Mug Shot

The man accused of shooting and killing a clubgoer in Hollywood last weekend was accused of ANOTHER murder just a few months ago -- but the guy beat the rap, TMZ has learned.

22-year-old Robert Earl Thomas was arrested last July in connection with a murder that took place in 2009 in L.A. -- back when Thomas was just 19.

Thomas was charged with murder -- but law enforcement sources tell us, he was not the gunman in the case. We're told he was one of several people involved in the murder.

Thomas pled "not guilty" and spent 4 months in jail, but the murder charge was ultimately dropped due to lack of evidence. He was released in November.

Thomas is now accused of the murder TMZ captured on camera outside Empire nightclub in Hollywood last week. He was arrested Wednesday night at a friend's house in Las Vegas.

Linda Hogan's "I only had one glass of champagne" excuse isn't flying with officials ... 'cause TMZ has learned she's officially been charged with DUI stemming from her October arrest.

TMZ broke the story ... Linda was popped for DUI in Malibu after cops say she was speeding around town with a blood alcohol level of .084 ... just over the legal limit in CA.

At the time, a rep for Linda said Linda had only sucked down one glass of champagne at a jewelry event that night ... on an empty stomach ... but she also had taken antibiotics, which exacerbated the effects of the alcohol.

Now, the L.A. County District Attorney has charged Linda with 2 misdemeanor counts of DUI. She was also hit with one count of driving on a suspended license -- also a misdemeanor.

All told, she could face up to 18 months in jail ... though it's unlikely she'll spend any time behind bars since she has no prior DUI convictions.

The person who allegedly shot and killed a man outside a Hollywood nightclub has been arrested ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Robert Earl Thomas III was hiding at a friend's house in Las Vegas when cops entered the premises last night and placed him under arrest for murder. He surrendered without a struggle.

TMZ posted video of the shooter outside Empire nightclub when he aimed the gun and fired, killing one man and wounding another. The video clearly shows the shooter and law enforcement tells us they got a number of tips from people who saw it and that led to Thomas' capture.

Thomas is 22 years old and lives in Los Angeles.

Thomas is currently being held in a Vegas jail and prosecutors plan to extradite him to California.

"Terminator 2" actor Edward Furlong was arrested this weekend on suspicion of attacking his GF... TMZ has learned ... the THIRD time he's been accused of domestic violence in three months.

Law enforcement sources tell us, Furlong was popped in L.A. Sunday morning around 5:45 AM. We're told he also had an outstanding warrant for his arrest, stemming from one of his prior domestic violence incidents.

Furlong is still in custody.

As we reported, Furlong was previously arrested in October following a domestic violence incident involving his GF at LAX -- when he allegedly bruised her up during an argument at the airport.

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Chris Rainey was arrested this morning in Florida -- after allegedly slapping his GF in the face during an argument over a cell phone.

According to the Gainesville Police, officers responded to a 911 call from witnesses who claimed they saw Rainey attack his girlfriend after she took his cell phone ... and tried to lock herself in Rainey's roommate's car.

According to the police report, witnesses said Rainey dragged his girlfriend out of the passenger seat and slapped her in the face in the process, causing both of them to fall to the ground.

Witnesses said Rainey's GF then took off again with the cell phone in her purse ... and Rainey continued the chase, eventually grabbing her purse ... causing them both to fall again.

Police say neither Rainey nor his GF appeared visibly injured after the fight.

It took 5 fully-grown police officers to wrestle "Dharma & Greg" star Thomas Gibson to the ground during his DUI bust in L.A. this weekend ... and TMZ has the crazy arrest video.

We broke the story ... cops believe an intoxicated Gibson tried to drive his Audi SUV through a part of downtown L.A. that had been sectioned off for a nighttime half-marathon around 1 AM on Sunday morning.

The footage begins with Gibson standing next to his car speaking with police ... when a bike cop arrives to the scene and screams for the actor to, "Get on the ground, NOW!"

