Police

More than 4 years after the bodies of at least 8 sex workers were found on Long Island's Gilgo Beach, a former escort and current stylist says she had dinner with accused killer Rex Heuermann, and she says she knew he was the serial killer.

TMZ interviewed Nikki Brass for Sunday's Fox documentary, "TMZ Investigates: Gilgo Beach Serial Murders: Missed Warning Signs," and she describes in great detail how she spent an evening with Heuermann at a Long Island restaurant, 45 miles from where the bodies were buried.

She says during their dinner in 2015, he asked if she was a fan of true crime, which she was. He then asked if she was familiar with the Gilgo Beach murders, and she said of course she was.

Then things turned ... according to Nikki, Heuermann was not so much talking about the murders as he was bragging about them. She was so creeped out, she called a friend to pick her up.

When dinner was over, Heuermann asked her to come home with him, and she declined. Nikki says he got angry and she left.

Nikki, who is now a stylist, says the way he spoke about the murders, she was convinced Heuermann was the Gilgo Beach serial killer and told many of her friends for years.

She didn't go to cops because she was on probation for a drug offense.

A United Airlines pilot must've been feeling a whole lotta cabin pressure ... because he was caught on camera chopping down a parking gate with a freaking ax.

63-year-old Kenneth Jones went full-on lumberjack earlier this month at the exit of an employee parking lot at Denver International Airport, according to CBS News Colorado -- whacking the thing nearly 2 dozen times before it finally falls off.

Not long after, Jones was confronted by other airport employees, and he put up a bit of a struggle over the ax before eventually giving up.

The pilot's reportedly been charged with a misdemeanor for his parking lot remodel, which allegedly caused $700 in damages, and he's been removed from United's work schedule as the company continues an internal investigation.

As far as a reason for the ax outburst, Jones reportedly told cops he just hit his breaking point -- the outlet says he's due to appear in court at the end of September.

Cops are now on the hunt for the person who allegedly nabbed Sabrina Ionescu's sneakers from a WNBA arena earlier this week ... telling TMZ Sports they've formally launched an investigation into the allegations.

A spokesperson for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Dept. said on Friday it did take a report ... after the New York superstar claimed her Nike kicks were stolen from Michelob ULTRA Arena, where the Liberty had gone up against the Aces twice this week.

So far, no arrests have been made ... with the spokesperson saying, "This is an ongoing investigation."

25-year-old Ionescu initially brought the alleged theft to light on Thursday ... saying on her X page, "Never thought I would get my shoes stolen from an opposing arena."

"Please just bring me my insoles back," she added ... "RIP to my Sabrina 1s."

Ionescu shared photos of the two pairs that she says were stolen ... one in Oregon Duck colors, and another gray edition that she got to honor Nike founder Phil Knight.

The two-time WNBA All-Star signed an endorsement deal with Nike in 2020 and became the first women's hoops player to create a unisex collection with the corporation.

Barbara Evans is concerned for the well-being of her grandson -- who she had custody of for more than a decade -- and believes Jenelle Evans' decision to take him off ADHD meds might have led to his runaway incident.

Barbara tells TMZ 14-year-old Jace was put on the medication 7 years ago, and was regularly seeing a behavior specialist ... which had seemingly been working well for the teen.

However, Barbara says when Jenelle regained custody of Jace, back in March, Jenelle not only took him off the medication, but also ended his sessions with the behaviorist.

Jenelle denies part of Barbara's claim though, telling us, "Barbara has not been in contact with Jace since Monday. I have cut off contact with her as of 3 weeks ago. Barbara doesn't have any idea what is going on inside my home. Jace had a therapist appointment today on zoom at 10:30am … she hasn't even attempted to speak to Jace directly."

It's not clear if Jenelle booked the therapist appointment as a result of Jace's runaway, or if it was already planned.

TMZ broke the story, cops in North Carolina put out a runaway bulletin Tuesday for Jace after he took off from school. Luckily, he was found safe hours later, but the situation was scary for all involved.

Jenelle told us, "Jace, got in trouble at school, we decided to take his phone away and that's when he decided to run off, Jace is a good kid and we're not dealing with anything that most families don't deal with while raising children."

Barbara says Jenelle's not talking to her, so she doesn't have any more info about why her grandson ran off -- but she squarely blames his issues at school on the lack of medication and therapy.

August Keen, Jenelle’s manager tells us, "Jace has been found, and is safely at home with Jenelle and his family, thank you to the Brunswick Co. Sheriff's Department and to everyone else for their concerns.”

The Brunswick Co. Sheriff's Department says Jace has been located safe.

