Crime

Keyon's mother, Katty Rodriguez, reacted to the news moments after the indictment. She was flanked by Rev. Al Sharpton and family attorney Ben Crump, who said thank goodness Keyon's father was there at the time of the incident ... because god knows what would have happened.

Miya Ponsetto, who's been labeled "SoHo Karen," has just been indicted on a slew of charges -- including 2 hate crimes -- over the infamous iPhone incident in a hotel lobby.

According to court records, a grand jury indicted Ponsetto Wednesday, hitting her with 2 felony counts of unlawful imprisonment in the 2nd degree as a hate crime ... and 2 misdemeanor counts of aggravated harassment and endangering the welfare of a child.

Ponsetto's attorney, Paul D'Emilia, pled not guilty on her behalf. D'Emilia railed on Manhattan D.A. Cy Vance, telling TMZ that "instead of helping to foster a civil and enlightened resolution to an unfortunate incident between two young people, DA Vance chose a craven and opportunistic path in indicting, with felony hate crime charges."

D'Emilia believes the charges are an overreach, calling it absurd and shameful.

Remember, the family wanted Miya to be charged with a hate crime ... and now she has been. She's due back in court in October.

As we reported ... the indictment stems from a December 2020 incident when Miya's seen on video attacking 14-year-old Keyon Harrold Jr. at the Arlo Hotel in SoHo after falsely claiming he stole her iPhone.

She denied racially profiling Keyon.

Two of Bill Cosby's accusers are afraid he didn't learn any lessons in prison ... with his conviction overturned and release in the works, they still think he is dangerous.

Sammie Mays, who claims Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her in the 1980s, tells TMZ ... his release is "disrespectful and despicable" for Andrea Constand -- the accuser in his trial.

Mays thinks Cosby is anything but reformed after serving more than 2 years of a 10-year sentence.

Sarita Butterfield, a former Playboy model who claims Cosby groped her, echoes that sentiment -- while another accuser, Angela Leslie, tells TMZ, "I'm surprised and shocked with today's news of Cosby's release. It seems the justice system served the criminal, in this case, as opposed to the victims."

Angela continues, "At this point, I just hope that he took time to reflect on the pain and anguish his actions caused so many women. And, also puts in the work towards becoming a better person."

As we reported ... the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Wednesday Cosby's conviction had to be overturned and he couldn't be retried due to a deal Cosby had made with a former prosecutor ... who guaranteed him immunity if he gave a deposition for Constand's civil lawsuit.

As a result, Cosby is expected to walk free from prison at some point Wednesday.

Mays says she feels the ruling "shows that women do not have the respect of men." She says Cosby's release should be especially frightening for women.

Butterfield and Mays are also worried about Harvey Weinstein and Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell walking free too ... and Mays is planning to protest outside the prison when Cosby's released.

Former "Smallville" star Allison Mack has just shown up to court to face the music -- and by that, we mean she's about to be sentenced in her sex cult case.

Mack was bum-rushed by a crowd of photogs and reporters Wednesday as she made her into a NYC courthouse -- with several of them asking what sort of sentence she was hoping to get.

She was mum on all of that ... keeping her mask on tight and taking cover behind her team, who escorted her in amid all the chaos. Still, the questions are valid -- especially considering she recently made it clear she wants serious leniency.

Mack's judgment day comes shortly after writing a letter to address "those who have been harmed by my actions." In the letter, obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, Mack said, "it is now of paramount importance for me to say, from the bottom of my heart, I am sorry."

She also wrote she threw herself "into the teachings of Keith Raniere with everything" she had and "believed, whole-heartedly, that his mentorship was leading me to a better, more enlightened version of myself."

Mack -- who was with Raniere in Mexico when he got busted in 2018 -- called devoting her loyalty, resources and life to him "the biggest mistake and regret of my life."

In a memo filed in court ... Mack's attorneys had asked for no jail time given she has publicly denounced Raniere, who in October was sentenced to 120 years in prison.

