Crime & Arrests

Josh Duggar's just been hit with charges of receiving and possessing child pornography following his arrest by federal agents in Arkansas.

According to the legal docs, the "19 Kids and Counting" star knowingly received child porn in mid-May 2019. He's accused of knowingly possessing images of child pornography, including images of minors below the age of 12.

Duggar's been charged by indictment with receiving and possessing child pornography -- one count each. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years of imprisonment and fines up to $250,000.00 on each count.

He's been ordered to forfeit any material related to the case to authorities, including turning over any and all computer equipment.

Duggar appeared before the judge at the Western District of Arkansas Federal Court from jail via Zoom, where he entered a plea of not guilty on all counts.

A court hearing's set for next week to determine if Duggar will be granted bond release, but he's to remain in custody until then. The judge ruled if bond is granted ... Duggar will be required to stay with a third-party custodian, and that person can't have unsupervised minors in the home.

His trial is scheduled for July.

We broke the story ... Duggar was arrested Thursday by the feds in Washington County, and was being held in a detention center without bail.

The reality star's mug shot, obtained by TMZ, showed him posing with a strange smirk on his face.

As we reported ... Homeland Security agents visited the Arkansas car dealership where he worked back in November 2019, raiding his office in connection to a federal probe.

Duggar's legal counsel Justin Gelfand, Travis W. Story and Greg Payne, tell us, "Josh Duggar has been charged in a two-count indictment. He has pled not guilty to both charges and we intend to defend this case aggressively and thoroughly."

Josh Duggar is in custody in Arkansas ... federal law enforcement sources tell TMZ.

The reality star was arrested Thursday by federal agents in Washington County, and he's being held in a detention center without bail.

We've obtained Duggar's mug shot, showing the former reality star posing with a bizarre smirk.

As we reported ... back in November 2019, Homeland Security agents were crawling around the car dealership where Duggar works in Arkansas, raiding his office in connection to a federal probe.

Josh's only current legal dispute, as far as we know, is a civil lawsuit filed against him for real estate fraud. It would appear his latest arrest is for something far more severe, though it's unclear exactly why he's been taken in.

Multiple people who allegedly dognapped Lady Gaga's 2 French Bulldogs and shot her dog walker have been arrested ... law enforcement sources tell TMZ.

Multiple law enforcement sources tell us the alleged culprits were arrested on a variety of charges, including attempted murder and robbery. They were arrested Thursday.

We're told cops got video of where the dogs were dropped off in an alley days after the February 24 dognapping ... and it became key evidence in hunting down the alleged criminals.

The woman who "found" the dogs was also arrested, according to law enforcement sources. As we reported, cops were suspicious of her from the jump and that's why Gaga was advised by cops not to pay the $500,000 reward.

We're told cops initially thought this was some sort of gang initiation, but later changed the theory to a dog-stealing ring. French Bulldogs are a hot commodity and can be resold for lots of money.

We're told police believe the dognappers got nervous with all the publicity surrounding the incident and decided to bail on the dogs and, while they were at it, cash in on the reward.

As we reported, Gaga got her dogs back unharmed ... they were tied up in an alley when the woman called the number Gaga had posted.

The dogwalker, Ryan Fischer, was in the hospital for several weeks but we're told he's OK.

Ronnie Ortiz-Magro ended up getting arrested because cops say his girlfriend had visible marks on her body when they showed up, responding to her call for help ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us it was actually Ronnie's girlfriend, Saffire Matos, who called the police that night ... after they'd gotten into some type of argument that allegedly got physical. We're told when officers arrived, they spoke to both parties, and determined Ronnie was the aggressor.

As for why ... our sources tell us officers observed visible marks on Saffire's body which they determined she sustained during the alleged fight. We're told that was one of multiple observations that spurred police to slap the cuffs on Ronnie.

This is interesting because it shows Saffire had enough of a problem with whatever was going on to actually pick up the phone and dial 9-1-1. Since Ronnie's arrest, she tried to downplay the alleged violence.

She posted a statement in the aftermath, telling her followers not to believe media accounts of what had happened, insisting she and Ronnie were "fine."