Jenelle Evans tells TMZ, "As a boy mom, kids can act up and rebel as I'm sure the majority of us all once did as kids too. Jace, got in trouble at school, we decided to take his phone away and that's when he decided to run off, Jace is a good kid and we're not dealing with anything that most families don't deal with while raising children, this has absolutely nothing to do with my situation with David, we do not argue in front of our children or fight in front of our kids. This is a teenage boy being a teenager mad that we decided to take his phone away."

A scary situation for "Teen Mom" star Jenelle Evans, as cops are currently looking for her 14-year-old son, Jace, who has been reported as a runaway ... TMZ has learned.

Deputies with the Brunswick Co. Sheriff's Department in North Carolina put out an alert for a runaway juvenile. Officers say Jace was last seen leaving school around 2:45 PM Tuesday, wearing a gray sweatshirt with the writing "Classical Charter Schools of America."

Cops say Jace could also be wearing a navy shirt if he's no longer wearing the sweatshirt. Anyone with information in the area is asked to call 911.

Unclear what happened to cause Jace to run away, but we spoke to Jenelle's mom, Barbara, who tells she had a conversation with him Monday night and he seemed totally fine.

Barbara says she also reached out to Jenelle earlier Tuesday to see how she was doing -- Jenelle's been publicly feuding with her husband, David Eason -- but Jenelle allegedly told Barbara she didn't want to talk and to leave her alone.

It was back in March when Jenelle got full custody of Jace from her mother, Barbara. Barbara got custody of Jace when he was much younger and Jenelle was unable to support him on her own -- with personal and legal issues.

Lil Durk did not finish his show Saturday night, because cops descended on the venue after receiving reports of an active shooter.

Durk was nearing the end of the concert at the United Center in Chicago Saturday night, when pandemonium erupted as the crowd ran for the exits.

Cops showed up with rifles, on the hunt for a shooter, but Chicago PD said it turned out to be a false alarm. Chicago is on high alert these days, where shootings have become tragically commonplace.

As the some of the concertgoers left the arena, they helped themselves to some merch ... whoever was working the merch stand apparently ran with the rest of the crowd.

Lil Durk posted about the show after and shouted out the fans who stole the merch.

There were no injuries reported and no arrests were made. We reached out to the United Center ... so far no word back.

A brazen smash-and-grab went down Saturday in the San Fernando Valley, when around 50 folks stormed a Nordstrom store and looted the place nearly dry.

A number of the looters were masked and wearing hoodies, which makes it look premeditated.

People were grabbing everything that wasn't nailed down ... clothes, purses, everything they could carry. It was almost like watching "Supermarket Sweep," except they weren't grabbing cans of soup.

The looters hit a very well-trafficked complex -- the Westfield Topanga Mall, so it was particularly stunning it went down there.

These flash mobs have been hard at work in the L.A. area, most recently at the Yves Saint Laurent store at Glendale's Brand Mall. Looters took around $300k worth of merch.

In both cases looters fled in numerous vehicles.

A Kansas newspaper was raided by cops after leaked DUI intel made its way to the publisher -- and many are calling it a chilling attempt at censorship over freedom of the press.

The Marion County Record was paid a visit Friday by the local authorities ... who were executing a warrant that had been signed by a judge, giving them the green light to confiscate a ton of items -- including computers, phones, hard drives and other data.

The reason law enforcement stormed the place -- not to mention the home of the publisher, Eric Meyer -- is due to a complaint a restaurateur in town filed ... namely, accusing the Record of identity theft/unlawful use of a computer in putting together a piece about her.

It's a complicated backstory -- but, essentially, this woman (Kari Newell) and the newspaper have apparently had some bad blood of late ... and, in the aftermath of that, the Record says it recently obtained a tip about her past, revealing she'd once gotten a DUI and had driven without a license thereafter. This info could've hindered her business prospects.

While investigating the tip and confirming its veracity, the Record's publisher, Meyer, concluded the info was likely coming from Newell's husband ... whom she was in the middle of divorcing. In other words, questionable motives ... so he decided to pass on it altogether.

However, he did more than just that ... he actually alerted cops to the fact that this information had been leaked to them -- although it's unclear why. In any case, it backfired.

It seems Newell became privy to the fact Meyer and co. had fallen into possession of this information, and believed they'd done so illegally ... something the Marion County Record denies. Nonetheless, she went to the cops and filed a complaint ... which escalated into a full search warrant that Marion County District Court Magistrate Judge Laura Viar signed.

More arrests in the massive riverfront brawl in Montgomery, Alabama ... as two more men have turned themselves in and have been hit with charges.

The Montgomery Police Department made the announcement Wednesday night -- Allen Todd, 23, and Zachary Shipman, 25, turned themselves in, and were charged with one count of assault 3rd degree.

