Crime

Jamar Mackey, the VA Beach man cops erroneously detained at a mall, says he's tested positive for COVID-19 ... and he's squarely blaming the maskless officers who cuffed him.

Jamar's outrageous encounter with cops on Dec. 19 made national headlines, because VA Beach PD grabbed the wrong guy in what appeared to be a clear case of racial profiling. At the time, Jamar and his fiancé told TMZ they were pissed -- not only for the humiliation and alleged profiling -- but because the officers were not wearing masks.

Jamar and Shantel Covil tell us they take the pandemic and quarantine very seriously because he owns a sanitizing business, and she has a home healthcare business. They both test frequently, and he says he got his positive test result on Dec. 22 -- just 3 days after the incident -- so he's convinced that was the source of his infection.

As for whether the involved officers have the coronavirus -- VBPD says they can't comment due to privacy laws.

So far, Shantel has tested negative, but Jamar tells us they're most concerned about their children, including their a newborn, contracting the virus.

Early reports of shots being fired in downtown Nashville before Anthony Quinn Warner blew his RV and himself to smithereens may be bogus -- because we've now learned there's no evidence he or anyone opened fire.

Federal law enforcement sources involved in the investigation and with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... yes, officers initially responded to the scene on Christmas morning after receiving reports of shots fired -- but since then, officials haven't been able to find anything to back that up.

We're told investigators have zero evidence to suggest Warner opened fire in or around the explosion site. Our sources say their initial theory was that Warner may have fired shots to get the cops to the downtown area where they would hear the recording from the RV of an impending explosion and clear the area so no one would be injured or killed in the blast.

There's another, more sinister theory ... that Warner wanted cops there to get close to the explosion, but officials now don't believe that. They say everything Warner did was to avoid loss of life, which is why he chose 6:30 AM on Xmas morning.

Now, our sources do say ammo was recovered at the scene, including exploded rounds that authorities say came from the RV ... however, they don't have markings of rounds fired from a gun. Authorities are convinced that ammo was in pristine condition until the explosion.

As for that loud bang prior to the blast, heard by the people who called 911 -- and we're told multiple people called -- our federal sources say they believe it could have been a recording of gunfire blaring from the RV, which would accomplish the same purpose of getting cops there to clear the area, but they just don't know for sure.

As we reported, there seems to be increasing evidence the AT&T building was Warner's main target.  Authorities think he may have been paranoid about 5G technology.

The Nashville police officers who were on scene just minutes before the massive blast walked right by the RV that exploded and devastated the downtown area, and you hear one of them say, "Good spot for a bomb."

Body cam from the Christmas Day explosion was just released, and you hear the 2 cops talking as they pass the RV. One of them says, "That building that it's next to [AT&T] houses all the hard lines for phones throughout the southeast." The other cop says, "Makes sense. Good spot for a bomb."

TMZ first reported, the RV at the scene looked identical to the RV at the home of Anthony Quinn Warner that you can see on Google Maps from last year.

Exactly one minute after the end of that conversation the bomb explodes, decimating the area. One of the shocking things ... the officers don't really react when they hear the bomb go off ... they just go about their job.

You then hear a police dispatcher ordering an immediate roll call, to see if all the officers are safe.

A Native American man found himself on the painful end of a taser during a standoff with a park ranger ... all over leaving a hiking trail.

The video is intense, showing the man -- who goes by Chief House on social media -- screaming as he was tased multiple times Sunday by a park ranger at Petroglyph National Monument in New Mexico.

The ranger continuously tells House to put his hands behind his back, among other commands, but House refuses ... saying he did nothing wrong.

At one point, House explains to the ranger he went off-trail -- which is forbidden in some parts of Petroglyph -- when he saw another group approaching and wanted to maintain social distancing.

Finally, after another ranger arrives, House is finally cuffed, and rangers explain he's being detained for failing to identify himself.

House, who says he's a Marine, was eventually issued 3 citations for the incident ... interfering with agency functions, concealing identity and being off trail.

He also linked his situation to the current climate between many communities and law enforcement, saying, "You would think with George Floyd and Breonna Taylor with the Black Lives Matter Movement authorities would try to avoid having to pull a weapon out."

A rep for the National Park Service told local station KIRO, "This incident is under review and has been referred to our internal affairs unit for a thorough investigation."

Jacob Stockdale, whose family was featured on "Wife Swap," allegedly tried to mount a great escape from a mental hospital ahead of his upcoming murder trial.

Stockdale, who pled not guilty by reason of insanity to the murders of his mother and brother and is set to stand trial next month, failed twice in his attempts to escape the institution ... according to his treatment staff.