At that point, all of the officers on scene rush toward Gibson and manhandle him to the ground as he yells, "Why?! Why!?"

While Gibson is on the ground, he can be heard telling the cops, "I am NOT resisting ... I am NOT resisting!"

After Gibson is successfully placed in cuffs, the cops help him up and escort him away from his vehicle.

Josh Brolin rang in 2013 pretty hard ... getting popped for public intoxication on New Year's Day ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Brolin was arrested just before midnight on January 1 in Santa Monica. Brolin was booked into jail at 3:02 AM and then released at 7:14 AM.

Brolin was not given a citation for the arrest -- meaning he will not have to go to court over the incident and it is completely over.

Sources close to Brolin tell TMZ he was hanging out with a bunch of his guy friends that night and ended up having "too much fun."

Former NBA star Latrell Sprewell spent his New Year's behind bars -- after cops arrested him Monday night for blasting ridiculously loud music at his house.

According to law enforcement, Latrell was arrested for disorderly conduct following multiple complaints from neighbors about the volume of music coming from his Milwaukee home.

Police wouldn't release details about Sprewell's arrest, but said they had received two noise complaints within one hour -- and several others in the months preceding Monday's incident.

42-year-old Sprewell was booked into jail at 9:16 PM, but wasn't released until after midnight.

MLB Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk stepped up to the plate today ... pleading "guilty" to DUI after his arrest in an Illinois corn field back in October.

TMZ broke the story ... cops found Fisk passed out in the driver's seat of his F-150, which Fisk had plowed onto a New Lenox farm. Cops claim they also found an open bottle of vodka in the vehicle.

Fisk -- a first time offender -- pled guilty to misdemeanor DUI. He was sentenced to one year of court supervision and was ordered to pay $1,250 in fines.

Former New York Yankees slugger Andruw Jones' Christmas Day started out behind bars -- police in Georgia arrested him for an alleged domestic violence incident involving his wife ... following their Christmas Eve party.

According to the incident report, obtained by TMZ, Andruw's wife called police at 1:30 yesterday morning, claiming Andruw drunkenly attacked her in their Duluth, GA home following the holiday get together, dragging her through their garage and choking her.

Andruw's wife told police she had asked him to help her set up for Christmas morning after the party -- including assembling a computer desk -- and Andruw grew belligerent ... grabbing her and attacking her.

According to the report, when police arrived at the couple's home, they found the baseball player passed out in bed, still dressed in his clothes from earlier in the day. Officers then woke Andruw up and placed him under arrest.

According to Gwinnett County jail records ... Jones was booked for battery and released on a $2,500 bond.

11:43 AM PT -- It appears the Shelby County Sheriff's Office made a mistake on its website, mistakenly posting that Williams was charged with cocaine possession, when it SHOULD have said codeine possession.

Ex-NBA player Shawne Williams -- a former 1st round draft pick -- was arrested in Tennessee last night for possession of weed and codeine ... and cops believe he may have been trying to sell it.

According to reports, Williams' night went to hell when an officer on a routine patrol claims he smelled marijuana coming from a Porsche Panamera which was parked near a Cricket wireless store.

When the cop approached the car, the person inside -- Williams -- reportedly said, "Officer I ain't gonna lie to you, there's a blunt in the car and some syrup."

The cop searched the car ... and reportedly found a partially smoked blunt, another blunt that hadn't been smoked, and a bottle of codeine cough syrup (for which he did not have a prescription).

According to the Williams' booking sheet, posted on the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office website, the 26-year-old was arrested for possession of weed and codeine with intent to manufacture, deliver or sell.

Whitney Purvis and her boyfriend/baby daddy Weston Gosa -- stars of MTV's "16 & Pregnant" -- were arrested in Georgia this week after allegedly smashing the hell out of some electronics ... TMZ has learned.

