Crime & Arrests

Two men accused of using bear spray on the U.S. Capitol Police officer who died have been arrested and charged with assault ... but it's not clear if they killed him.

Federal authorities say Julian Khater and George Tanios carried out the bear spray attack on officer Brian Sicknick. They got busted Sunday, TMZ confirmed, some 2 months after the storming of the Capitol.

Sicknick died the night after the Jan. 6 riot, and while Capitol Police say he died from injuries sustained while on duty, the feds say they haven't determined if the alleged bear spray attack played a role in his death.

The feds say video shows Khater asking for a canister of bear spray from Tanios before spraying Sicknick and 2 other police in the face.

Khater and Tanios are charged with assault with a deadly weapon, civil disorder and obstruction of congressional proceeding. They are NOT charged with homicide, as there is still no official cause of death for Sicknick.

The maskless Uber rider seen on video coughing on her driver and yanking his mask off finally surrendered to police ... and she's facing some serious charges.

According to the San Francisco PD ... Arna Kimiai turned herself in to authorities Sunday and was booked into the San Fran County jail that night.

She's been hit with charges of robbery, assault and battery, conspiracy and violation of health and safety code. She's still in police custody.

Cops say Arna and her friend, Malaysia King, got into a March 7 altercation with their Uber driver because they weren't wearing masks.

By now you've seen the video, which seems to back up what police say ... that Arna reached over the driver from the backseat and snatched his phone. The driver was also allegedly pepper-sprayed as the women left his car ... although we don't see that in the video.

King was arrested last week and is facing similar charges as Kimiai.

We broke the story ... along with these legal issues, Kimiai is also being sued for a 2019 car crash in which the other driver claims she was seriously injured.

Prince Harry still seems pretty upset about losing his Royal security privileges, and ya can't blame him ... especially because cops say he and Meghan Markle had an unwanted visitor on their property TWICE during the holidays.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... a 37-year-old man named Nickolas Brooks was caught trespassing at the Montecito, CA home of the Duke on Duchess on Christmas Eve, but Santa Barbara County Sheriff's officers let him off with a warning.

We're told the warning didn't work because cops say Brooks showed up on the property again on Dec. 26 ... so this time he was arrested.

Our sources say Brooks drove all the way from Ohio, but it's unclear what he wanted from Harry and Meghan ... or if they were even home at the time of his visits.

Brooks has been charged with one count of misdemeanor trespassing.

The incidents might seem like no big deal, but they highlight a much bigger point Harry suggested during last week's bombshell TV interview with Oprah -- he's worried about the safety of his family.

Harry told Oprah when he and Meghan left their senior royal roles and moved to North America ... Buckingham Palace stripped them of their UK security team.

Harry says he pointed out that the risks to him and his family were no less despite their change in status ... but he claims that didn't change the decision.

Elizabeth Holmes won't be standing trial in July -- instead, she'll be giving birth, so prosecutors are hitting the pause button on criminal proceedings.

According to new legal docs, prosecutors and her defense team agreed to postpone Holmes' trial after the Theranos founder revealed she's pregnant and due in July. That's also when her trial was slated to begin.

Both sides now say they want jury selection to begin on August 31, but the judge still needs to sign off on that.

Elizabeth, of course, was the subject of the HBO doc 'The Inventor' -- who can forget that voice -- which chronicled her meteoric rise and fall with her company that was once valued at more than $9 billion.

Remember ... she's accused of making false claims about discovering a new way to revolutionize blood testing. She's been indicted for allegedly defrauding investors out of hundreds of MILLIONS of dollars and deceiving hundreds of patients and doctors with the bogus tests.

Elizabeth has pled not guilty. It looks like she'll get a month and change to settle into motherhood before she has to face the judge and jury.

The City of Minneapolis has reached a $27 million settlement with George Floyd's family after being sued for his death last year ... and it comes just weeks before Derek Chauvin's trial.

Floyd's family filed the wrongful death lawsuit in July against the city, Chauvin and the 3 other officers involved in the May 25 incident resulting in George's death. The City Council unanimously approved the settlement on Friday.

