Crime

Erik Fleming has been sentenced to 2 years in prison for his role in the death of Matthew Perry.

A judge handed down the sentence Wednesday morning at a United States District Court for the Central District of California Courthouse.

The sentencing comes after Fleming pleaded for mercy in a letter obtained by TMZ ... saying he’ll spend the rest of his life trying to make up for contributing to Perry’s death.

The arrest of "Street Outlaws" star Daddy Dave earlier today has an unusual twist, TMZ has learned ... Dave was caught on video planting a GPS tracking device on someone's vehicle, according to police.

Bath Village Police Chief Donald Lewis tells TMZ ... the street racer -- real name David Comstock -- was arrested Wednesday morning in Upstate New York and booked into the Steuben County jail on two misdemeanors -- stalking and criminal tampering.

Lewis said the trouble began late Tuesday night when the victim called police saying that someone tampered with his vehicle.

8:47 AM PT -- South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson released a statement Wednesday, saying ... "While we respectfully disagree with the Court's decision, my Office will aggressively seek to retry Alex Murdaugh for the murders of Maggie and Paul as soon as possible. Let me be clear -- this decision does not mean Murdaugh will be released. He will remain in prison for his financial crimes. No one is above the law and, as always, we will continue to fight for justice."

Alex Murdaugh just caught a massive break behind bars ... with South Carolina's high court tossing out his murder convictions, and ordering a new trial.

The South Carolina Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that Murdaugh’s 2023 convictions for the murders of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, can’t stand because the jury process was compromised.

At the center of the decision is former court clerk Becky Hill ... who was accused of making anti-Murdaugh comments to jurors and influencing deliberations during the nationally televised trial. The court said the misconduct was serious enough to blow up the verdict entirely.

Billionaire businessman Stephen Cloobeck has been arrested on a felony charge of attempting to prevent or dissuade a victim or witness from testifying ... TMZ has learned.

Cloobeck was handcuffed and taken into custody by Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies in West Hollywood Tuesday morning ... though he was released a few hours later after posting a $300,000 bond. It's unclear what case Cloobeck's arrest relates to.

Cloobeck is the former CEO of Diamond Resorts International and a prominent Democratic donor who pulled his support for disgraced and now-resigned Congressman Eric Swalwell's suspended campaign for California Governor. The pair are -- or at least, were -- longtime friends ... until Swalwell was accused of sexual assault by several women earlier this year.

Caitlyn Jenner is facing a new class action lawsuit over her $JENNER meme coin ... with investors claiming they got burned in a celebrity-fueled crypto cash grab.

According to the explosive 97-page filing, obtained by TMZ, a man named Lee Greenfield claims Jenner and her manager, Sophia Hutchins, orchestrated a crypto pump and dump after hyping up a token pair -- promising the project was a long-term play while encouraging fans to buy in.

The suit claims Jenner repeatedly told followers she was "solely focused" on the coin, pushed slogans like "We’re sending this coin to the moon!!!" and even tied the token to Donald Trump and MAGA messaging to attract buyers. The filing includes a bunch of screenshots of Jenner’s tweets and promo posts.

D4vd looked more like he was waiting on a delayed flight than fighting a criminal case Tuesday morning ... casually slumping in his chair during a court hearing while his lawyers and prosecutors deliberated over the case's timeline.

The artist -- born David Burke -- appeared in Downtown Los Angeles for a status conference tied to his upcoming preliminary hearing ... rocking an orange jail jumpsuit and appearing unusually relaxed throughout the proceedings.

A sketch shows him entering the courtroom in restraints as he faces first-degree murder and mutilation charges tied to the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez ... whose dismembered remains were found inside a Tesla registered to the singer last year. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges after his April arrest.

A gunman wielding an assault rifle went on a broad daylight rampage through the streets of Massachusetts, firing upwards of 60 bullets and critically injuring two people, authorities said.

The harrowing Monday afternoon incident was captured on video, showing the alleged shooter, identified by police as Tyler Brown, walking down Memorial Drive in Cambridge while indiscriminately opening fire with his assault weapon.

Brown squeezed off between 50 to 60 bullets, striking two men in vehicles, according to Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan.

The man accused of stealing Beyoncé's unreleased music last summer in Atlanta won't be going to trial after all, but he will be going to prison ... after he cut a plea deal in the 11th hour.

Kelvin Evans pleaded guilty Tuesday to several charges related to the theft, WXIA-TV reports. Investigators say surveillance cameras captured Evans breaking into an SUV just two days before Beyoncé’s Atlanta stop on her "Cowboy Carter" tour. The Jeep was rented by a member of Beyoncé’s team who had a flash drive of unreleased music that was swiped.

