Crime

Ray J returned to "TMZ Live" on Wednesday to remind everyone he's a card-carrying member of Team Diddy -- and is even disputing the 2 fed counts Puff was found guilty of!!!

The way Ray J sees it ... Diddy was entangled in consensual freak-offs and should NOT be punished by jail time.

Prosecutors are actively arguing that Diddy is an ultraviolent menace to society -- but Ray J's predicting his homie's prison release by the end of business day, where he'll charter a plane to Miami and exhale for the 4 of July weekend!!! (We learned later in the day the judge denied bail, and Diddy will remain locked up until his sentencing hearing, scheduled for October.)

Cassie's worried about what Diddy might do to her if the judge lets him out on bail prior to his sentencing ... and, she's asking the judge to make sure she never finds out.

The singer-songwriter submitted a letter to the court Wednesday requesting the judge not allow Diddy to head back into the world before he's sentenced for his conviction on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.

Cassie and her attorney, Douglas Wigdor, say Diddy is "likely to pose a danger to the victims who testified in this case" -- including Cassie herself.

Diddy's supporters are beginning to draw lines in the sand -- and Jay Electronica's standing firmly on the side that wants the Bad Boy mogul free ASAP!!!

TMZ Hip Hop linked up with Jay-E on Wednesday as he casually blended in amid the calamity outside the courthouse in Manhattan ... although his two huge Great Danes most definitely stood out!!!

His reaction was tamer than most -- Jay's mostly a man of few words, but he tells us he was outside the building to support his longtime pal Diddy, and he never had a doubt his boy would come out on top.

Diddy's son Christian "King" Combs was bursting with energy after learning his dad was acquitted of racketeering and sex trafficking charges, and burned off his excitement with a round of push-ups!!!

KC was spotted a couple blocks away from the courtroom after the verdict on Wednesday, and you can see him beaming with enthusiasm as he thanked fans for their thoughts and prayers.

You can also hear the sounds of his recently released joint EP with Kanye West, "Never Stop" ... a project that has new meaning now that Diddy could be coming home soon if he's granted bail.

Bryan Kohberger appeared in court to make his controversial plea deal legal in the eyes of the law ... admitting guilt to four murders -- and, the judge has signed off on the plea.

The judge began proceedings Wednesday by asking for people in the courtroom not to be disruptive ... and, he chastised the public for calling his office to dispute the plea deal. He said he hasn't read or listened to any of the messages left at his office.

Kohberger stood up in the courtroom and was sworn in by the clerk, and said "yes" when asked if he's pleading guilty because he's actually guilty and not just to avoid the death penalty.

The final verdict in the Sean "Diddy" Combs federal criminal trial is in, and it's NOT GUILTY on 3 of the 5 counts -- they acquitted him of racketeering, sex trafficking of Cassie and sex trafficking of Jane.

He's only been convicted on counts 3 and 5 ... which are both transportation for the purpose of prostitution, AKA the Mann Act. He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years for each of those counts.

Wednesday morning, about an hour after jurors arrived and went straight into the jury room, the foreman sent a note out to Judge Arun Subramanian telling him they'd reached the unanimous verdict.

Sean "Diddy" Combs' federal criminal trial has come to a shocking -- to some -- conclusion ... and despite his acquittal on sex trafficking charges ... Cassie Ventura vowed to keep fighting for survivors.

Cassie's lawyer Doug Wigdor said in a statement ... his client “paved the way” for Diddy to be found guilty on counts 3 and 5 -- which are both transportation for the purpose of prostitution, AKA the Mann Act. He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years for each of those counts.

Wigdor commended Cassie for filing a civil complaint in November 2023 against Diddy ...  opening the floodgates for the criminal case that, again, resulted in some convictions ... and a slew of lawsuits filed by other alleged victims.

Diddy is about to learn his fate ... because the jury in his federal criminal trial says they have reached a verdict.

This is the second time the jury sent a note about a verdict ... on Tuesday, they said they reached a verdict on the sex trafficking and Mann Act counts but were unable to reach a verdict on the racketeering conspiracy charge.

Diddy is on the verge of finding out if he's going to federal prison or being set free ... because the jury in his criminal trial is nearing the finish line in terms of a verdict.

The jury came back Tuesday afternoon and said they had reached a verdict on four of the five charges against Diddy ... but they were deadlocked on the racketeering conspiracy charge.