As we reported ... Mack pled guilty in April 2019 to 2 counts ... racketeering conspiracy and racketeering. Prosecutors essentially alleged she was the pimp for the NXIVM sex cult that garnered headlines around the world. She faces up to 40 years behind bars ... 20 for each count.

Marilyn Manson's being sued by another woman -- making her the fourth in 2 months -- for sexual assault and sexual battery, and the lawsuit contains many more disturbing allegations, all of which Manson and his team strongly deny.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ ... model Ashley Morgan Smithline claims the shock rocker began contacting her in 2010 via social media and told her he wanted to cast her in an upcoming film project ... and developed an obsession, calling her "the perfect girl for him."

She claims he flew her to L.A. in Nov. 2010, and asked her to move into his apartment ... which she did, and she says they began a consensual sexual relationship.

However, Smithline alleges days after moving in with Manson, she "awoke from unconsciousness with her ankles and wrists tied together behind her back and [Manson] sexually penetrating her." She claims she told him no multiple times but he told her to shut up, and squeezed her ribs so hard it caused injuries ... along with injuries to her vagina.

According to the docs ... she was sexually assaulted by Manson again the same month, after he choked her and forced her on a bed. Smithline claims he "grabbed a knife next to the bed and began cutting [her] shoulder, inner arm, and stomach." She says she went into shock, and still has scars from the cuts.

On another occasion, she claims he broke her nose during forced sex.

Smithline claims they continued dating until January 2013. She says Manson frequently threatened her life, kept her confined to a dark space, physically abused her, called her anti-Semitic names and implemented torture tactics to maintain control over her.

Along with sexual assault and sexual battery, she's suing for intentional infliction of emotional distress and false imprisonment.

As we've reported ... Manson has also been recently sued for sexual assault by "Game of Thrones" actress Esme Bianco, his former assistant Ashley Walters, and an unnamed accuser.

A spokesperson for Manson tells TMZ, "We strongly deny Ms. Smithline’s claims. There are so many falsehoods within her claims that we wouldn’t know where to begin to answer them. This relationship, to the limited extent it was a relationship, lasted less than a week in 2010."

Kyle Massey is already losing business deals after being charged for alleged sexual communication with a minor ... and the first to jump ship clearly doesn't want any of this smoke.

The vaping company Dr. Dabber has dropped Massey as an ambassador of the brand -- a partnership that was relatively new, as Kyle's been posting shots of their products (and tagging them, of course) since May.

A rep for DD tells TMZ ... "We are ending our relationship with Kyle Massey. We have been working with him on a trial basis for a month. Today, we let his team know we will be cutting ties and requested all public content with our brand to be deleted from his social media."

Looks like he received the message, because Massey's already scrubbed all his Dr. Dabber posts. Luckily, we screen-grabbed a few so you can see -- he was all in on the deal.

It's unclear what kinda dough the company was paying KM, but it's all down the toilet now. This, of course, is due to him being legally rung up for allegedly sending nudes and other explicit messages to a teen.

TMZ broke the story ... Kyle faces one count of communication with a minor for immoral purposes, after a girl alleged he'd sent her numerous inappropriate messages between 2018 and 2019. She initially attempted to sue him, and just recently went to law enforcement.

Kyle had previously claimed he was being extorted, but he maintains that the allegations are motivated by revenge ... claiming it's because the accuser didn't succeed in her 2019 civil suit.

Chauncey Billups was introduced as the next head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday ... but before he talked hoops, the ex-NBA star opened up on his sexual assault allegations from more than 20 years ago.

Back in 1997, Billups -- a player for the Boston Celtics at the time -- was accused of sexually assaulting a woman at teammate Antoine Walker’s home.

The woman claimed she blacked out during the attack ... and woke up with injuries to her cervix, rectum and throat.

Billups was NOT charged with a crime ... but reportedly settled a lawsuit filed by his accuser.

During Billups' intro presser on Tuesday, Portland GM Neil Olshey insisted the organization took the 1997 allegation very seriously ... even hiring an independent team of investigators to look into the troubling claims.

Olshey said the investigators dug around and determined Billups' claim that the encounter was consensual was corroborated.

