tension between gangs in the City of Angels as of late, so cops are well aware of the chance for retaliation.

Nothing's been made public to connect the Drakeo and Slim murders -- but our sources say cops aren't ruling it out.

Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube and 50 Cent were among the acts set to perform at the festival where Drakeo was killed ... Snoop posted a heartfelt message, saying, "My prayers go out to everyone affected by the tragedy. Please take care, love one another and stay safe y'all."

He ended with, "IM PRAYING FOR PEACE IN HIP HOP."

Quavo and his crew beat the crap out of a Sin City limo driver ... all because the driver forgot to pick up someone in their group -- this according to a new lawsuit.

The Migos rapper is being sued by the limo driver, who claims the alleged beatdown went down July 3 in Vegas.

According to the suit, obtained by TMZ, the driver claims he was hired to take the Migos and their group from a local club to the Virgin Hotel ... but he says things went south when the passengers started yelling at him about leaving behind a member of their party.

In the docs, the limo driver tried reasoning with his passengers but was told, "shut the f*** up" ... and then someone chucked a bottle at him.

The driver claims it escalated, with as many as 5 of the passengers attacking him unprovoked ... repeatedly punching and kicking him, leaving him riddled with injuries.

According to the suit, the driver claims hotel staff and security had a front-row seat to the alleged beatdown ... but instead of stepping in to stop the fight, they fled for safety inside the hotel.

The limo driver claims the attack left him suffering physical and mental pain and even disfigurement ... and he's going after Quavo, Migos Touring and the hotel for unspecified damages.

Ghislaine Maxwell has been found guilty on all but one count in her sex trafficking trial.

Maxwell faced 6 charges ...  accused of soliciting and grooming minors for abuse and sex crimes at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein, which date from 1994 up until 2004. She was convicted on 5 counts, including sex trafficking of a minor. The jury deliberated for 6 days.

During the trial, 4 women testified that they had been sexually abused by Jeffrey Epstein when they were all under the age of 18 ... and said Maxwell helped Epstein and sometimes even participated in the abuse.

Maxwell pled not guilty to all charges. Her lawyers insisted she had been a scapegoat for Epstein ... who committed suicide in custody back in 2019 while awaiting trial.

She could face decades behind bars.

The 27-year-old brother of Washington Football Team star Montez Sweat was shot and killed on Tuesday in Virginia ... cops said Wednesday.

According to Henrico Police, officers responded to a call of a shooting in Henrico at around 4:09 p.m.

Cops say when they arrived on the scene, they found Anthony Sweat suffering from apparent gunshot wounds... and pronounced him dead at the scene.

Further details surrounding the shooting have not yet been released ... cops did note, however, that no one else was injured. They added no arrests have been made.

Police said an investigation into it all is underway ... and they're urging anyone with more information on the incident to call 804-928-0279.

Montez, meanwhile, missed Wednesday's practice mourning the death of Anthony ... and head coach Ron Rivera called the situation "rough" after the team's workout.

"It is rough," Rivera said, "and our thoughts and prayers are with the families."

25-year-old Montez has been a star for the WFT since being picked in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft ... logging 21 sacks in 42 games.

Armie Hammer has resurfaced after months of rehab ... he's back in the Cayman Islands with his kids.

Armie looks relaxed in a bathing suit and t-shirt, strolling poolside with his son.

It's the first time we've seen him since he left the rehab facility where he's been receiving treatment for more than half a year.

As you know, Hammer has been accused by several women of sexual abuse. The L.A. County D.A. is reviewing a file involving an alleged 2017 rape, but law enforcement sources tell us the case will not likely be filed. Hammer has denied the allegations.

Hammer had been dating a dental hygienist from the Caymans ... it's unclear if they're still together

A number of celebrities have reached out to the family of Valentina Orellana-Peralta, the 14-year-old who was shot and killed during the standoff at an L.A. Burlington Coat Factory, offering to pay their funeral expenses.

The family's lawyer, Ben Crump, tells TMZ celebs in the Hispanic community and beyond have offered to foot the bill for Valentina's funeral, and to a person they wanted their names to remain confidential. But he says the support the family has been receiving is overwhelming.

