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The family of the Southern California man who died after being arrested at a grocery store is following through with a lawsuit that describes the incident in eerily similar detail to George Floyd's death.

Ernie Serrano's mother, Maria Lowrie, has filed a wrongful death suit against the County of Riverside and its Sheriff's Dept -- along with the Stater Bros. Market where the incident occurred -- claiming they killed her son.

According to the legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- Lowrie claims Serrano was shopping on December 15 when store security began to pester him and then physically confronted him.

Serrano's mom says the security contacted the sheriff's office and falsely accused him of assault with a deadly weapon -- she claims he was unarmed. The store claims he had reached for the security guard's weapon.

According to the suit ... when deputies showed up they immediately were hostile toward Serrano and "escalated a very minor situation, into a fatal situation."

Lowrie claims her son was not aggressive toward the officers, but they responded with unreasonable brute force -- including beating him and using a Taser.

According to the suit ... the deputies were not satisfied with tasing and beating Serrano with a baton, so they took him down and pummeled him with their fists. Lowrie claims they continued to torture him for nearly 7 minutes, including slamming him on his stomach on a checkout stand and cutting off his air supply.

Lowrie says while her son was pinned down, he screamed out "I can't breathe man" and pleaded for help. Instead, a spit mask was placed on him, which allegedly restricted his breathing even more ... and Serrano's mom claims he was spitting blood into it as he begged them to take it off.

According to the suit ... after 6 minutes and 40 seconds of being pinned down forcefully, a deputy realized he wasn't breathing and had lost consciousness. Lowrie believes he was likely already dead by the time of this discovery.

Serrano's mom's accusing the deputies of ignoring all of the factors that can lead to death by asphyxia, denying him proper medical care, and assault and battery leading to his death. She wants the Stater Bros. held accountable for negligence as well.

Tanya Roberts died Monday night at L.A.'s Cedars-Sinai Hospital following a bizarre turn of events that included her domestic partner incorrectly telling her rep she had died the day before.

Her partner, Lance O'Brien, tells TMZ ... he got a call from one of Tanya's doctor's Monday night, just after 9 PM, telling him Tanya had passed.

As you've probably heard by now, Lance told her publicist on Sunday Tanya was dead. He tried explaining his mistake Monday, telling us he had visited her in the hospital Sunday, and she suddenly opened her eyes but then shut them and he saw her fade away.

He says he thought she was dead and left, without speaking to medical staff. He got a phone call Monday from Cedars, informing him Tanya was still alive. Tanya's rep, who picked Lance up from the hospital, says he told him, "She died in my arms."

Tanya will be remembered for much more than her bizarre final hours -- she will truly be remembered for her long and successful career as a model and actress.

With all her success, the show that made her an icon is "That '70s Show." Tanya played Donna Pinciotti's mom, Midge, whom all the boys in the neighborhood couldn't stop ogling.

In her heyday, Tanya was a go-to model, appearing as Bond girl Stacey Sutton opposite Roger Moore in "A View to a Kill." She also posed for Playboy and did ads for Clairol, Cool Ray sunglasses, Excedrin and Ultra Brite.

On the big screen, Tanya starred in a slew of slashers, raunchy comedies and action/erotica B-films like "Legal Tender," "Sins of Desire," "Inner Sanctum," "Deep Down," "Almost Pregnant," "Night Eyes," "Tourist Trap" and "Favorite Deadly Sins," among others.

Tanya had 41 acting credits to her name, including starring roles in campy adventure fantasy flicks like "The Beastmaster" and "Sheena."

She had a year-long stint on the old "Charlie's Angels" show, helping the Angels solve crimes as one of the three angels themselves -- namely, portraying Julie Rogers, after replacing actress Shelley Hack.

Tanya was married to Barry Roberts for several years, but they didn't have any children before his death in 2006.

She's survived by Lance and her sister, Barbara Chase.

Tanya was 65.

NFL superstar Deshaun Watson threw his girlfriend Jilly Anais an AMAZING 25th birthday party in Texas on Monday -- but there was one thing missing ... masks.

The Houston Texans QB rented out a huge space at Vic & Anthony's Steakhouse ... and packed it with balloons, flowers, candles and a light-up sign that said, "Luv Bug."

Once they arrived, there was a photography crew snapping pics and videos -- along with an artist, who was painting a pretty incredible portrait of the happy couple while party guests looked on.