Deliberations only began Monday and jurors asked earlier Tuesday for transcripts about some Cassie testimony regarding freak-offs ... and they only need to find one instance of Diddy using force, fraud or coercion to get Cassie to engage in a freak-off to find him guilty of sex trafficking.

Sean “Diddy” Combs is in a real nail-biter after a partial verdict was reached Tuesday in his federal criminal trial -- and the mogul tried to calm his family's nerves.

Diddy turned to his mother, Janice, seated behind him in the second row, after she asked him a few muffled questions inside the NYC courtroom. Diddy then leaned in and whispered to his mom, "I'll be alright" and "love you," while thumping his chest.

The Bad Boy Records CEO also said something under his breath to his six adult kids, who were present in the gallery, including Christian, Justin and Quincy. The children then exited the courtroom with sad faces.

The family of Kaylee Goncalves is livid over the plea deal offered to accused murderer Bryan Kohberger ... and now it appears they're hoping the feds will step in.

Here's the deal .... Kohberger will plead guilty to four counts of first-degree murder, but prosecutors will take the death penalty off the table and recommend life without the possibility of parole. But some families of the four victims say the plea deal is unacceptable -- and unfair to them.

The Goncalves family is now asking supporters who are just as upset as they are over the major development to get loud ... and send their criticisms to the United States Department of Justice.

5:30 PM ET -- Judge Arun Subramanian just dismissed the jury for the day ... jurors will come back Wednesday morning and head straight for the jury room to continue deliberations.

Diddy is one step closer to learning his fate ... because the jury in his federal criminal trial says they have reached a verdict on four of the five counts against him ... but they don't have a verdict on the racketeering conspiracy charge.

The music mogul is huddling with his lawyers in the federal courthouse in Manhattan, where he's stood trial for the past 7 weeks ... he was brought out of a holding cell after jurors sent a note revealing they had reached a verdict on 4 counts.

The note says jurors are unable to reach a verdict on Count 1 as they have jurors on each side. Count 1 is racketeering conspiracy.

A gruesome discovery is adding to the mystery surrounding a missing teenage TikTok star -- authorities have confirmed her identify after her mutilated body was found at a Peruvian water-treatment plant earlier this month.

The chopped-up body of 19-year-old Fabiola Alejandra Caicedo Piña -- who went by "China Baby" on social media -- was located by plant workers during a routine inspection of a river filtration grid in Lima on June 9, according to multiple reports.

Forensic crews were able to identify Fabiola thanks to her tattoos, including one on her back that read "Paula Sophia" alongside a date, according to Panamericana.

The Bryan Kohberger plea deal in Idaho is not the first controversial bargain struck by the same District Attorney's Office ... because the top prosecutor made a similar deal nearly 29 years ago to the day ... and it also involved murders and the death penalty.

TMZ did some digging and we found out that back in July 1996, Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson -- who still holds the same position today -- struck a deal to spare the life of a man who admitted to killing two people.

The parallels here are eerie ... because in that case, two Chinese nationals were stabbed to death in their Moscow, ID apartment ... and a former University of Idaho student copped to the murders.

Todd Chrisley's revealing one of his biggest behind-bars blowups ... and it wasn't with just any inmate. Nope, it was with the "Varsity Blues" college admissions scam ringleader himself, Rick Singer.

Just weeks after scoring a presidential pardon from Trump, Todd sat down with wife Julie on daughter Savannah’s 'Unlocked' podcast -- where he spoke about how he hit his boiling point when he caught Singer badmouthing Savannah over her taking the Bureau of Prisons to task on behalf of her dad.

Todd claimed he marched straight up to Rick and warned him he didn’t care about the consequences -- saying, "I’ll rip your head off and s*** down your neck if you talk about my child again!"

The family of Wess Roley --  the man accused of sparking the horrifying Idaho tragedy that left two firefighters dead and another clinging to life -- is speaking out.

In a statement issued by the family's attorney, Justin Whittenton, the family says they are offering their "most heartfelt condolences" to those who lost loved ones and to the greater community of Coeur d’Alene.

They add ... "There are no words that can suffice for this tragedy and the infinite losses suffered by those affected by this shooting. ... Our hearts and spirits are broken for the lost and hurting, and for our own loss as well."