Ronnie's attorney, Scott Leemon, tells us, "We are still investigating the incident of last week and have not yet received any of the police reports. Therefore, we will continue not to comment while our investigation is still ongoing. As we have all learned in the past, initial reports can be and are often incorrect.”

Of course, as we reported, this is bad news for Ronnie ... who's been down this road before with his ex, Jenn Harley. He ended up getting probation in that DV case -- and a judge could deem this latest arrest a violation of that probation.

Speaking of Jenn ... she drove all the way from Vegas to come get her and Ronnie's daughter, once she heard he'd been arrested.

Kodak Black just pled guilty to first-degree assault and battery in his sexual assault case in South Carolina, and he's been sentenced to 18 months probation ... TMZ has learned.

The rapper was originally indicted on a felony charge of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, but his attorneys, Bradford Cohen and Beattie Ashmore, tell us Kodak copped a plea to a lesser charge to put the case behind him.

As we reported, Kodak was charged for allegedly sexually assaulting a teenage girl back in February 2016 at a hotel. According to prosecutors, he pushed the girl into a wall and onto a bed before assaulting her, allegedly biting her breast and neck. Kodak had denied the allegations.

Ed Clements, the 12th Circuit Solicitor in Florence County, tells TMZ ... Kodak admitted in court he bit the girl, but apologized to her, on the record.

We're told Kodak was given a 10-year suspended prison sentence and placed on 18 months of supervised state probation.

While on probation, he will not wear an ankle monitor, but must let his probation officer know where he goes and where he lives.

Caitlyn Jenner might not be the only celeb gunning to be the next governor of California, Randy Quaid wants to throw his hat in the ring too, and it sounds like it's all about vengeance.

The "Kingpin" star says he's "seriously considering" running, and already has his platform ... he says corruption is rampant among prosecutors in Cali and he wants to "clean up the District Attorney Offices throughout the state."

Randy's legal issues in California are well documented, so this sounds very personal.

As we reported ... Randy and his wife, Evi, are wanted in Santa Barbara for failing to show up for a court hearing in their 2010 felony burglary case. Remember, the Quaids were charged after they were found allegedly living in a home illegally.

Randy and Evi went to Canada after the felony arrest warrant was issued in Santa Barbara, but Canada didn't want them either, and in 2015 they were arrested in Vermont while allegedly trying to sneak back into the U.S.

California tried to extradite the couple back to the state from Vermont, but the process was denied.

The Santa Barbara District Attorney's Office tells us the case and the warrants for their arrests are still active, which raises a big issue for potential candidate Quaid: How the hell will he campaign for Governor in a state where he can be arrested the moment he steps foot in said state?

Trey Songz will not face criminal charges for his violent altercation with cops at an NFL playoff game ... TMZ has learned.

The Prosecutor's Office for Jackson County, MO tells us they have decided to decline filing charges against the singer, citing insufficient evidence.

We broke the story ... Trey was arrested back in January at a Kansas City Chiefs home playoff game, with video showing what looked like a violent dust-up with a police officer.

The incident started when Songz allegedly refused to wear a mask inside Arrowhead Stadium, despite coronavirus protocols in place at the game.

As we told you, Trey was arrested for trespassing and resisting arrest -- both misdemeanors -- and for assaulting a police officer, a low-grade felony.

The footage police released appeared to show Trey throwing the first punch during his interaction with police, but his camp claimed the officer had it out for him before the brawl. In any event, no charges are being filed in the case.

Keith Ellison -- the Attorney General of Minnesota responsible for leading the way to Derek Chauvin's guilty verdict -- says he felt many emotions after the ex-Minneapolis cop was convicted of George Floyd's murder ... including compassion.

The lead prosecutor in Chauvin’s trial admitted on "60 Minutes" Sunday night that he "felt a little bad" for the defendant afterward ... something he says stems from spending 16 years as a criminal defense lawyer.

Ellison says above all though, he felt gratitude, humility and a sense of satisfaction for holding Chauvin accountable for what he did. He adds that Chauvin definitely deserved to be convicted ... but Ellison wants to remind people that everyone in this process is a human being.

The Minnesota AG also gave his thoughts on how the judge should sentence Chauvin, and says he believes this wasn't a hate crime but rather a crime perpetuated by social norms ... and a lack of accountability.