While the arrests might not be a surprise -- as cops announced Wednesday the men were facing charges and making arrangements to come to the police station -- there's still a possibility more arrests and charges could come from the brawl.

TMZ broke the story, one of the employees on the passenger ferry, Harriot 2, told cops she heard the white men yell, "F*** that n*****" before coming down the dock to fight the black employee who was moving their boat so the ferry could park safely.

As we reported, Richard Roberts, who is accused of punching a 16-year-old ferry employee, also turned himself in.

In a presser Wednesday, the Montgomery Chief of police announced they'd been working with local FBI agents to determine if a hate crime was committed. At this time, no one has been charged with a hate crime.

Caris LeVert's super rare watch was allegedly stolen at a party earlier this month ... and now, TMZ Sports has learned the Cleveland Cavaliers forward is asking cops for help in getting it back.

Law enforcement tells us ... LeVert told cops it all went down on Aug. 1 during a bash at his Los Angeles-area home.

According to cops, someone was seen in LeVert's bedroom during the festivities ... and when the hooper went to check out the situation, he noticed his watch case was open and his $93,000 Peugeot was missing.

We're told LeVert went to the LAPD and filed a grand theft report ... and while no arrests have been made -- the case is currently under investigation.

LeVert -- the No. 20 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft -- began his career with Brooklyn ... though he's been on Cleveland's roster since the 2021-22 season, averaging 12.4 points per game.

Former NFL cornerback Bashaud Breeland -- a one-time Super Bowl champion -- was arrested this week ... after cops say he was in possession of drugs, a slew of guns and a stolen car.

According to police documents, Breeland was found with the vehicle, the firearms and the contraband at around 3:05 p.m. on Monday after he was pulled over in Charlotte, N.C.

Cops say during the traffic stop, they found the 2020 Mercedes-Benz he was driving had been reported stolen from Florida. They added that during an ensuing search of the car, they found a bevvy of weapons -- including two AR-15s and two AK-47s.

Police also said in the docs they discovered 5.45 pounds of suspected marijuana and 62 grams of suspected mushrooms in the ride ... plus a bunch of cash and drug paraphernalia.

They estimated the suspected drugs to be worth $7,000.

Records show the ex-cornerback was booked into Mecklenburg County Jail at 2:12 a.m. on Tuesday ... on eight total charges -- including possession of a stolen motor vehicle. The records show he was released from custody less than three hours later.

This is not the first time Breeland has been arrested in the past few years ... he was also jailed in South Carolina in 2020 following a scary encounter with cops at a gas station.

Breeland -- who played his college ball at Clemson -- has not logged a snap in the NFL since the 2021 season ... but he had been considered one of the league's better DBs throughout his career.

The mom suing Southwest Airlines for accusing her of child trafficking says it's really a case of racial profiling ... and adds, there's a better way to protect kids if the airline would train its employees better.

Mary MacCarthy joined us Wednesday on "TMZ Live," telling us why she feels her daughter's race was the only reason Southwest reported her, back in 2021, to Denver PD.

For those unaware, Mary and her child, Moira -- who was 10 at the time -- were flying to Colorado because Mary's brother had died, but cops greeted them as soon as they landed.

Southwest employees suspected Mary was trafficking Moira.

Mary insists the airline's only red flag was skin color -- she is white, while her daughter is biracial -- and she told us the misunderstanding could've been cleared up, if a crew member had spoken to them instead of calling police.

She also claims she never got a proper apology from the airline and is still waiting for it to admit fault for racially profiling them.

5:32 PM PT -- TMZ obtained the mug shot for Richard Roberts, who we're told is currently in jail.

11:23 AM PT -- Montgomery PD says the riverfront brawl has resulted in criminal charges -- with three white males getting rung up. However, there's still more potential charges to come ... and cops consulted with the FBI to determine if the incident was a hate crime.

Chief of Police Darryl Albert says 13 people were detained Saturday, and brought in for questioning after the fight but they were all released. After further investigation, warrants were issued for three men -- 48-year-old Richard Roberts (2 warrants for 3rd-degree assault); one warrant for 23--year-old Allen Todd (charged with 3rd-degree assault); and one warrant for 25-year-old Zachary Shipman (charged with 3rd-degree assault).

Albert says one of them is already in custody, and two are set to turn themselves in later today for booking and processing.

Now, as far as the Black man who was hitting people with a chair -- Chief Albert ID'd him as Reggie Gray, but notes he has not been charged yet ... although, MPD wants him to come in for further questioning.

One last thing ... Albert says Montgomery PD was consulting with the FBI to determine if hate crime charges are applicable or not. The investigation is ongoing -- and it sounds like this is far from over.

The Alabama riverfront brawl landed people in handcuffs, but not necessarily in jail -- which may all change starting Tuesday ... 'cause cops are about to provide a big update.