The team did not elaborate on the findings of the investigation.

Billups personally spoke about the allegations as well, saying, "There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about how every decision that we make can have a profound impact on a person's life."

"This experience has shaped my life in so many different ways."

He added ... "I really, really look forward in providing insight, leadership to our guys who are young and taking on a lot of responsibility as I was at that time."

"But, just being able to support them and walk them through situations is something that I'm gonna take as a responsibility."

Members of the media tried to ask follow-up questions about the alleged incident ... but Blazers PR shut it down.

Kyle Massey -- known for playing Cory Baxter on Disney shows "That's So Raven" and "Cory in the House" -- is now facing a felony for allegedly sending pornographic material to a 13-year-old girl he knew.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ ... Massey's been charged with one count of communication with a minor for immoral purposes. The former Disney star's accused of electronically sending sexually explicit content to the girl during the months of December 2018 and January 2019.

We're told the case is connected to the civil suit we covered in March 2019 -- Massey was sued for $1.5 million for allegedly sending "numerous sexually explicit text messages, images, and videos" via Snapchat ... but claimed he was being extorted.

The girl's legal team initially opted for the civil suit against Massey, but according to the new docs, it went nowhere because she says her lawyers told her they didn't think Massey had enough money to make the case worth it. So, she says she then went to the Sheriff's Office to file a report.

Police say they began investigating in early 2020, and the girl's mother told cops Massey had known her since she was 4 years old.

According to the docs ... police were given a thumb drive by the girl's mother containing the explicit material Massey allegedly sent over Snap when she was 13. Cops say the series of recordings include a pornographic video clip and a video of a man who appears to be Massey exposing his penis.

Massey was scheduled to appear for his arraignment Monday in King County Criminal Court in Washington, but failed to show. We've reached out to his camp ... so far, no word back.

A guy in Iowa who wanted to get his dip on during his McDonald's meal went from hungry to dangerously hangry when he discovered his order was missing something ... according to cops, anyway.

Ankeny PD Lt. Rob Kovacs tells TMZ ... Robert Golwitzer Jr. was arrested for making a false report of an explosive or incendiary device -- a class D felony, we're told -- after cops say he called the Mickey D's where he'd just picked up an order of nuggets and said he hoped the restaurant would blow up ... because they forgot his sauces.

Cops say Golwitzer also mentioned wanting to punch an employee because of the flub. McDonald's turned his number over to cops, and when they contacted Golwitzer he came down to the station, fessed up and got arrested.

We still don't know what sort of dipping sauce was allegedly missing from the guy's order, but if it was the sweet and sour ... we sorta understand.

It seems that massive crash Saturday during the Tour de France might have been downright criminal ... because French authorities are now on the case.

As we reported, a spectator with a cardboard sign was apparently mugging for the TV cameras when she got way too close to the racers ... striking German rider Tony Martin who was at the front of the pack.

She stepped in front of the racing pack holding the sign, appearing to display a message for the television cameras.

The sign hit Martin who was cycling near the head of the pack. Martin tumbled to the ground, setting off a chain reaction as nearly 2 dozen other cyclists ate it.

So now, law enforcement is on the hunt for the woman they say caused "unintentional injuries by manifestly deliberate violation of an obligation of safety or prudence." Translation, recklessness.

Authorities are asking witnesses to come forward who can ID the woman -- who quickly left the scene before investigators arrived.

Three men pulled out guns and robbed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in a terrifying incident in Los Angeles earlier this month ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us it all went down on June 17 ... when the Lakers guard was in his driveway at around 4 a.m. talking with friends.

Our sources say a car pulled up and three men then exited the vehicle with guns drawn.

We're told the men demanded KCP and his friends hand over their stuff ... which included a fancy Rolex watch, jewelry and an iPhone.

In total, our sources say the thieves made off with about $150,000 worth of loot.

We're told KCP was NOT injured in the incident, however.

We reached out to the 28-year-old's camp for comment, but so far no word back yet.

Our sources, meanwhile, say the LAPD is currently investigating it all.

