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Ahmaud Arbery's alleged murderers came face-to-face with a young black man in their neighborhood less than 2 weeks prior to the shooting -- and now another neighbor claims it was Ahmaud they confronted.

Travis McMichael called police on February 11 at around 7:30 PM to report an unknown "lighter-skinned black male," wearing a red shirt and white pants, was trespassing on a construction site in Brunswick, GA ... this according to a police report obtained by TMZ.

In the report, cops say McMichael told them he saw the black male cut across one property and enter the construction site. McMichael told cops he returned to the property and "observed the unknown male run back through the open house under construction toward the area of the back yard."

Cops responded and searched the property, but no one was there. They say the property owner, Larry English, told them "it appears the unknown male is only trespassing and plundering around as he has yet to see where anything has been taken." Cops say security footage of the incident circulated Facebook and a neighborhood watch app but nobody could identify the unknown black male.

Another neighbor, Diego Perez, says he was also present for the Feb. 11 incident, along with Travis and his father, Gregory, at the February 11 incident. It should be noted ... the police report never mentions Gregory or Diego.

Diego told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution he was there because Larry English -- who was out of town -- sent him the security cam footage, and asked him to go check it out.

But, Perez says he was also on the scene Feb. 23 right after Ahmaud was shot. He claims Ahmaud is the same person the McMichaels confronted 12 days earlier.

As we've reported ... Travis and Gregory were arrested for murder and aggravated assault shortly after the chilling video of Ahmaud's shooting leaked last week.

It's interesting that the younger McMichael described the Feb. 11 trespasser as "lighter-skinned' ... because Ahmaud had a darker complexion.

A guy was caught on camera choking his ex-girlfriend's dog -- and now ... he's facing criminal charges for the sickeningly evil deed.

30-year-old Shane Mitchell allegedly took his ex's pup -- a Doberman named Rubyjean -- without permission, and when he showed up at the owner's front door with Rubyjean, the owner threatened him with a call to the cops. That set Mitchell off, and what happened next is disturbing.

While his ex remained behind her front door during the argument, her Ring doorbell cam recorded Mitchell angrily reaching down and yanking up the dog by its leash, suffocating it, and letting it dangle in front of the camera. The owner shrieks from inside, pleading for him to stop -- then, the video ends.

Cops in Slidell, Louisiana say Mitchell was eventually arrested and booked on animal cruelty charges after the clip made the rounds online, and even better news ... Rubyjean is okay.

She's back in her home and doesn't seem to have suffered any permanent damage as a result of the choking. The city's police chief issued a strong statement of the heinous act, saying ... "I was sick to my stomach watching that video." He added, "How someone can hurt a defenseless animal is beyond me."

Ahmaud Arbery's mother believes his murder shows more than the existence of racism in America -- she feels it's spreading like wildfire in small towns ... where people think they can get away with it.

Wanda Cooper-Jones tells TMZ ... her son's death is shining a light on a huge problem in the U.S., particularly in smaller towns in the south that she claims are racist and riddled with corruption.

She says what happened to her son in Glynn County, Georgia is Exhibit A right now. As you know ... Ahmaud was ambushed and killed by Gregory and Travis McMichael back in February, but no arrests were made until last week after video of the slaying leaked, and the case drew national attention and outrage.

Wanda tells us during the gap between her son's death and the arrests, she felt hopeless and feared there would be no justice ... but she's encouraged things are heading in the right direction now.

Still, she feels there's a long way to go. As we first told you, Ahmaud's family and legal team want everyone involved in his death to be convicted and "appropriately sentenced." For the McMichaels, at least, Wanda believes that means the death penalty.

Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson do NOT have another bun in the oven, despite lots of speculation otherwise ... TMZ has learned.

While rumors and reports started swirling Wednesday morning saying Khloe was pregnant with the NBA star's child, our sources tell us that's not the case.

Sources close to Khloe tell TMZ ... she is NOT pregnant and the rumor mill started simply because eagle-eyed fans noticed she was posting a lot of pink flowers recently, which they mistook as a sign of another daughter on the horizon.

Fans also noted a lot of the photos and videos Khloe's been posting on social media are from the waist up or throwback pics ... but we're told it's not a sign she's actually expecting.

As you know ... Khloe and Tristan have one child together already, True Thompson, who recently celebrated her 2nd birthday.