In court docs, obtained by TMZ, during a hearing on Stockdale's competency to stand trial, the staff noted Stockdale's first escape attempt occurred in November 2019, when he allegedly tried hiding between book stacks in the mental hospital's library, leaving staff concerned he was trying to find a way to exit the building.

Stockdale allegedly tried to escape again a month later ... the staff says this time he tried blending in with a group of people who were on their way out the door.

Ty Graham, one of Stockdale's attorneys, tells TMZ ... Stockdale was not charged with attempted escape.

As you know, Stockdale's case is gruesome ... back in 2017, he was arrested for shooting and killing his mother, Kathryn, and his younger brother, James. Stockdale then shot himself in the head, but he survived and underwent months of reconstructive surgery.

The Stockdale family appeared on "Wife Swap" way back in 2008 ... and they're remembered for living by strict rules and being extremely religious.

A bust of Breonna Taylor was vandalized, smashed into pieces, just 2 weeks after it was installed.

The statue graced an area of downtown Oakland, with the inscription, "Say Her Name Breonna Taylor."

The cops are now on the hunt for the vandal/vandals. Since it's in the downtown area there may be surveillance video that helps police find the culprit, but so far no one has been named a suspect.

The sculptor, Leo Carson, said he's starting a GoFundMe page to pay for the repairs.

Carson was furious, saying ..."This vandalism is an act of racist aggression, and it shows why sculpture and art matters," adding, "I made this sculpture to support the Black Lives Matter movement and while I'm overcome with rage and sadness at their cowardly act, their vandalism will make her even more potent."

The Nashville bomber made a game out of his terror plot ... he not only amplified his 15-minute warning to authorities, he wanted the area to reverberate with a classic song that has a connection to the area.

Authorities and others in the area heard the song, "Downtown" by Petula Clark blaring from the RV that eventually exploded, wreaking havoc in Nashville's downtown area.

A police spokesperson who clearly was unfamiliar with the song by butchering the singer's name -- he's got an excuse because he's too young to know the tune -- said the song is all about shining lights and such.

As we reported, authorities are looking at a person of interest ... 63-year-old Anthony Quinn Warner, who had an RV that looked just like the one that exploded and has not been seen since the bombing. He's also the right age to know the song, which became a massive hit in 1964.

There's another verse -- the opening one, actually -- that could be more telling ... "When you're alone and life is making you lonely you can always go, downtown."

The Nashville bomber may have had a motive that had nothing to do with hurting people ... it seems the FBI believes he may have been paranoid over 5G technology.

As you know, one of the structures damaged was the AT&T building. The person of interest authorities are honing in on -- 63-year-old Anthony Quinn Warner -- may have feared 5G was being used to spy on Americans ... this according to a report by the NBC affiliate in Nashville.

The FBI interviewed a Nashville real estate agent who had hired Warner to do IT for him. Agents asked the realtor if Warner had mentioned anything about his feelings toward 5G technology, but he had not.

As we reported, Warner had an RV on his property that was similar to the one carrying explosives that detonated Xmas Day in the business district of Nashville, knocking out AT&T service.

There's another interesting turn ... Warner apparently had conveyed the property to a 29-year-old woman last month ... this according to the NY Post. He transferred title without charging her a penny. The woman told The Post she had no knowledge of the transfer.

The Nashville explosion that rocked downtown sent shards of glass and rubble flying all about in neighboring businesses -- including this one ... which was just a few short yards away from the blast.

TMZ has obtained new video captured from inside a sports bar named Buffalo's -- which sits at 2nd Ave and Commerce Street ... literally right down the block from where the RV in question blew up in a ball of fire. It's clear from this clip -- the impact was absolutely immense.

The security footage from inside shows 4 different angles from within the building -- all of which documented the moment shock waves from the explosion came roaring through their building early Christmas morning ... sending window fragments and debris in every direction.

The apparent bombing seems to have been orchestrated to go down in the wee hours -- right before 6:30 AM, based on what we're seeing here -- which is fortunate for the Buffalo's team ... because it doesn't look like anyone was inside yet. If they were, they would've almost certainly been seriously injured, or possibly killed by the explosion or flying debris.

Of course, there are reports of 3 injuries -- but, thankfully, none of them critical. Law enforcement has identified one person of interest, and agents are at his home now investigating ... but so far, nobody is in custody. It's likely the suspected bomber is dead.

As for Buffalo's ... they're especially in need of some help right now. Not only were they struck hard by the pandemic and new COVID measures in Davidson County, but their staffers have also been affected by natural disasters from earlier this year -- and now, this mess.