There was a table set for roughly 20 guests -- though in the videos Jilly posted on her social media, none of them were wearing masks or social distancing, despite the looming threat of COVID-19.

But, no one seemed concerned ... the guests danced, drank and partied the night away with no worries.

It's interesting since Deshaun was fined by the NFL just last month after several guests (including NFL players) were photographed indoors at the QB's restaurant opening without face coverings -- a violation of the league's COVID safety protocols.

But, Watson's season is over now -- so, free to lose the masks if he wants?

Justin Combs just wanted to party, but he didn't obey Miami's rules of the water -- so instead, he ended up getting ticketed and towed away from the party. Bad form.

Miami Beach PD tells TMZ ... Diddy's son got busted for operating a jet ski more than 30 minutes after sunset Monday night on Biscayne Bay, and to make matters worse -- we're told neither he nor 2 passengers riding with him were wearing life jackets.

Both things are against the law, so police tell us Justin was issued multiple citations and the Miami Beach PD Marine Patrol towed him back to land to ensure his safety.

We're told this went down around 8 PM, and a witness on the scene tells us Justin was on the jet ski with 2 women heading to a yacht off Star Island to hang out.

We're told cops got to them before they could board the boat, though. It's unclear if they found another way to the yacht later on ... or if they had to settle for partying on land.

Miya Ponsetto, the SoHo Karen who attacked a Black teen after falsely accusing him of stealing her iPhone, had a second DUI arrest last year ... and that means a jailhouse jumpsuit could be in her future.

TMZ obtained court records of Ponsetto's DUI arrest from October 3 in Ventura County -- she was charged with DUI, resisting arrest and obstructing or delaying a peace officer or EMT.

She's entered a not guilty plea for that arrest, but the details sound eerily similar to her previous DUI bust. As we first reported, Ponsetto was stopped on May 28 in Malibu and law enforcement sources told us she went wild on cops during the arrest.

Now, on September 28, she ended up pleading no contest, and a judge gave her 3 years probation ... the terms of which call for her to stay out of further legal trouble. So, getting arrested just 5 days later for a 2nd DUI is a serious problem for her.

According to court records, a letter of a possible probation violation has already been sent to L.A. County where she's on probation. It'll be up to the D.A.'s Office and a judge, but Ponsetto's now looking at the possibility of doing time for the violation.

She's due back in court Jan. 28, for the 2nd DUI. She also has a pretrial hearing that same day for a drunk in public arrest from last February in Bev Hills -- and of course, NYPD still wants to talk to her about the iPhone incident.

When soon-to-be First Lady Jill Biden takes over the East Wing of The White House, she and her team will be treated to upgraded facilities ... but there's absolutely no proof it's because the current administration clogged the toilet.

According to federal procurement docs obtained by TMZ ... The White House is dropping a little more than $1.2 MILLION on restroom renovations at the 2-story structure where the current First Lady's offices are located.

It's not totally clear what the job will entail -- it's simply listed as "EW restroom refresh" -- but the company that scored the gig is the local, minority-owned Holmes Mechanical Contractors ... which specializes in all sorts of big-building bathroom stuff.

The project is slated to be completed by mid-May -- according to the financial docs -- so Jill and her staff will get to reap the restroom rewards for almost the entirety of President Biden's term.

As Tom Brady prepares for the NFL Playoffs for the first time in 20 years NOT as a member of the New England Patriots, he and his supermodel wife are shedding other parts of their former life as well ... and it comes with a huge payday.

The star Tampa Bay Bucs QB and Gisele just closed on selling their luxury apartment in NYC -- a 5-bed, 1,900-square-foot terrace in the Tribeca neighborhood -- for $36.8 million.

The power couple bought the place for $25 mil in 2018, so do the math ... and Tom clearly still knows how to score big on and off the field.

The sale comes just weeks and he and Gisele also unloaded their 5-bedroom mansion in the Boston suburbs. It's unclear how much they made on that transaction, but it was listed for nearly $34 mil in late 2019 -- before Brady made the move to Florida.

Tom and Gisele aren't completely saying goodbye to their time in the Northeast though -- they reportedly still have a small unit in the same Tribeca complex where they just sold their other one.

It's good to have options be rich.

When it comes to politics, Hollywood is predictable, and it's paying off in a big way for 2 Georgia Senate hopefuls.

The cash has been pouring in for Democrats Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock, who are locked in what looks like a tight race with the 2 incumbent Republican Senators.