He says of Chauvin ... "I think that if he looks at history, he has every reason to believe that he would never be held accountable … so history was on his side."

Derek Chauvin faces 40 years behind bars for murdering George Floyd, but that may be just the beginning, because there's another incident that is eerily similar to the killing of Floyd.

Authorities have received video of Chauvin allegedly brutalizing a 14-year-old Black teen, and the feds are now on the case.

The incident occurred in 2017, and the video allegedly shows Chauvin violently subduing the teen ... viciously striking him in the head with such force he needed stitches to close the wound. Chauvin allegedly held him down on the ground with his knee for 17 minutes as he gasped for air ... oblivious to the teen's cry that he couldn't breathe.

One of the prosecutors said there's another similarity with the 2 cases ... "Those videos show a far more violent and forceful treatment of this child than Chauvin describes in his [police] report."

The incident is now under criminal investigation. Federal prosecutors reportedly have convened a grand jury to review the case.

The incident did not escape state prosecutors, who tried to introduce evidence of the incident in the trial that just ended to show a pattern of brutality. The judge turned thumbs down on that request.

As for specifics in the 2017 incident, a woman had called police for help after she said she was attacked by her 14-year-old son and daughter.  When Chauvin arrived, he ordered the boy to get on the ground, and when he refused Chauvin allegedly hit him with a flashlight as he grabbed his throat. The now-former cop allegedly used a neck restraint that he held for so long the teen lost consciousness. The prosecutor who reviewed the video says 8 minutes in Chauvin changed positions and put his knee on the teen's back for another 9 minutes.

Michael Lohan has been arrested again ... this time for allegedly getting illegal kickbacks from a rehab facility.

Lindsay Lohan's dad was taken into custody on 6 counts of illegal patient brokering ... this according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's website.

The 60-year-old allegedly cut deals where he referred drug addicts to a Florida facility and got money for each referral. According to authorities, "Patient brokering corrupts our health care system because decisions are motivated by greed instead of patient needs."

Lohan allegedly got checks totaling more than $25,000.

South Florida, where Lohan has been in the rehab biz for years, is considered the recovery capital of the world. Authorities say the prime patient is someone with good health insurance, so some recovery centers will give these kickbacks because the facility will in turn get paid through the insurance company.

Lohan has had his issues with the law in the past ... domestic violence and restraining order issues among others.

TMZ Sports has obtained police video from Justin Layne's arrest Friday ... and the Steelers DB can be heard in the back of a squad car saying, "They acting like I got some drugs -- I got one blunt!"

The 23-year-old -- who was a Steelers third-round pick in 2019 -- was pulled over after cops say he was doing 89 MPH in a 60 MPH zone in his 2020 Dodge Charger.

During the stop, officers put him in the back of a patrol car while they searched his ride ... and that's when Layne got on the phone with some of his friends to talk them through his situation.

While on the line ... Layne can be heard telling one friend, "I'm nervous as f***, bro. They about to get me."

Layne continued, "They might get me for the pistol, bro." He later told his friend that he had a blunt in the car.

Cops say they eventually found weed residue, a grinder and a loaded Glock 9mm pistol during their search of his car ... and released photos of their findings to TMZ Sports.

Layne was ultimately arrested and booked on a felony charge of improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle.

What's interesting ... Layne mentioned twice during the stop he was an NFL player -- and even at one point told an officer he played for the Steelers.

For their part, the Steelers said they were aware of the situation and were gathering more information.

"Love is Blind" star Mark Cuevas claims a woman from his fiancee's past is now threatening her and their baby ... and cops have made an arrest.

To better understand his death threat story, Mark says his fiancee -- Aubrey Rainey, who is about to give birth to their son -- was one of the victims of a series of hit-and-run crashes last year in Ohio.

According to Westlake PD PIO Gerald Vogel ... the suspect in those crashes is Shayla Harris and she was charged with attempted murder. He says Harris was involved in 2 other crashes similar to Aubrey's accident.

Vogel tells us Harris was released on bond, and she recently sent Facebook and IG messages to Aubrey threatening her and threatening to kill her unborn child.