They got a GoFundMe set up to help hold over hourly employees' living expenses as upper management figures out the next steps. Any and every little bit helps, we're sure.

The person who intentionally set off a massive explosion in Nashville has apparently died -- because authorities say they aren't actively searching for anyone who might be directly responsible ... which would be standard operating procedure if they were alive.

Cops and federal official held a news conference Saturday with an update on where things stood after an RV blew up in downtown and caused devastating damage ... and the main takeaway here is that there's no manhunt underway for the culprit, which is telling.

Considering law enforcement came out early and said this appeared intentional means somebody's to blame -- and there's no way in hell cops and agents wouldn't be pounding the pavement if they thought the person who did this might still be walking free.

Tie that with the fact that officials have also said it looks like they've found possible human remains at the scene -- that leads one to believe that the culprit was blown to smithereens.

Here's another thing that makes us think the bomber is a goner ... he was referred to as the "ultimate Scrooge" by the U.S. Attorney there -- that's not the tone one takes when your man is on the run.

Now, cops have said they're pursuing over 500 tips for possible leads about others who might've been involved ... and there's a report there is one person of interest. A raid's going down at a Nashville-area home, where neighbors apparently saw a similar looking RV parked in recent weeks.

There've been no reported arrests ... just a lot of speculation. Cops say there are no more active threats they're aware of either -- which also points to the fact this was probably a successful suicide bombing, and an isolated incident.

The how and why are still unknown -- but law enforcement is scrambling for answers.

Rowdy Rebel's glowing since his release from prison, and we're not just talking bout his mood -- the diamonds hanging around his neck glow in the dark!!!

The Brooklyn rapper -- one of Bobby Shmurda's homies -- was released from prison last week and, as a gift to himself, purchased this INSANE diamond-encrusted demon chain ... which was ready and waiting fro him moments after getting out.

The demon diamond is the work of none other than NYC's authority on bling ... Eric the Jeweler. The shiny pendant features 50 carats of diamonds and 400 grams of gold ... making this extra shiny gift worth a cool $100k.

You can see when the lights go out ... the chain still commands all the attention thanks to an eye that glows blue in the dark and the inside of the demon's mouth glowing green. Gnarly.

Rowdy was cooking this up while he was on the inside ... we're told he and ETJ talked a lot over the phone, and decided he'd need a sick new pendant to to celebrate his release. The demon was initially sketched by Rowdy.

The rapper was recently seen shining like crazy while wearing the chain in NYC outside the Goose Country Jacket Store. And, with COVID being COVID ... he took no chances and masked up his demon.

He was joking. We think.

Rowdy -- along with Shmurda -- was arrested in 2014. They copped a plea deal to conspiracy to possess weapons and possession of a weapon. Rowdy got 6 to 7 years in prison and served almost 4 years before getting out on parole.

Joe Exotic says he's been reassured his pardon request has finally made its way to President Trump -- and the only thing left to do now is ... wait, but Trump's clearly in the pardoning mood.

The "Tiger King" filed new court docs Tuesday, dismissing his own complaint that he filed just last week ... in which he asked the judge to force the White House Pardon Attorney to get his application in front of DT's eyes for a final decision.

The reason he's reversing course ... Joe says he's now under the belief his pardon petition has, in fact, been received by 45, and that's all he wanted. Now he's got a shot at Trump signing off ... so Joe says there's no longer a need to pursue the legal action.

For now, Joe's just waiting on Trump to let him know one way or the other if he's gonna spring him from prison. It's something he and his team have been waiting on and lobbying for, literally for months.

Remember, Trump DID tell reporters months ago he'd "take a look" at his case and decide if a pardon was warranted.

The jury selection process in the George Floyd murder trial is underway, and it's clear the judge, prosecutors and defense attorneys want to know where prospective jurors stand on social justice.

The Hennepin County Special Juror Questionnaire was just mailed out to citizens who could potentially decide whether the 4 accused cops are guilty of murder.

TMZ obtained a copy, and it begins by telling potential jurors they are to avoid viewing anything about the case from this day forward ... then digs into what they already know, and how they got that information.

A lot of it is basic stuff for highly publicized cases, but then it asks ... "Did you, or someone close to you, participate in any of the demonstrations or marches against police brutality that took place in Minneapolis after George Floyd’s death?"

If the answer's yes, the next question is ... if they carried a sign and what the sign said.

The questionnaire continues with ... "Did you or someone you know get injured or suffer any property damage during the protests that took place after George Floyd’s death?" Also ... "Do you believe your community has been negatively or positively affected by any of the protests that have taken place in the Twin-Cities area since George Floyd’s death?"