As we reported ... the family's suit alleged the city and the ex-police officers violated Floyd's rights, specifically calling out the neck restraint techniques used during his arrest.

Video of Floyd's arrest shows Chauvin kneeling on his neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds.

After the settlement was announced, George's sister, Bridgett Floyd, said, "Our family suffered an irreplaceable loss May 25 when George’s life was senselessly taken by a Minneapolis police officer. While we will never get our beloved George back, we will continue to work tirelessly to make this world a better, and safer, place for all."

She added, "Going forward, my work as Founder of the George Floyd Memorial Foundation will be a priority both in George’s birthplace of Fayetteville, North Carolina and around the country."

Sebastian Telfair's sister just fessed up in court and admitted to threatening to kill the ex-NBA star's estranged wife -- and now, she's facing up to 5 years in prison over it all.

Octavia Telfair had been arrested in May 2019 after federal investigators said she spewed vile threats toward Samantha Telfair.

Prosecutors claimed after Samantha had testified against Sebastian in his gun case ... Octavia felt it was all treacherous, called Samantha repeatedly and left terrifying threats.

Samantha told investigators that Octavia had told her she would "kill my kids and cut my face." Investigators also said Octavia threatened to kill Samantha, her aunt and her siblings as well.

Octavia was initially charged with transmission of threats to injure ... and at a hearing Friday morning, TMZ Sports has confirmed she pleaded guilty to the charge.

"Yes, it was an argument with my sister-in-law, verbal argument," Octavia said on a video conference call with the court. "Yes, I admit it."

Octavia now faces up to 5 years in prison ... though the guilty plea will likely mean she'll spend far less time than that behind bars -- perhaps even no time at all depending on how the judge sees things.

Octavia is due back in court in July for a sentencing hearing.

Sebastian Telfair -- who famously appeared on Sports Illustrated's cover as a high schooler -- played for several teams in the NBA from 2004 to 2015.

He was a Trail Blazer's 1st-round pick in the '04 NBA Draft.

After his NBA career, Telfair was convicted of possessing an illegal firearm stemming from a June 2017 incident where he was caught with an arsenal of weapons during a traffic stop.

Officials say Telfair had 3 pistols, a semi-automatic rifle, a ton of ammo and a bulletproof vest ... as well as some weed.

He was sentenced to 3.5 years behind bars -- but was released in Sept. 2019 on $500,00 bail after only doing a few days in prison.

The maskless Uber riders who cops say coughed on and attacked their Bay Area driver are paying a hefty price -- one's been arrested and another is surrendering to police.

The San Francisco Police Department says Malaysia King is in custody ... she's reportedly the woman wearing red in the viral video showing the riders coughing, and snatching the driver's phone and mask.

Law enforcement says another suspect, Arna Kimiai, told SFPD through her lawyer that she plans to turn herself in soon. Kimiai is reportedly the one who grabbed the phone and declared, "I got corona."

Newly crowned Super Bowl champ Jaydon Mickens is in trouble with the law ... TMZ Sports has confirmed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers player was arrested last week in Los Angeles.

Law enforcement tells us the 26-year-old -- a Bucs receiver and return specialist -- was pulled over on March 5 after cops say his window tint was too dark.

During the stop, we're told officers found a gun inside the car -- NOT on his person -- and arrested him over it.

Mickens was booked on a felony concealed weapon charge. We're told the LAPD later informed the NFL of the arrest.

The Bucs issued a statement saying they are "aware of the issue regarding Jaydon that occurred in Los Angeles last week."

"He reached out to let us know about the situation soon after it happened and we have been in contact with the league office to ensure they were aware."

"We will continue to monitor the situation but will have no further comment at this time."

Mickens played in Tampa's championship win over the K.C. Chiefs last month ... taking back three kickoffs for an average of 25 yards a pop.

The 4-year NFL veteran was signed by the Bucs back in the 2019 season ... and has served as a key special teamer since.

He caught 7 passes for 58 yards this past season.

Tekashi 6ix9ine says he banked $20 million since his release from prison last April, and his massive hit "GOOBA," his first cash cow, was a highly irregular ripoff ... this according to a new lawsuit.