Crump says so far, neither the LAPD nor the City of Los Angeles has made a similar offer.

As we reported, LAPD cops rushed to the Burlington Coat Factory last week after getting a 911 call of a possible shooting inside the store. When police arrived they found a man swinging a bicycle chair with a lock attached as he swung at shoppers, striking 3 women and brutally bloodying one of them.

One of the cops fired 3 shots with AR-15, killing the suspect, but one of the bullets ricocheted off the floor and into the dressing room where Valentina and her mom were hiding.  The bullet struck Valentina in the chest, and she died in her mother's arms.

The police paid no mind to the teenage girl struck by a stray bullet in the fatal shooting at a Burlington Coat Factory ... at least according to her family.

Ben Crump is representing the family of Valentina Orellana-Peralta, the girl who was hiding in a dressing room when a bullet from a cop's AR-15 fatally struck her in the chest, and he just shared her family's harrowing account of what went down in the store,

Valentina's mother says they were in the dressing room when they heard shouting and screams -- a man was on a store rampage with a bike lock and chain -- and her daughter went to lock the door.

The girl's mother says they felt an explosion that sent them to the ground, and describes the graphic details of her daughter's gunshot wound ... and says police ignored her initial pleas for help and left her daughter's lifeless body on the floor when they finally came over.

As you know ... a cop with an AR-15 fired the fatal rounds that killed the suspect, but a stray bullet went through a wall and struck Valentina in the chest.

Timothy Williams Jr., a retired LAPD detective supervisor and expert on the use of force, says the cop with the assault rifle appeared to go rogue ... and he says police should not have used lethal force in this situation.

The LAPD just released police body cam footage showing the moment cops fired a round of fatal shots inside a Burlington Coat Factory ... killing the suspect and a teenage girl hiding in a dressing room.

The incident went down Thursday at a Burlington Coat Factory in North Hollywood, CA ... where police responded to a call about an assault and fatally shot the suspect, who was attacking shoppers with a bike lock and chain.

In the police footage released Monday, you see cops armed to the teeth walking through the store in search of the suspect, when they come across blood on the floor and a woman writhing in pain, with the suspect standing in an aisle.

The video shows an officer with an assault rifle firing what appears to be 3 shots ... and the suspect crumples to the floor.

However, police say they were unaware there was a 14-year-old girl cowering in a dressing room behind the suspect ... and one of the bullets struck her in the chest, killing her.

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office ruled the girl's death a homicide. She was identified as Valentina Orellana-Peralta and she was in the store shopping for a dress for her upcoming birthday party.

There's an LAPD regulation that says an officer can use deadly force against a fleeing suspect if the suspect poses a grave danger to others. In this case, the suspect had attacked 3 women with the lock and chain, drawing blood. In addition, the initial 911 call was for possible shots fired.

But, there's another part of the regulation that says when officers use their guns they must be aware of their surroundings. Here, shoppers had been in the store, and the walls -- especially those in the dressing rooms -- are paper thin. That could be problematic for the officer.

Killer Mike's Atlanta barbershop has been vandalized -- it's a graffiti-riddled mess with a muddled message -- but Mike's message is clear ... the person who did this needs help.

Mike posted a pic of his shop, and it is covered in the ramblings of a troubled man.

Mike says he's angry over the vandalism, but that's not his primary concern. Mike says he can repair the damage with relative ease. More difficult ... he says the guy who did it is mentally ill and desperately needs help.

According to Mike, the vandal thinks he's Kurt Cobain and Mike is part of some sort of conspiracy of silence. That may explain the Dave Grohl graffiti.

Mike says, " ... this man's mind is terribly broken. If u are from OKC and know his family or friends please DM so u can get him some help."

This is so Mike ... looking at the bigger picture rather than just that which affects him. He went on to say, "... I encourage all to check on your mentally ill loved ones because the world may not be as understanding as me."

Boosie is ending a tough year (socially) on an even rougher note -- defending R. Kelly ... and doing so by suggesting the dude's just got a thing for young ladies, NBD. 😬

The Louisiana rapper recently sat for an interview with VladTV, in which Kelly's conviction was brought up ... and Boosie was asked about it. He didn't hesitate to let everyone know how he felt about the case -- and that feeling is ... bitter resentment.

