Crime

Forget reasonable doubt, one of the jurors who voted to acquit Karen Read of a murder charge in her retrial says he felt she's completely innocent.

Juror No. 4, a man named Jason, joined us on "TMZ Live" Thursday and we asked him what the feeling was like on the jury ... did they vote not guilty because of reasonable doubt, or due to a belief she was innocent?

Jason tells us he doesn't think Karen even hit her then-boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe, with her car ... as prosecutors claimed. He pointed out that jurors were shown video where Karen's taillight was working just fine after the alleged collision.

A day after Karen Read was acquitted of the murder of her Boston cop boyfriend in a Massachusetts retrial, Read's attorney Alan Jackson is revealing he had significant doubt about his client receiving fair treatment under the law ... but he's doubling down that he had no doubt she was innocent.

Jackson went on Howie Carr's podcast Thursday and admitted he was nervous before yesterday's verdict was read ... but he says he doesn't think he'll ever run into another lawyer in his lifetime who's ever won back-to-back murder acquittals!

ICYMI, the murder retrial of Karen Read -- a former finance professor accused of killing her boyfriend, John O'Keefe, in 2022 -- ended with the jury finding Read not guilty of charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence, and leaving the scene of an accident causing injury or death.

Al Sharpton says for as long as this country has been around, wealthy, prominent Black folks have been targeted ... because the feds see them as easy targets.

We got Al in New York City on Thursday and asked him about a popular online conspiracy ... that Sean "Diddy" Combs and Tyler Perry are being targeted right now because they are rich and famous Black men.

Al says race, wealth and fame are big factors when it comes to who the feds go after ... and he says there are tons of examples to back it up.

The Diddy trial went dark Thursday to observe the Juneteenth holiday ... but prosecutors were working overtime, releasing new exhibits showing a cache of weapons and ammo, as well as drugs -- and, of course, baby oil!

Federal prosecutors released the trove of photos that appear to paint a much fuller picture of what federal agents confiscated inside Diddy's Los Angeles mansion during the March 2024 raid.

Homeland Security Investigations agents snapped the images as they recovered pistols, long guns and rifles from inside the security office, as well as bullets, body-armor-piercing ammo and a high-volume ammunition magazine.

The Karen Read documentary series -- which provided a BTS look at her first trial, and her preparation for the retrial for the murder of her Boston cop boyfriend -- was a big hit ... but TMZ's learned the creators won't be rolling the cameras on her life after acquittal.

Terry Dunn Meurer, who directed "A Body in the Snow: The Trial of Karen Read," tells TMZ ... her team has NO plans to follow Karen after the trial. Terry believes Karen's story has been told.

Terry tells us her documentary series will get a small update now that Karen's been found not guilty of second-degree murder in the 2022 death of Boston police officer John O'Keefe ... a text update card will be added to the end of Episode 5, explaining what happened during the trial and the jury verdict this week.

Diddy's defense played jurors an audio recording of Cassie confronting a man who she says had told her he'd been shown a video of her doing a "freak-off" ... and now we're finally getting to hear what was played for the jury.

In a batch of freshly released Diddy defense exhibits, there's an audio file that Diddy’s defense team says features Cassie making death threats to a man she calls Sugit.

The recording was played in court over a month ago during Cassie's testimony but it's only now being made public.

R. Kelly is scared out of his mind and desperately begging to be let out of prison, according to members of his legal team -- who say the singer broke down in tears during a recent phone call, as he fears for his life, and his health spirals behind bars ... TMZ has learned.

Nicole Blank Becker, one of Kelly’s attorneys, tells TMZ ... the 57-year-old is petrified to find himself back in prison after he was released from the hospital, and he's fretting about his health and safety. Kelly is currently locked up in the Special Housing Unit in a North Carolina prison.

"He’s emotional, and he cried intermittently on the phone call" on Monday, Becker tells us, adding, "Again, out of fear for his life."

R. Kelly is claiming he's marked for death after an overdose that left him hospitalized this week ... but one of his alleged victims is calling BS on what she sees as a ploy to get sprung from the can.

Here's the deal ... the disgraced music mogul is asking for temporary release to home confinement -- for the third time -- after alleging Bureau of Prisons staff at his federal center in North Carolina purposefully gave him too much medication.

Lisa VanAllen, an accuser who was a witness in Kelly’s 2008 child pornography trial and 2002 federal trial, tells TMZ ... she doesn't buy for a moment there's a grand plot to kill the convicted human trafficker -- 'cause he's not even important anymore!

Shedeur Sanders was busted for allegedly driving over 100 miles per hour on the highway early Tuesday morning ... this according to court records.