Montgomery PD is holding a press conference, where they're expected to discuss 4 arrest warrants that were issued Monday in relation to the melee that went down over the weekend. The names of the individuals who are now wanted and the exact charges they're facing have yet to be released ... that's presumably what the police are going to address.

Many assumed the fight participants were arrested on the spot Saturday at Riverfront Park -- where there's tons of video showing folks in police custody. However, authorities have since clarified that all those people were simply detained that day ... and none were arrested.

Montgomery's mayor signaled in his statement from this weekend that more consequences were coming -- and he seemed to point the finger at the group that originally started beating up the security guard/dock worker, who was trying to get them to move their boat.

Of course, all hell broke loose after that ... several others came running to this guy's defense, and a lot of 'em started whooping on the pontoon crew, pretty brutally as it turned out.

The whole thing ended up playing out along racial lines -- Black versus white, it seemed -- and there was a lot of commentary about it in the aftermath, with many championing what they perceived as an act of solidarity among the Black folks.

Time will tell who gets dragged into court over this, and how much trouble they're in.

TikTok star "Uncle Chris" -- famous for the Yeet Baby videos -- is getting treatment in a mental health facility after a difficult several months ... which all led up to his alleged disappearance.

As we reported, Chris Rooney's family went to the cops last week after they couldn't get in touch and feared the worst. A short time later, officers told us Chris had been located safe, but it was unclear what led up to his family's report.

Now, Rooney's family is explaining what happened behind the scenes, saying, "As many of you know, his life the last 6 months has been nothing short of difficult. What you all witnessed leading up to his disappearance was all of his emotions coming to a head."

Those following along with Chris' life likely knew he had recently separated from his wife -- at times talking about it on social media.

What's more, his family says, "Prior to his disappearance he had seen the movie "Sound of Freedom," and like many others, he was sick to his core over it. This prompted him to post links to raise money for the cause of ending child sex trafficking. To many of you this may have seemed odd, but he genuinely wanted and still wants to help this cause."

Chris's family says he wasn't acting like himself, and when they couldn't get in touch with him, they feared the worst ... calling the police to make a missing person's report.

Thankfully, they learned he was in the mental health facility several hours later -- where he remains -- and is getting the treatment he needs.

Chris also released a statement, saying, "Unfortunately, there was nothing anyone could do to help me. It is something that I have to work on and am going to make it my life's mission to not only get myself healthy but also others. If there is one thing I have learned during this time, there are a lot of hurting people in this world and I am going to do everything I can to help them."

TikTok star Lexy Burke and her country singer hubby Austin Burke are super shaken after a bullet ripped through their Tennessee home.

Austin tells TMZ ... he was sitting on his couch Sunday night while Lexy was upstairs taking a bath when they both heard gunshots ... and then they felt their house rattle.

He says they checked their surveillance cameras and heard a gun being loaded, cocked, and fired. He called police, who came and quickly discovered a bullet hole in the home's exterior.

TMZ obtained a photo of the bullet hole ... as well as home security footage in which you hear the gun discharge. You can't see who fired the shot in the video.

Police in Nashville tell TMZ ... officers responded to the couple's home over the weekend for a shots fired report. We're told no arrests have been made and the case remains under investigation.

Austin tells us it's "incredibly unsettling" knowing someone fired a gun at their home in the middle of the night with his pregnant wife inside. He has no idea who did it.

Police have arrested someone in connection to the killing of O'Shae Sibley -- a gay dancer who was recently stabbed to death in NYC ... this after voguing to Beyoncé's music, no less.

The NYPD announced Saturday that they had a suspect in custody, whom they believe is responsible for Sibley's death. The unidentified perp is a 17-year-old boy, per cops, and he's being charged with murder ... which NYPD says is being prosecuted as a hate crime.

The suspect surrendered Friday in Brooklyn, accompanied by a lawyer. He'd been on the police's radar since the July 29 incident ... as they believed he went to school in the area. So far, he's the only one being charged, although it's unclear if he'll be tried as an adult.

The fact this is being pursued as a hate crime lends credence to what friends of Sibley's -- some of whom say they were actually there at the gas station that night -- have been saying on social media ... namely, that the suspect and whatever group of people he was with apparently had an issue with Sibley and co. being gay. It led to a full-blown shouting match, and an eventual scuffle that resulted in Sibley being stabbed ... which was caught on video.

Based on reports, it sounds like the whole thing emanated from Sibley and his friends dancing in the parking lot ... and playing Bey's music in the background. The singer paid tribute to Sibley after hearing about it -- she has his name up on her website's homepage.

Since his death, tons of people have been paying their respects in a number of ways -- including visiting the site of his murder and voguing/protesting en masse, in his name.