BEATDEMONS, a TX-based producer group, is suing Tekashi, claiming "GOOBA" is a mirror image of its song, "Regular."

According to the suit, the similarities are eerie -- from the melody, to form, to structure and function. In other words, they say "GOOBA" is a "Regular" steal.

BEATDEMONS claims "Regular" was released in 2018 and a video of the song scored 152,000 views. So they're saying Tekashi or his people must have heard the song and got so inspired they crossed the line and ripped BEATDEMONS off.

The stakes are high, because "GOOBA" was a massive hit ... it has 700M views on YouTube and charted #1 on Billboard's Streaming Charts. The song also went platinum.

BEATDEMONS wants the profits from "GOOBA," which amount to a king's ransom.

Johnny Damon got in a scuffle with cops, appeared to bomb field sobriety tests, and even brought up his Trump support during his arrest last month ... and the wild scene was all captured on police video obtained by TMZ Sports.

Damon and his wife were pulled over at around 1:23 a.m. on Feb. 19 in Windermere, Fla. after cops say he was swerving on the road and driving erratically.

Once a cop stopped Damon ... body cam footage captured the 47-year-old ex-Yankee and Red Sox outfielder admitting to drinking before getting behind the wheel.

Then, an intense standoff between the officer, the ex-MLB star and the baseball player's wife ensued.

In the video, you can see the officer ordered Damon and his wife, Michelle Mangan-Damon, to stay in the car, but neither complied ... and a pushing and shoving squabble broke out.

At one point, the officer grabbed Mangan-Damon's wrist ... before Johnny got involved to separate the two.

The bumping and pushing got so heated, the officer's body camera was actually knocked to the ground.

Fortunately for all parties, backup arrived, and officers were able to settle down the scene.

Damon and his wife repeatedly talked about their support for cops, mentioning over and over, "Blue lives matter."

And, at one point, Damon brought up his affinity for Trump to a cop, saying "Hey, bro, I'm a good f***ing guy. I know people are trying to target me because I'm a Trump supporter."

Damon was then asked to complete some field sobriety tests ... but you can see on the video, it doesn’t look like he exactly passed any of them with flying colors.

Damon was ultimately arrested and booked on multiple charges, including driving under the influence and resisting arrest without violence.

A police report later showed cops said Damon's blood-alcohol level was .30, nearly FOUR TIMES the legal limit.

Damon's wife was also arrested after the stop, and booked on charges of battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest with violence.

Court records show Damon pled not guilty to his DUI charge last month. He's due back in court in May.

Josh Jacobs has officially put his January car accident in Las Vegas behind him ... the NFL star's lawyers say he's no longer facing any legal drama after he paid a fine and completed community service.

The 23-year-old Raiders star running back was staring down big-time trouble after he crashed his 6-figure Acura NSX on Jan. 4 at around 4:42 AM near the Vegas airport.

Cops had initially arrested him and believed he was drunk behind the wheel before the wreck.

But, prosecutors say evidence showed his blood-alcohol level was below the legal limit ... and only hit him with a misdemeanor count of Duty of Driver to Decrease Speed Under Certain Circumstances over the incident.

Jacobs' attorneys told the Associated Press Josh closed out the case Monday by paying a $500 fine and mentoring at a Boys & Girls Club.

As for the injuries Josh suffered in the accident ... they appear to be going away as well -- the running back posted a picture of his face just a few weeks ago, and the gash on his forehead is clearly healing nicely.

The Naked Cowboy, famous for performing in Times Square, got busted way down in Florida for his same old schtick ... and cops say his trusty guitar broke when he resisted arrest.

Robert Burck, the nearly naked man behind the Naked Cowboy character, was arrested Saturday on a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest without violence in Daytona Beach, where police also cited him for aggressive panhandling.

The Naked Cowboy was in town for Bike Week ... and cops say he was in his familiar getup -- white briefs, guitar and a cowboy hat -- when he was taking pictures with folks on the street in exchange for cash.

Police say a huge crowd formed around the Naked Cowboy as he hovered near a business on Main Street, so an officer cited him for panhandling. Cops say he refused to follow orders and when he resisted arrest while up against a patrol car the headstock of his guitar broke.