The 23-year-old fifth-round pick and his girlfriend were pulled over in separate cars around 12:24 AM ... when cops stated he was driving 41 miles over the posted speed limit.

The quarterback was issued a citation ... and will be able to plead his case in front of a judge on July 3 -- or just pay a $250 fine and move on with his life.

Karen Read's acquittal turned the outside of the courthouse into pandemonium ... with her assembled supporters exploding into cheers -- and, Read herself even said a few words.

The Massachusetts woman -- who was just acquitted on second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence, and leaving the scene of an accident causing injury or death -- walked out of the courthouse in Dedham, MA, with her lawyers and father to meet a crowd of chanting, cheering fans screaming for her.

Read started off by thanking her legal team for keeping her afloat over the last couple years during both of her trials.

Former NBA star Eric Bledsoe was arrested on Wednesday after he allegedly struck a woman in the face ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The California Highway Patrol tells us officers placed Bledsoe into custody at around 2:30 AM following an investigation into a report of a domestic violence incident that occurred on a Los Angeles-area freeway.

According to the CHP, officers' probe into the matter led them to a gas station near US-101 ... where they found Bledsoe and a woman who was suffering from "bruising and swelling to her face."

Karen Read -- the Massachusetts woman accused of murdering her Boston police officer boyfriend John O'Keefe in 2022 -- has just been found not guilty of murder.

Read was charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence, and leaving the scene of an accident causing injury or death. The jury found her guilty of a single count of OUI Wednesday ... misdemeanor Operating Under the Influence.

Prosecutors alleged in January 2022, Read got into a heated drunken argument with O’Keefe before backing up and hitting him with her SUV, killing him ... then fleeing the scene, leaving him to die in a friend's snow-covered front yard in Canton, Mass.

A woman went through absolute hell -- sprinting to dive into a pool after her drunk partner set her on fire while she was holding their 3-year-old son.

It’s all caught on chilling video -- the 22-year-old woman from rural Cuparaque, Brazil is seen literally engulfed in flames as she dashes to a neighbor’s garden and dives into their pool ... all while her partner chases her down, with their terrified son caught up in the chaos, trotting closely behind.

The woman hurls herself into the water, and the flames are instantly snuffed out in a cloud of steam. A second man -- believed to be the pool owner -- rushes to help.

R. Kelly should absolutely not be pardoned -- 'cause one of his alleged victims, Joycelyn Savage, has been missing for years and is still believed to be in his grip and under his control, her family’s attorney tells TMZ.

Gerald Griggs -- attorney for Joycelyn’s family -- tells TMZ they’re slamming Kelly’s push for a Trump pardon ... insisting the singer still has a grip on Joycelyn, who they haven’t heard from since a short phone call back in 2019.

Watch the video ... Joycelyn's family has only heard from individuals claiming to represent her -- though it's unclear in what capacity. ICYDK, Joycelyn is R. Kelly's one-time fiancée, who many say is a victim. Her family believes she’s alive, hopes she’s healthy, and says they’d love nothing more than to hear from her directly.

We've reached the home stretch in the Diddy criminal trial and on the 25th day of witness testimony, prosecutors tried to lay out for the jury how they say Diddy spent big to transport male prostitutes across the country for sex romps.

DeLeassa Penland, a special agent with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York -- the agency prosecuting the case against Diddy -- was back on the stand and she testified about a bunch of charges Diddy incurred flying sex workers across state lines.

The testimony mostly went towards the Mann Act and some of it to the RICO charge against Diddy.

3:30 PM PT -- The Family of Bryshere Gray tells TMZ ... "Bryshere and the family are still trying to understand everything from this past weekend. Bryshere appreciates all the well wishes as he resumes working on his mental health. Both Bryshere and Chosen (Dustin) are doing fine. Mr. Gray loves all his fans and supporters.

"Their friendship is equivalent to brothers & this was not a payment dispute. This was an issue concerning Bryshere’s safety and health. We kindly ask for privacy as we are all working to find peace and move on from this matter."

Former "Empire" star Bryshere Gray allegedly lunged at a man and punched him at a hotel last Friday before assault charges were filed ... this according to the criminal complaint obtained by TMZ.

The alleged assault went down in Chesapeake, Virginia ... where a man named Dustin Wilkins was trying to help the actor with a payment dispute at the Homewood Suites.

Wilkins says he told Gray he can't just skip out on the bill for his stay -- reasoning he has plenty of other issues to worry about and that he was simply trying to "save" his life -- which seemingly angered Gray. It's unclear if the two men know each other.