Legal

Pedro Martínez doesn't know if Wander Franco will ever play Major League Baseball again, but he hopes society will give the All-Star shortstop a chance to redeem himself.

"I don't really know if he would. I'm hoping that he can actually reestablish himself, not only spiritually, but mentally. As humans, we all deserve an opportunity to redo ourselves," the Red Sox legend told TMZ Sports at the Sports Emmys when we asked him if he believed Franco would again play in the big leagues.

Franco, 25, was found criminally responsible for sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl, but was spared prison after a judge ruled he was also the victim of extortion and blackmail at the hands of the minor's mother.

"How I Met Your Mother" actor Nick Pasqual's legal nightmare is far from over ... because his ex-girlfriend is now suing him for sexual battery.

According to a court doc obtained by TMZ, Hollywood makeup artist Allie Shehorn alleges Pasqual sexually assaulted and raped her during an April 2024 incident while the two were dating.

In the filing, Shehorn alleges Pasqual subjected her to "controlling, coercive, threatening, and physically violent conduct" during their relationship ... claiming the abuse escalated over time.

Matthew Perry’s assistant allegedly went on a ride in the late actor’s car at 4 AM shortly after the Friends star died ... this according to Perry's former friend and publicist.

Lisa Calio, who says she worked for Matthew for close to 30 years, wrote a letter to the judge set in advance of the sentencing hearing for Matthew’s longtime assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa.

Kenneth is facing years in prison for being the middleman between drug dealers and Matthew. Prosecutors claim he also injected the actor with ketamine, including on the night he died in 2023.

Mackenzie Shirilla's late boyfriend Dominic Russo sent her a chilling text message in the weeks before she killed him in a car crash ... talking to her about life being short.

In the text message, obtained by TMZ, Dom tells Mackenzie ... "Kenzie u know i love u but i dont think we should be together at this point there isnt very much time on earth."

Dominic proceeds to mention constant fights and breakups that don't stick ... telling her they need some time apart.

Eric Rosenbrook -- a reality star formerly on "90 Day Fiancé" -- cut a deal with prosecutors in a battery case involving his wife.

The deal called for Eric to plead guilty to "disorderly conduct, domestic abuse assessments" in exchange for a misdemeanor battery charge being dropped.

Eric looks like he has a path to avoid jail time here ... as long as he keeps his nose clean for the next 12 months. The plea deal comes with a bunch of conditions, most notably committing no crimes, staying sober, and not going into any bars.

Mackenzie Shirilla and Dominic Russo’s relationship was unraveling in the days before the deadly crash, according to text messages obtained by TMZ.

The heated messages -- exchanged by the couple, roughly a week before the accident which ultimately claimed Dom's life -- show the couple locked in an emotional argument surrounding Dom needing some space from Mackenzie.

In one exchange, Mackenzie tells Dom that she has "so much hate" and claims it stems from everything he put her through ... without getting specific.

"90 Day Fiancé" star Thais Ramone is no longer facing potential jail time after prosecutors declined to move forward with a domestic battery charge against the reality star ... TMZ has learned.

According to court records, Thais was facing a misdemeanor domestic battery charge, and the case was sent to prosecutors for a filing determination back on May 22.

A couple of days later, on May 24, the charge was dropped.

Matthew Perry's former assistant Kenneth Iwamasa allegedly cleaned up more than just a house after the actor died ... prosecutors say he also tried wiping away the evidence trail tied to the ketamine conspiracy.

According to a new court filing, obtained by TMZ, federal prosecutors claim the former live-in assistant went into damage-control mode immediately after the "Friends" star's death -- allegedly directing another person to destroy ketamine evidence, shredding documents, and scrubbing digital records.

The feds say Iwamasa repeatedly lied to investigators, too ... first by allegedly hiding the fact he injected Perry with multiple ketamine shots on the day of his death, then later claiming Perry had hidden ketamine bottles himself.

Prosecutors say that wasn't true.

If Hasan Piker was trying to play it cool while addressing the federal investigation into a trip he took to Cuba earlier this year ... he didn't do so hot on a recent live stream.

The far-left political personality didn't say much to his audience when he broke his silence ... other than the feds are "up his a--" and the situation is "not good."

Responding to one commenter ... Hasan said, "Yeah, free me" after again calling the feds' probe "bulls---."

Wander Franco was found criminally responsible for sexually and psychologically abusing a minor ... but the MLB star will not serve jail time.

A judge in the Dominican Republic ruled Monday the Tampa Bay Rays shortstop was responsible in the case involving a girl who was 14 years old at the time of the alleged relationship.

Still, the judge granted Franco a judicial pardon reportedly determining he had also been the victim of extortion and blackmail by the minor's mom.

Lindsie Chrisley is dealing with a new legal headache ... 'cause TMZ has learned she was arrested in Georgia over the weekend.

According to jail records, obtained by TMZ, the "Chrisley Knows Best" alum was arrested Saturday night on suspicion of DUI and booked into jail before bonding out early Sunday morning.

Lindsie tells TMZ ... "I got pulled over speeding past a car on a two lane road because they almost hit an animal and I was trying to miss hitting them and whatever the animal was."

Casey Anthony is back on familiar turf ... 'cause TMZ has learned she was spotted bargain hunting in Central Florida after spending much of the last year in New Hampshire.

TMZ has obtained video and pictures of Casey hitting up a TJ Maxx in Lake Mary around 12:50 PM Sunday alongside two women. A witness tells us Casey and the women were laughing and browsing fitness clothes together and at one point Casey was overheard talking about the face cream she uses.

One of the other women was also heard asking Casey if she liked a shirt as she held it up as the group continued shopping through the store.

Actress Kim Delaney is putting that hit-and-run lawsuit behind her -- in the rearview, if you will -- because she’s settling, TMZ has learned.

According to court docs obtained by TMZ ... the "NYPD Blue" star settled this week with Dzhamal Badalov -- the man who claims she sent him flying after slamming her car into his motorcycle back in 2022.

Badalov alleges he was stopped at a red light when Kim rammed him. He says she tried to drive off, but was initially stopped by bystanders.

Amanda Conner -- the wife of "Teen Mom" star Ryan Edwards -- has been arrested ... TMZ has confirmed.

A spokesperson for the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office Jail in Tennessee tells TMZ ... Conner was arrested Sunday morning near Chattanooga and booked on a charge of driving under the influence and child abuse/neglect.

We're told there's also a charge for driving on the wrong side of the road.

Conner's bond was set at $16K ... and, at the time of publishing, it appears she has not yet bonded out.

Hasan Piker has reportedly been subpoenaed by federal officials as part of a widening investigation into whether U.S. activists violated laws and sanctions while supporting Cuba’s communist regime.

The far-left Twitch streamer and CodePink cofounder Medea Benjamin were served "Requests for Information" by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control tied to a March trip to Cuba organized through the "Nuestra América Convoy," according to Fox News Digital.

Investigators are reportedly examining whether activists illegally financed travel, coordinated logistics, or conducted prohibited transactions involving Cuba, including possible stays at hotels on the U.S. State Department's restricted list.

Mackenzie Shirilla's final text interactions with her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, via text showed frustrations ... but didn't appear hint at the horrific tragedy that would follow.

We've obtained the messages she exchanged with Russo just days before the crash ... and, in them, she complains about "Davion" -- presumably Davion Flanagan -- taking too long to get in the car.

The texts Shirilla and Dominic sent back and forth are short -- curt even -- but, they don't really raise any eyebrows ... they're missing apparent threatening language and toxicity.