Sounds like things are good between Khloe and TT, even though they don't live under the same roof ... our sources say they've been seeing each other from time to time during Cali's stay-at-home order because of their daughter, and the family celebrated Mother's Day together.

Khloe's still a mother of one ... and that's not changing any time soon.

"Ink Master" star Daniel Silva was stretchered from the scene of the car wreck that killed YouTube star Corey La Barrie -- the accident for which Silva's now facing a murder charge.

Photos of the fatal car accident show an emergency worker rolling Silva -- whose eyes are closed -- away from his black McLaren sports car. The car's hood was up and the windshield was heavily damaged ... especially on the passenger's side.

We broke the story ... the crash happened in L.A. Sunday night when the McLaren somehow managed to hit a street sign and a tree. Silva and La Barrie had attended a party together beforehand to celebrate Corey's birthday, and we're told Silva was seen drinking before getting behind the wheel of the car.

Law enforcement sources say Silva allegedly tried to flee after the accident but was stopped by witnesses. La Barrie, the passenger, suffered significant injuries in the crash and died from them at the hospital.

His cause of death is listed as multiple blunt force injuries sustained in the accident.

Silva did not suffer life-threatening injuries, but we're told he's being treated for a broken hip. As we told you, he was arrested and booked for murder while at the hospital. Along with allegedly drinking before crashing the McLaren, it's believed Silva was traveling at a high rate of speed.

As for Corey ... his YouTube partner, Crawford Collins, broke his silence Tuesday about the tragedy. They created their channel, Corey & Crawford, in July 2019. They amassed 108,000 subscribers with more than 3.5 million views in their short time making vids together.

The father and son accused of murdering Ahmaud Arbery are sitting ducks in the jail as they await prosecution -- and because of that ... the men are being isolated behind bars.

Glynn County Undersheriff Ron Corbett tells TMZ ... Travis and Gregory McMichael are being housed in a separate wing of the Glynn County Detention Center away from the general population ... for their own safety. In other words, they're in protective custody.

Because of the high-profile nature of the case -- and tensions enormously high in the community -- Corbett says both of the McMichaels are siloed off in separate cells -- telling us the cells are not close enough for them to communicate with each other.

What they can do, we're told, is eat alone, periodically leave their units under a secure setting -- but only among themselves -- and that's about it, really. We're told there are no TVs in the section of the jail where they're being housed, so they can't follow the case in the news.

For security reasons, Corbett refused to say whether the men were on suicide watch or whether threats have been made on their lives.

TMZ broke the story ... Ahmaud's mother tells us she wants prosecutors to seek the death penalty.

'Tiger King' star Joe Exotic allegedly managed to have a helicopter fly over his old zoo and freak out all the animals -- at least that's what Joe's ex-business partner and owner of the zoo, Jeff Lowe, thinks ... but Joe's team is calling BS.

According to the FAA ... it received an official complaint about a chopper illegally flying over Lowe's Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park Sunday afternoon in Oklahoma. We're told an investigation is underway.

Sources close to Jeff tell TMZ ... the helicopter violated restricted air space and at one point was hovering right over the zoo's gift shop. We're told this caused the animals to go nuts and stressed out the endangered ones, which violates the Endangered Species Act.

As for the connection to Exotic ... our sources say Lowe's people got the chopper's tail number as it buzzed nearby, and discovered it matches with the one featured in a video produced by Joe's legal team.

We broke the story ... the legal team made the video to ask President Trump to free Joe, claiming he was framed for putting a hit out on his foe, Carole Baskin.

We're told Jeff's wife, Lauren, called and reported the incident Monday to the FAA.

Joe's rep, Eric Love, tells us ... Team Tiger has no knowledge of the incident. Love says no one on the team was involved, and says the helicopter used for the video was one they chartered ... it's not theirs.

Of course, the whole thing raises eyebrows. As you may recall from 'Tiger King' ... Joe once flew a helicopter over Baskin's Big Cat Rescue park in Florida to check it out, which she also claimed caused the animals distress.

The 5-year-old boy, whose joyride went viral, won't have to dream about driving a Lambo ... a celeb car broker made his dream a reality, with an assist from Jamie Foxx and Shaq.