The Floyd County Sheriff's Dept. tells us ... 21-year-old Whitney and 23-year-old Weston were arrested on December 12th ... after someone filed a complaint accusing the two of smashing a laptop and a cell phone.

We're told a warrant was issued for their arrests ... so cops went to their home and arrested the reality stars for criminal trespassing.

Both Whitney and Weston were taken to the station where they were booked. They were each released on $1,300 bond.

A convicted killer locked up in New Mexico plotted to have Justin Bieber murdered and castrated ... but for some mysterious reason, he threw a wrench into his own plans -- this according to a local news report in New Mexico.

According to KRQE News, convicted murderer Dana Martin -- currently serving two life sentences for raping and killing a 15-year-old girl in Vermont in 2000 -- recruited a fellow inmate at Las Cruces prison named Mark Staake to carry out the murder once Staake was released.

It's unclear when the plot was originally hatched, but Staake and his nephew Tanner Ruane -- whom Staake had later recruited to help -- reportedly planned to execute the murder plan in NYC last month, where Bieber was performing at MSG.

Martin reportedly told police the plan was to kidnap Bieber and his bodyguard and strangle them with paisley ties, Martin's calling card. Ruane was then going to castrate them.

According to KRQE, Martin is obsessed with Bieber and even has a tattoo of Bieber on his leg.

But for some reason Martin blew the whistle on his accomplices -- and Staake was arrested in Vermont on outstanding warrants before carrying out the deed.

The former "Wife Swap" star who was charged with exchanging sex for money back in August ... can officially join the "not a prostitute" club ... because the charge has been dropped, TMZ has learned.

As we previously reported ... 21-year-old Alicia Guastaferro -- who was on the show back in '08 -- was arrested in New York after cops caught her half naked with a 54-year-old male lawyer ... in the back seat of a car.

But Guastaferro got some good news Tuesday night ... the District Attorney's Office dropped the prostitution charge in the "interest of justice" -- aka extreme leniency.

Alicia's not out of the woods yet ... she still faces several other charges from the same incident: criminal impersonation, criminal possession and possession of a controlled substance.

Jerry Brown, a linebacker on the Dallas Cowboys practice squad, died early this morning in a single-car accident -- and his teammate, Josh Brent, was arrested on charges of intoxication manslaughter.

According to police, Brent (see above) was driving at a high rate of speed at around 2:20 AM when his car "hit the outside curb," flipped over and came to rest in the middle of the road.

When cops came to the scene, Brent was dragging Brown away from the vehicle ... which had come to rest upside down and was on fire. Brown was unresponsive and was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

Officers at the scene suspected alcohol to be a factor, so they gave Brent a field sobriety test, which he failed. His blood was later drawn at the hospital to determine his blood alcohol level. Those results are not yet known.

Brent was arrested by Irving PD and booked on a second degree felony charge at 4:14 AM and is being held without bail.

Brent pled guilty to a misdemeanor DUI charge while in college ... where he and Brown were teammates.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones released a statement today, saying, "We are deeply saddened by the news of this accident and the passing of Jerry Brown. At this time, our hearts and prayers and deepest sympathies are with the members of Jerry’s family and all of those who knew him and loved him."

Adult film star Briana Banks -- star of the classic films "Chinny Chinny Bang Bang" and "Vaggie Burger" -- was arrested for DUI in L.A. this week ... TMZ has learned.

According to law enforcement, Banks -- an AVN porn Hall of Famer -- got into a fender bender with another car around 9 AM on Wednesday.

Moments after the incident, we're told a witness contacted police ... and advised them that Banks may have been under the influence of something at the time of the crash.

We're told cops spotted Briana's car leaving the drive-thru at a nearby Micky D's -- so they pulled her over ... and gave her a field sobriety test.

Banks bombed ... and was immediately arrested for being under the influence of alcohol and drugs.

The XXX star was hauled to a nearby station where she was booked and released. No word if she was allowed to keep the munchies she scored during the fast food run.