Chauvin will end up serving 15 years behind bars in accordance with Minnesota law ... according to Minnesota Department Of Correction officials.

We're told the law states inmates in Minnesota, like Chauvin, have to serve two-thirds of their sentence in prison and the rest under supervised release.

In Chauvin's case, we're told he will be eligible for supervised release for the final 7 1/2 years of his sentence.

Derek Chauvin just got sentenced for the murder of George Floyd ... with the judge giving him 22 1/2 years in prison.

The former Minneapolis police officer learned his fate Friday in Hennepin County court, where the judge in his murder trial handed down the sentence ... some 2 months after a jury found Chauvin guilty on all 3 counts, including 2nd-degree murder.

Chauvin is getting credit for the 199 days he's already served ... and the 270-month sentence is short of the 360-month sentence prosecutors wanted but, as the judge notes, is 10 years longer than the presumptive 150-month sentence.

Judge Peter Cahill found Chauvin abused his position of trust and treated Floyd with particular cruelty ... but the court said while children were present during Chauvin's fatal interaction with Floyd, it wasn't a substantial and compelling reason for a heavier sentence.

Prosecutors also argued Chauvin and a group of cops ganged up on Floyd, but the judge saw it differently and said that argument wasn't enough to justify more years behind bars.

Chauvin's defense attorney, Eric Nelson, asked for a much shorter sentence, suggesting his client get time served and probation for the manslaughter and murder convictions.

Before the judge announced the sentence, Floyd's daughter, brothers and nephew gave their victim impact statements. In a video played in court, 7-year-old Gianna said she misses her dad and she wishes she could play with him.

Chauvin was in court listening to everything, wearing a gray suit with a blue medical mask and a buzz cut, and he briefly spoke ... offering condolences to the Floyd family and suggesting some info will come out down the line that might give the Floyd family some peace of mind.

Chauvin's mother, Carolyn Pawlenty, also spoke to the court ... saying her son's replayed the fatal interaction with Floyd over and over in his head.

Floyd's family and their legal team quickly reacted to Chauvin's sentence ... expressing relief the former cop was held accountable and saying it brings the nation one step closer to healing.

A possible robbery off the Sunset Strip at a multi-million-dollar house erupted in gunfire early Friday morning and ended in a car chase ... one person is dead and at least 3 others were shot.

It was a chaotic scene at around 2 AM, starting at a home on Blue Jay Way, a famed street deep in the Hollywood Hills. Witnesses say they heard around 10 gunshots.

We're told the chaos started when 3 men drove up to the house in an Audi and began firing. A security guard was shot but returned fire and struck 2 of the suspects, killing one of them.

We're also told when police arrived they found the security guard under a Range Rover at a nearby house. Our sources say the guard was a retired sheriff's deputy. We're told he was shot in the stomach and taken to a hospital.

The Audi then fled down Blue Jay with a flat tire and LAPD cornered the car just outside the border of Beverly Hills. The suspect who died was still in the car. Cops say another suspect who was wounded was taken to the hospital in critical condition. The third suspect in the car was uninjured.

There were multiple 911 calls from different addresses on Blue Jay, and cops are still sorting this all out.

John McAfee -- the software mogul behind the famous antivirus software -- has died by suicide ... according to reports out of Spain.

McAfee was found dead in his jail cell in Barcelona ... just hours after the Spanish High Court ruled he could be extradited to the U.S. to face tax evasion charges.

McAfee's lawyer, Andrew Gordon, confirmed to TMZ he passed away. He had no information about the cause of death.

According to the Spanish outlet El País, McAfee was pulled from his cell and police are investigating the cause of death -- but McAfee's lawyer told Reuters the software tycoon hung himself.

McAfee had been busted in Spain back in October after years of allegedly failing to pay income taxes. A grand jury had slapped him with a 10-count federal indictment for ducking taxes from 2014 to 2018.

And, just a few months ago, McAfee was reportedly charged in Manhattan federal court for his role in a cryptocurrency scheme in which he's alleged to have bilked investors out of more than $10 million.