With the help of Federal Election Commission filings, we found the obvious ... lots of stars digging deep for the Democrats, and Republicans ... well, hardly a drop.

For Ossoff:
- Kate Capshaw-Spielberg ($5,600)
- Jack Black ($4,070.50)
- Danny DeVito ($2,800)
- Rita Wilson ($1,250)
- Sally Field ($1,220)
- Susan Sarandon ($750)
- Christine Brinkley ($800)
- Rosario Dawson ($673.34)
- Billy Eichner ($651.25)
- Kumail Nanjiani ($554.95)
- John Goodman ($500)
- Alyssa Milano ($250)

For Warnock:
Mark Ruffalo ($4,244)
Jane Fonda ($2,666.67)
Josh Brolin ($2,500)
Holly Peete ($1,300)
Rita Wilson ($1,250)
Kathy Bates ($1,000)
Susan Sarandon ($1,000)
Busy Philipps ($1,000)
Tracee Ellis Ross ($666.67)
Laura Linney ($600)
Andrew Daly ($500)
Taran Killam ($333.33)
Lesley Brandt ($317.86)
John Michael Higgins ($262.51)
Mandy Moore ($216.66)

Wilson and Sarandon double-dipped apparently ... dishing out contributions to both Ossoff and Warnock. Busy Philipps and Mandy Moore were also among the celebs who hopped on the Warnock train.

Republican Senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue didn't fare well with celebrity contributions. Loeffler got $250 from Jaclyn Smith, and that's it. According to the records, Perdue didn't get a dime.

There's lots of money outside Hollywood, and money has poured in for Republicans as well.

A veteran who was haunted by a mischievous deed of his youth finally did the right thing almost half a century later, returning a sword to its rightful owner ... which happens to be a statue.

The guy's identity is being shielded by Cindy Gaylord -- the head of Westfield, MA's historical commission ... who granted him anonymity and allowed him to return it to her under what seems to be a free pass, seeing how sorry he apparently was for taking it 40 years ago.

You heard that right ... a whole 40 YEARS. Apparently, this fella told Gaylord he took the bronze sword in 1980, back in his college days after a night of drinking. He and his buddies went out to the park where a statue of Revolutionary War hero Gen. William Shepard stood ... and this vet proceeded to pry the weapon out of Billy's sculpted hands with brute force.

The next morning, he told her they realized what they'd done ... and ended up keeping the damn thing to avoid punishment. The sword was replaced by a local craftsman and funded by a private donor. Now, it looks like Gen. Shepard has two swords at his disposal.

Not really, though ... the original is said to be headed to a museum somewhere, where it'll be preserved and probably put on display. As for the vet who did this ... Gaylord says he felt a great deal of shame and remorse and says he felt bad taking another soldier's weaponry.

Tyrese's estranged wife filed for divorce more than 3 months before he announced their split, and she claims he changed the locks at their home ... something Tyrese denies.

Samantha Lee Gibson filed divorce docs back in September, and in the petition she alleges Tyrese had, just a few weeks earlier, cut her off financially, and locked her and their 2-year-old daughter, Soraya, out of the family's Georgia home.

Tyrese is calling BS, though ... in docs he filed, he denies leaving them out in the cold. On the other hand, he admits having major issues with Samantha's demand for $20,000 per month in child support. He calls that number "unreasonably high."

As for what led up to their split -- Tyrese says when he flew home from a movie set in late August, Samantha confronted him ... kicking off a tense, 3-hour conversation where she threatened to call cops.

Tyrese says he left the house in an Uber because he wanted no part of a police interaction due to "multiple public incidents involving police brutality and racially motivated killings of unarmed African American people."

Before this flower crown cutie was dipping beneath lasers and singing her way out of a jail cell, she was just another pipsqueak in purple growing up in Swansea, Wales, UK.

This adorable darling has been a leading lady on screens across the world for over the past 30 years -- starring alongside some of the most famous celebrities in everything from romantic comedies, dramas, musicals and action films. She's received numerous accolades throughout her career, but won an Academy Award by showing off all her jazz as a supporting actress in the best picture of that year.

Tanya Roberts' death has been greatly exaggerated, because her rep now says she's alive, despite the rep not only telling TMZ she died, but sending out a press release with that information.

TMZ reported Sunday Tanya had died after collapsing at her home on Christmas Eve and being rushed to the hospital and placed on a ventilator.

The rep had told us she died Sunday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in L.A. He told us Tanya's husband had informed him that Tanya had passed.