ICYMI ... Adrian Zamarripa was pulled over by Utah Highway Patrol last week after he was spotted driving 32 MPH down Interstate 15 in the family's SUV. The trooper wanted to know where he was headed. Adrian -- who barely made it 3 miles from home -- told the trooper he was headed to L.A. to buy a Lamborghini ... with the $3 from his piggy bank.

The story spread like wildfire, and one of the many who heard about it was celeb car broker RD Whittington, who owns the luxury brand, Wires Only. We're told RD flew Adrian and his family out to L.A. just days after the infamous traffic stop, and hooked him up BIG TIME.

We're told RD took the fam out to Malibu where they visited a luxury car dealership. The best part ... Adrian got in the driver's seat of a Ferrari, a Hummer and other fancy rides. His face lit up when he got to rev the Ferrari's engine ... but nothing like when he saw Shaq and Lil Pump show up via FaceTime.

And, it didn't end there ... Adrian got in the passenger's seat and RD got behind the wheel as they cruised down PCH. And, again, it didn't end there. RD and Adrian eventually pulled into Jamie's crib in the hills. They cracked a few jokes ... but it wasn't all fun games.

As you might have figured ... Adrian got in a lot of trouble after his joyride. His mother reportedly said he's being punished, and fortunately for the parents, the Weber County District Attorney said they will NOT face charges because there was no evidence of neglect.

Josh Norman says a return to superstar status is coming in 2020 ... telling TMZ Sports he's going to be "All-World" in his first year with the Bills!!!

The former Pro Bowl corner tells us he's speaking it into existence now ... saying a reunion with Sean McDermott is the move he needed to make in order to become one of the game's best again.

"I feel like 'All-World' is coming," Norman says.

Of course, Josh was the NFL's best DB with the Panthers back in 2015 ... but some nagging injuries prevented him from regaining that form in Washington.

But, Norman is now with McDermott again (Sean was Josh's DC during his Carolina days) ... and he's confident that'll put him back on top of the CB pedestal.

As for how the Bills will fare overall as a team in '20 ... Josh is oozing confidence there as well -- telling us even if Tom Brady had stayed in the AFC East, he liked Buffalo's chances regardless.

"Coming in, I know the philosophy of the head coach and the GM already," Norman says. "Mindset-wise, it didn't matter who was at the quarterback position for the opposing team."

There's more ... Norman also had a strong take on his former teammate, Cam Newton, when we asked about the QB still being unsigned ... with Josh telling us it's perplexing.

Before this cool California kid with a silly smirk grew into the coolest West Coast rapper, he was just another mini man giving a sneaky side-eye in the LBC.

This lad in maroon leisurewear -- complete with an ultra-wide '70s collar -- swapped out his disco duds for a pair of Chuck Taylor sneakers, a pair of fresh dickies and a blue flag hanging out his backside.

This kid also traded in his real name (Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr.) for something a little more cool with his canine companions in the music industry.

Sophie Turner's not hiding it anymore -- she's pretty pregnant ... which she casually revealed on a walk with her hubby, Joe Jonas.

Up to this point, the baby rumors have been swirling ... but the cat's out of the bag after the married couple was spotted strolling in L.A.

Sophie and Joe both had masks on and held hands as they ventured out for some fresh air, but what everyone's more fixated on -- her blossoming baby bump.

She was also spotted out with Joe a couple days back in a loose-fitting, men's button-up dress shirt ... so it's starting to add up. There were also reports earlier this year she was pregnant, but no word from the couple.

Ahmaud Arbery's mother says, since her son was killed, the people who took his life also deserve to lose theirs ... at the hands of the State of Georgia.

Wanda Cooper-Jones tells TMZ ... she would like prosecutors to seek death penalty sentences for Travis and Gregory McMichael ... the two men charged with Ahmaud's murder.

We spoke to Wanda Tuesday afternoon for TMZ Live ... and asked her if capital punishment was appropriate in this case. As Wanda put it, "Coming from my point of view, my son died, so they should die as well."

There may be several circumstances in this case that would allow the prosecutor to seek the death penalty, including this provision of Georgia law ... the death penalty can be sought if "the capital offense was outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible, or inhuman in that it involved torture, depravity of mind or an aggravated battery to the victim."

Wanda told us she's already spoken to the newly appointed prosecutor, Joyette Holmes. During our interview, Wanda's attorney, Lee Merritt, didn't want her to disclose too much about her conversation with Holmes.