McAfee's death comes about a year and a half after he tweeted he was "getting subtle messages from U.S. officials saying, in effect: 'We're coming for you McAfee! We're going to kill yourself.'" He posted a photo of a "$WHACKD" tattoo he says he got on his arm, just in case. As McAfee said, "If I suicide myself, I didn't. I was whackd."

A little context here ... McAfee showed off that tat a little over 3 months after convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide also while behind bars.

McAfee was briefly back on U.S. soil in 2012 after he was booted from Guatemala. He had sought asylum there after fleeing Belize ... the place he had called home since 2008. Authorities in Belize had wanted to talk to him about his neighbor's murder.

McAfee founded his antivirus software company in 1987 and he left in 1994. Intel eventually bought it in 2011 for $7.7 billion.

Three years after Intel bought the software company ... McAfee created a parody video telling users how to uninstall the software.

He founded several other tech companies, but he was always known for his self-titled antivirus software.

Drake Bell just pled guilty in his endangering children case ... but it's not clear yet whether he'll do any time behind bars.

The "Drake & Josh" star was in court for a hearing Wednesday in Ohio where he appeared via Zoom and pled guilty to attempted endangering children (a 4th-degree felony) and disseminating matter harmful to juveniles (a 1st-degree misdemeanor).

The judge accepted Drake's plea. He could face up to 18 months in prison on the felony charge. He's slated to be sentenced in July. As we reported ... Drake was in hot water in Ohio for an alleged incident from back in December 2017.

According to the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office ... a female juvenile filed a report with her local police department in Canada back in October 2018 regarding an alleged incident that she says occurred between her and Drake the previous year at a Cleveland nightclub.

We're told Canadian authorities contacted Cleveland PD ... and its probe revealed that the 15-year-old had established a relationship with Drake several years prior to the alleged incident.

Prosecutors say that, while at the concert, Drake "violated his duty of care and, in doing so, created a risk of harm to the victim." Prosecutors also say the probe revealed that, months leading up to the concert, Drake sent her inappropriate social media messages.

Chris Brown is under investigation for battery ... and the alleged victim told cops he smacked the back of her head so hard her weave came off!!!

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... police responded to the singer's San Fernando Valley home over the weekend, where a woman claimed Breezy slapped her.

We're told the woman claimed the slap made part of her weave come out ... and police took a battery report and named Chris as the suspect.

Our sources say the alleged victim had no injuries, aside from the allegedly dislodged weave, and no arrests have been made.

It's the second time in as many months cops were called to Chris' pad ... the first being his massive birthday bash in May, which LAPD broke up early in the AM.

We reached out to Chris' camp about the latest incident ... so far, radio silence.

"Jersey Shore" star Ronnie Ortiz-Magro is a newly engaged man, putting a ring on his girlfriend's finger the same weekend his ex, Jenn Harley, allegedly pointed a gun at her new boyfriend.

Ronnie asked Saffire Matos to marry him over the weekend with a beachside proposal in Los Angeles on Saturday ... according to People. However, while the 2 celebrated, Ronnie's ex, Jenn, and her boyfriend had some fireworks of their own.

Law enforcement sources tell us Jenn and her bf Joseph Ambrosole pulled up to the legendary Crazy Horse 3 in Vegas and were allegedly arguing about where to park and about Jenn's drinking.

We're told things got so heated at the bar, security actually asked them to leave ... which they did, but sources say the fighting didn't end there. We're told that on the drive home, Jenn allegedly started wailing on the back of Joseph's head ... and then, we're told she chucked his phone out the window -- forcing him to pull over to get out and look for it.

Once Joseph was out of the car, our sources say Jenn got in the driver's seat and took off -- leaving Joseph in the street, where he had to find a ride home.

We're told things intensified even further when they got home -- where the fight continued -- and Jenn allegedly pointed a gun at Joe.

Cops say Jenn allegedly said something along the lines of "I'll shoot and kill you," but Joseph was able to get out of the way ... while Jenn fled the scene again.

We're told cops were called at that point, and they eventually tracked her down ... hauling her to jail and booking her on charges of domestic violence and assault with a deadly weapon.