We even got a quote from the rep from Tanya's husband, Lance, saying, "As I held her in her last moments, she opened her eyes."

Now the rep, Mike Pingel, tells TMZ, Lance got a call just after 10 AM Monday from the hospital saying Tanya was still alive. Pingel said Lance truly believed Tanya had died.

What's more shocking, Lance was recording an interview with Inside Edition when he got the call from the hospital to deliver the news ... a very emotional call.

Interestingly, friends of the family also contacted TMZ Sunday saying Lance had called them to inform them of the "That '70s Show" star's death.

As for how this could happen ... beats us.

President Trump's on his way to Georgia ahead of the crucial Senatorial runoff election -- so, of course, he's gotta loop in that famed political operative ... Meat Loaf.

Yeah, the singer.

Actually, it's Ivanka Trump who pulled Mr. "Paradise By the Dashboard Light" into Monday night's political rally. She posted a pic of herself and DJT onboard Air Force One as they jetted down to Dalton, GA.

What's odd is she tagged Meat Loaf, along with Sen. Kelly Loeffler and Sen. David Perdue. The Senators make sense ... the GOP rally is for them, after all, but Meat?

Sure, he was on "Celebrity Apprentice" back in 2011, but the singer hasn't campaigned with the Prez in the past. If he is showing up tonight in Georgia ... Ivanka might have let that cat out of the bag.

Then again, she might've been looking at the President's dinner order while tweeting. Common mistake.

Alex Trebek was in pain in his last days of life, riddled with cancer, yet he opened his heart to "Jeopardy!" viewers, asking them to open their hearts and wallets to help COVID victims.

This is Alex's last week of shows, taped 10 days before his death. He says, "You'll recall that about a month ago, I asked all of you to take a moment to give thanks for all of the blessings that you enjoy in your lives." He is, of course, referring to his Thanksgiving message.

You can hear he has trouble speaking ... his voice is very raspy.

He goes on ... "But today, I'd like you to go one step further. I'd like you to open up your hands and open up your hearts to those who are still suffering because of COVID-19.  People who are suffering through no fault of their own."

Alex ends with this ... "This is the season of giving. I know you want to be generous with your family, your friends, your loved ones," adding, "We're trying to build a gentler, kinder society and if we all pitch in -- just a little bit -- we're gonna get there."

Alex died on November 8. A great man to the end.

Brad Pitt is the anti-Justin Bieber early on in 2021 -- instead of covering up his tattoos like the Biebs, Brad's showing off his ink!!!

Brad's ringing in the new year down in Turks and Caicos and doing some snorkeling ... and these shirtless shots of his outing reveal his extensive back tattoos.

It's a rare sighting as Brad's pretty secretive about his ink work.

As you can see, Brad's back is home to at least 7 tatts ... ranging from a tornado to some Sanskrit and a handful of other interesting designs. Hell, there's even a lower back piece that's dangerously close to tramp stamp territory.

Brad's not flying solo in Turks ... Flea, from Red Hot Chili Peppers, is with him for the male-bonding tropical getaway.

Eminem already apologized to Rihanna for an old leaked diss by saying sorry on his new track, "Zeus" ... but he's going the extra mile to show just how sorry he is.

Shady opened up about the leaked snippet of "Things Get Worse" during a SiriusXM interview Monday, saying he doesn't have any recollection of recording the verse in which he raps that he sides with Chris Brown ... this shortly after CB assaulted Rihanna in 2009.

Em's controversial verse -- "I'm not playing, Rihanna, where'd you get the VD at?/ Let me add my two cents/ Of course I side with Chris Brown/ I'd beat a b***** down too/ If she gave my d*** an itch now." He scrapped it from the final version of his 2019 collab with B.o.B.

The rapper says he told his manager after the leak that he had no idea how someone got it, but also claims ... "I have zero recollection of even remembering doing that verse." Eminem added ... "The rhyme scheme doesn't even sound, like, familiar to me. So I was caught off guard, too. I was like, 'What the f***?! I said that?'"

Shady says it's no excuse, and calls it "f***ing stupid" of him to record the verse, but claims at the time he was re-learning how to rap due to his addiction issues. He says he believes he just went with it because it rhymed ... but adds he should have thought better of it.

On "Zeus," Eminem addresses Rihanna directly with the lyrics ... "And wholeheartedly, apologies, Rihanna/ For that song that leaked, I'm sorry, Ri/ It wasn't meant to cause you grief."