Other questions focus on the media and law enforcement. Obviously, with police officers on trial, the intent here is to uncover biases ... either against or in favor of cops.

As we've reported ... former officer Derek Chauvin faces charges of second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for Floyd's death, and the trial is set to being March 8.

The victims from one of Tekashi 6ix9ine's crimes are going after him in court ... demanding he pay up for what they suffered when Tekashi and co. robbed them.

Seketha Wonzer and Kevin Dozier just filed suit against the rapper, claiming he was part of the criminal conspiracy set in motion in April 2018 that led to them getting bum-rushed and robbed at gunpoint in NYC -- something Tekashi himself testified and pled guilty to in federal court.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Wonzer and Dozier say they lost a bundle during the robbery -- including shoes, master recordings, hard drives, precious jewelry, a camera and cash, among other items. They say the whole thing was a case of mistaken identity -- Tekashi and co. allegedly thought they were affiliated with Rap-A-Lot Records, but they say they weren't.

In the suit, filed by powerhouse attorney Joe Tacopina, they say although Tekashi didn't do the robbing himself ... he did film the whole thing from an SUV outside, while his cohorts in the Nine Trey Bloods did the dirty work. In any case, Wonzer and Dozier now want him to pay for the assault, battery and emotional distress they say they suffered.

The defendants say that because Tekashi copped to this crime in court already, his civil liability for the damages is beyond question.

We'd already spoken to Wonzer -- who also goes by Skyy Daniels -- after Tekashi testified against 2 Nine Trey members, and she didn't think his 2-year prison sentence was fair.

Skyy also told us flatly she wanted to see him pay for what he'd done to her. Tacopina, tells TMZ ... "If Tekashi69 thought his legal problems were over after pleading guilty to brutally assaulting my clients, he was woefully mistaken."

He adds, "We do know this now -- if he refuses to redress the injuries he caused my clients, he’ll sincerely regret that decision."

The family of a Southern California man who died in police custody says he got the same treatment as George Floyd ... which can now be seen on video as authorities investigate.

33-year-old Ernie Serrano died last Tuesday after he was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon following an incident that required police assistance at a grocery store in Jurupa Valley ... which left him bloodied, battered and, ultimately, unresponsive.

The Riverside County Sheriff's Dept. released body cam footage as well as witness and surveillance video from that day ... and it shows Serrano at a Stater Bros. attempting to check out at the register, when for some reason security intervenes ... and they tussle.

The fighting goes on for a few minutes -- reports say the guard Tasered him and used pepper spray on him as well ... and that's when several Sheriff's deputies arrived. In the video, you can see one of the deputies unloads on a stumbling Serrano with his baton, striking him several times in the arm and stomach -- until, eventually, the whole squad tackles and detains him.

Body cam video shows Serrano bleeding from his face as deputies attempt to handcuff him -- while pinning his torso against a countertop. He's screaming for them to let him go as cops try to calm him down. Serrano actually screamed, "Excessive force" at one point.

They then put a spit mask on him, and he quiets down ... at some point after that he lost consciousness. Deputies put him on the floor and tried to resuscitate him. Serrano was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.

RCSD held a press conference Monday, saying the department and the District Attorney's Office were investigating. They also released a preliminary autopsy report they say lists his cause of death as acute methamphetamine intoxication ... which the Sheriff's Dept. says caused a fatal arrhythmia as he struggled with deputies.

The Sherrif's Dept. also says the autopsy shows contusions on his right arm and stomach, consistent with baton strikes. They add there's no sign of asphyxiation or other forms of trauma. Of course, Serrano's fam and their attorney, Humberto Guizar, see things differently.

Guizar says it's clear the deputies held him down in a compromised position for too long, which he believes led to Serrano's death. He's calling for an independent autopsy to be done, while also signaling he and the family are ramping up for a lawsuit. Guizar believes what happened to Serrano was not dissimilar to George Floyd.

Former Playboy model Victoria Valentino didn't think twice after seeing a gunshot victim lying in her street ... rushing to action and playing nurse until paramedics arrived.

Victoria tells TMZ ... she was sitting in her Altadena, CA home Sunday afternoon when she heard what sounded like a bunch of quick firecrackers -- cops say it was a shooting -- and went outside to discover a neighbor down on the ground.

VV says the man had gunshot wounds, including one in his shoulder, and he was turning gray and going into shock ... so she used her experience as a retired hospice and respiratory nurse, raising his leg to keep blood flowing to the heart and brain.

Victoria, the September 1963 Playmate and a Bill Cosby rape accuser and survivor, says the gunshot victim's wife was by his side too ... and they did what they could to keep him calm until paramedics arrived and took over. She says it's just what nurses do.