A registered nurse was savagely murdered by her boyfriend in Illinois ... and the suspect recorded more than 7 hours of her being tortured, sexually assaulted and strangled, according to police.

The grisly recording was discovered on April 30 when police took Kevin Motykie into custody in the garage of the suburban Chicago home he shared with former longtime partner, Katherine Torbick, who was found dead at the scene.

Schaumburg Police detectives reportedly discovered an audio recording device in Motykie's pocket as he was being arrested -- which allegedly holds evidence of the murder.

Hulk Hogan's former accountant is facing a slew of federal charges for allegedly stealing more than $890,000 from a "public figure" in Florida, TMZ Sports has learned.

The wrestling legend is not identified as the victim.

Melissia Gauthreaux has been charged with six counts of wire fraud, after the feds say she used her business, Accounting Resources and Management Services, to embezzle enormous amounts of money between 2017 and 2021.

The alleged White House Correspondents' Dinner gunman is claiming he's innocent ... pleading not guilty Monday morning to charges tied to the terrifying D.C. shooting incident that sent President Donald Trump and other top officials scrambling for safety last month.

Cole Allen appeared in federal court and pleaded not guilty to all charges stemming from the April 25 chaos at the Washington Hilton Hotel ... where prosecutors say he stormed a security checkpoint armed with multiple guns, knives and extra ammunition near the high-profile event.

A grand jury indicted Allen on charges of attempting to kill the president, assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon, and weapons counts, according to NewsNation. His federal public defender spoke on his behalf, saying he "pleads not guilty to all four counts as charged," NBC News reports.

According to officials, the 31-year-old exchanged gunfire with a U.S. Secret Service officer after allegedly rushing the checkpoint. The agent was shot once in the chest but survived thanks to a ballistic vest and was later released from the hospital. Allen was not hit during the exchange.

This Mother's Day is a tough one for Savannah Guthrie ... she's spending it pleading for the return of her mother, Nancy.

She went on Instagram Sunday to share a touching tribute to her missing mom, posting a montage of cute clips but captioning it with a call for help.

Savannah wrote an emotional message to Nancy in the caption, saying ... "mother, daughter, sister, Nonie -- we miss you with every breath. We will never stop looking for you. We will never be at peace until we find you."

Investigators searching for Kristin Smart’s remains wrapped up operations Saturday at a California property connected to the family of the man convicted in her killing -- but officials say the evidence of human remains recovered did not belong to Kristin.

The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office confirmed deputies completed their search at a home belonging to Susan Flores in Arroyo Grande -- a Central Coast community located northwest of Los Angeles -- her son, Paul Flores, was found guilty in 2022 of murdering Smart. Her body has never been located.

Authorities have not released many additional details about the search, though officials previously said evidence led investigators to believe human remains may once have been present on the property.

Addison Rae's dad told cops a night at his house turned into a hit and run ... TMZ has learned.

According to a police report, obtained by TMZ, officers were called to Monty Lopez's Louisiana home on April 7 just before 10 PM for a disturbance. Monty told cops he'd been drinking with friends when one woman jumped on a golf cart. He says he warned the woman not to back up because the golf cart was fast, but he says she "did it anyway," backing straight into his car and even running over his foot in the process.

Monty told cops the woman then took off after the crash, prompting officers to classify the incident as a misdemeanor hit and run. The report notes no serious injuries, but Monty told them he had video of the incident and planned to hand it over to his insurance company and lawyer.

Betty Broderick's son is trying to process his grief now that she's gone ... because, while she obviously killed his father, he also thinks of the good times.

Daniel Broderick -- the son of Betty and Daniel -- tells TMZ ... obviously his relationship with his mother became complicated after she killed her ex-husband and his new wife in 1989.

That said, Daniel also tries to remember the good times ... saying she was an amazing mom back in the day -- engaged, intelligent, fun and funny.

Betty Broderick -- the woman who fatally shot her ex-husband and his new wife back in 1989 -- died in the ICU Friday following a number of health issues, TMZ has learned.

Betty's son, Daniel Broderick, tells TMZ ... she had a number of septic infections -- including one infection that she had years ago and came back. Plus, she had a serious fall at the Californian Institute for Women where she was locked away about 3 weeks ago ... which resulted in broken ribs.

Daniel says Betty ended up in the ICU at a hospital off the prison grounds. She was on life support at the end of her life and unable to communicate.