A throng of George Floyd supporters are gathered outside a Minneapolis courthouse for what's supposed to be jury selection day in ex-cop Derek Chauvin's murder case.

The judge in the case on Monday paused jury selection for at least a day and said he wants to hear from the State Court of Appeals as to whether a third-degree murder charge can be added to Chauvin's counts. He had reportedly said he would initially start jury selection with the matter unresolved but has now changed course.

According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune ... Chauvin's attorney will ask the State Supreme Court to overturn Friday's ruling from the Court of Appeals which said the judge can reinstate the third-degree murder charge. The judge told prospective jurors to be ready to return to court on Tuesday.

The news came after a huge crowd had gathered outside the Hennepin County Government Center ... holding signs that read “Hope,” "Reflect," “Stronger Together,” and “This is what community looks like." They had also gathered there Sunday.

There was also a huge law enforcement presence in the area to keep things under control ... though things look very much peaceful. Chauvin, who is out on a $1 million bond, was seen inside the courtroom ... wearing a suit and face mask.

Jackboy's driver literally couldn't stay in his lane, according to cops, and that's what ended up leading to the rapper's Georgia arrest on a gun charge.

Monroe County cops say they pulled over the blue Lamborghini SUV Jackboy was traveling in last month when an officer noticed the driver failed to maintain his lane.

According to the report ... the cop smelled marijuana in the vehicle during the traffic stop, so he called for backup to conduct a search.

Cops say during the search, 2 unregistered firearms were discovered in the passenger side glove box where Jackboy was sitting -- a 9mm and a Glock.

According to the report ... Jackboy said he didn't know the guns were in the vehicle, and the back seat passenger claimed they were his. Problem is, according to the report, police ran Jackboy's record and discovered he was a convicted felon -- so it's illegal for him to be within arms reach of a firearm.

The "Pressure" rapper was arrested and booked for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He bonded out later the same day for $2,500, according to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office.

On the bright side, police say they let Jackboy and his crew off with a verbal warning for a small amount of weed they found -- and he seemingly didn't have to eat any of it this time.

The judge in the "QAnon Shaman" case is scratching his head over decisions made by the infamous defendant ... in particular, his decision to do a LONG interview with "60 Minutes+."

The accused insurrectionist, whose real name is Jacob Chansley, was called on the carpet by the judge for doing the jailhouse interview, which appeared on "60 Minutes+."

Chansley's lawyer told the judge yes, they did arrange for the interview, but felt everything was kosher. Apparently, the judge didn't see it that way.

Chansley, who says he's been in solitary since being arrested, said he was never violent inside the Capitol. He says his participation was "not an attack on this country" ... an interesting argument, given the images of him in the Senate Chamber.

He also says he's still loyal to Trump, despite being overlooked for a pardon. He makes it clear ... he did what he did at the former President's behest.

Disgraced ex-Team USA Gymnastics coach John Geddert took his own life next to a dumpster at a rest area in Michigan ... minutes before he was scheduled to surrender to authorities.

A family member called 911 on Feb. 25 when Geddert failed to turn himself in to law enforcement officials to face 24 criminal charges stemming from alleged misconduct during his career as a gymnastics coach.

As we previously reported, 63-year-old Geddert was facing 20 counts of human trafficking, 2 counts of sexual assault, 1 count of racketeering and 1 count of lying to a peace officer -- he was facing life in prison.

According to a 911 call released by officials, a woman who claims to be a family member says they started tracking Geddert's phone when he didn't show up at the scheduled surrender site ... and used GPS to locate him at a rest area in Michigan.

When they got to the scene, they found Geddert dead next to a dumpster with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

The woman on the 911 call is in tears as she describes the scene to the dispatcher.

"He's not in a vehicle ... he's on the ground by the dumpster."

Officials had announced the charges against Geddert in a press release earlier in the day -- and he was scheduled to be arraigned in the afternoon. He never made it to court.

As we previously reported, Geddert's death essentially ends the criminal case against him -- because there's really no point in prosecuting a dead person.

Alleged victims will likely take action against Geddert's estate in civil court -- but it's usually more difficult to win a civil case without a criminal conviction.