Check it out ... Boosie says Kelly got railroaded on similar charges he was facing in 2008, and thinks much of that has to do with his race.

But, then Boosie took it a step further ... justifying Kelly's actions as it pertains to his victims, brushing it off by saying, "I just feel like R. Kelly like the young bitches." There's more ... Boosie goes on to say claims R. Kelly kept his victims under his thumb at all times is BS.

He adds, "If you leave a bitch at the house, and you go on tour for two weeks and she don't go nowhere -- that bitch ain't been kidnapped. She waiting on daddy to come home."

Boosie also claims a "bitch ain't been sexualized if she been in the bed with three, four women. You know, she hasn't been (taken) advantage of, because ... she is willing!" He ends by saying Kelly's only mistake was the "age part."

The host, DJ Vlad, finally stepped in and pushed back on Boosie's wild characterization ... pointing out that Kelly was dating -- and eventually married -- a very underage Aaliyah way back in the day ... and not just that, but had gone to court over this exact issue over a decade ago.

Scary Xmas over at Windsor Castle ... an armed dude somehow penetrated the grounds before getting nabbed by cops.

The intruder is 19, carrying what British authorities call an "offensive weapon." That, folks, is British to the core.

Here's the thing ... it's scary because the Queen was at Windsor with Charles and Camilla.  Edward, Sophie and their 2 kids were also on hand to celebrate.

The armed trespasser did not make it inside any of the buildings, but still, getting on the grounds is crazy!

Queen Elizabeth skipped Xmas service ... staying indoors -- presumably because of COVID.

The suspect was busted on suspicion of trespass of a protected site, and possession of an offensive weapon. He's still in custody.  Police said, "We can confirm security processes were triggered within moments of the man entering the grounds and he did not enter any buildings. Members of the Royal Family have been informed about the incident. We do not believe there is a wider danger to the public."

Derek Chauvin will eat his first Christmas meal behind bars, while other infamous figures like R. Kelly, Joe Exotic and El Chapo already know what to expect ... so we thought we'd give you a peek at the menus.

R. Kelly and Ghislaine Maxwell are under the same roof at MDC in Brooklyn, and they'll share a menu that includes cornish hen and mac n cheese -- not to mention holiday activities like drawing, painting and a musical talent show.

A definite change for Robert ... it was just after Xmas in 2019 when he ate one of his last meals as a free man at a local McDonald's.

Derek Chauvin, locked up in Minnesota, will get beef stroganoff, carrots, bread, an orange and a slice of eggnog cake.

Joe Exotic, who's locked up in North Carolina, will get Cornish hen, mac & cheese, salad and a baked sweet potato -- there's a tofu option if he feels for the animals.

El Chapo's in Colorado, where Cornish hen's on the menu with peanut butter pie for dessert.

Mark David Chapman, John Lennon's killer, will get a chicken breast, potatoes, spinach and an ice cream sundae before getting to watch "It's a Wonderful Life."

Cops say Lawrence Taylor was arrested because he had been living in a hotel for months -- but failed to reveal that to law enforcement despite being required to do so.

It's all spelled out in new police documents, obtained by TMZ Sports, in which cops say the NFL legend committed a huge no-no after he failed to inform them that he had left his permanently registered address back in April.

According to the docs, officers say due to his status as a sex offender stemming from a 2011 conviction, Taylor must be diligent any time he moves and notify authorities of the change of address.

Cops, though, say an investigation revealed Taylor moved into a hotel in Florida on April 2 and had been living there without properly notifying them.

Police say when they questioned Taylor about the move ... he told them, "he was living at the hotel ... to avoid issues with his soon to be ex-wife."

Cops say Taylor told them he was unaware that he needed to report the change of address -- though the officers claim in the docs that they have paperwork showing Taylor should've known better.

According to the docs, cops issued a warrant for his arrest over it all ... adding that Taylor "promptly turned himself in" once he was made aware of the warrant.

Taylor has since been charged with two felony counts of failure to register as a sex offender.