We're told Mark and Aubrey filed a police report about Shayla's threats, and she's now been arrested by Westlake Police for misdemeanor aggravated menacing.

In Mark's video -- which was seemingly posted before he knew about the arrest -- he claims Harris sent more than 100 messages referencing Aubrey and their baby.

Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Justin Layne was arrested Friday ... after cops say he illegally had a loaded firearm in his car during a traffic stop in Ohio.

Officials for Willoughby Hills Police Dept. say Layne was pulled over at around 1:20 AM after an officer clocked him going 89 MPH in a 60 MPH zone in his 2020 Dodge Charger.

Police say during the stop, they discovered Layne had a suspended driver's license and a warrant for his arrest stemming from a failure to appear in court for a previous traffic violation.

Officers claim they also smelled an odor of marijuana in the car -- and after searching the vehicle, they say they found a loaded Glock 9mm pistol in the center console.

Cops say Layne did NOT have a licensed concealed carry permit, so they arrested him and booked him on a charge of felony improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle.

Cops noted in police documents 23-year-old Layne "was cooperative during the entire process."

In the docs, officers also say patrol squad camera footage caught Layne saying on phone calls "it's over, I'm goin down" and "they acting like I got some drugs, I got one blunt" on his ride to the station.

The Steelers say they are aware of the incident and are gathering information.

Ronnie Ortiz-Magro is in police custody after cops say he was involved in a domestic violence incident ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us the "Jersey Shore" star was busted Thursday in Los Angeles for felony domestic violence.

The arrest is seriously bad news for Ronnie, because he's currently on probation. As we first told you, he got 36 months probation as part of a plea deal he copped last year in a previous domestic violence case involving his ex, Jenn Harley.

It's unclear if Jenn was involved in this alleged incident. Ronnie avoided jail last time, but getting arrested while on probation could churn up a whole host of problems for him.

Ronnie's attorney, Scott Leemon, tells TMZ, "We have just learned of the new allegations against Ronnie and need some additional time to further investigate. As such, we will not be making any other statements at this time.”

Story developing ...

The infamous Palm Beach mansion where Jeffrey Epstein sexually assaulted many of his young victims has been reduced to rubble.

The demolition came 5 months after Florida real estate developer Todd Michael Glaser inked a deal to buy the waterfront property for $18.5 mil. He vowed to obliterate the 14,000 square-foot mansion.

Proceeds from the sale will go to a Victims' Compensation Program, which will distribute the funds to some of Epstein's victims. Epstein had been locked up in a Manhattan federal jail for sex trafficking when he killed himself behind bars back in August, 2019.

Palm Beach real estate broker Lawrence A. Moens told the Palm Beach Daily News he only got involved "to ensure it would be wiped off the map of Palm Beach."

Brett Favre is weighing in on the Derek Chauvin verdict ... saying he truly believes the ex-cop did NOT intentionally kill George Floyd, but his actions were downright inexcusable.

Chauvin was found guilty on all 3 charges stemming from the May 2020 incident on Tuesday ... and is now facing up to 40 years behind bars.

The NFL legend spoke about Floyd's death on his "Bolling With Favre" podcast on Wednesday ... condemning Chauvin's handling of the situation, but explaining why he feels it's "hard to believe" he intended to kill the 46-year-old man.

"I’m aware of the outcome. I find it hard to believe, and I’m not defending Derek Chauvin in any way. I find it hard to believe, first of all, that he intentionally meant to kill George Floyd," Favre said on Wednesday.

"That being said, his actions were uncalled for. I don’t care what color the person is on the street, you do not, I don’t know what lead to that video that we saw, where his knee is on his neck, but the man had thrown in the towel."

Favre continued ... "It was just uncalled for. Much like the video that surfaced last week of the cop who pulled over the African-American service man, who was afraid to pull over in the dark and chose to ride it out until he got to a gas station. Understandably so, especially in today’s world."

"And the cops actions, of course he was fired immediately, was uncalled for. Just absolutely uncalled for, and wrong. So Derek Chauvin, I obviously don’t know him, know anything about him, but he should not, he should’ve gotten up.

"Long before that. I didn’t watch the day-to-day ins and outs of the trial, but I’m really not surprised at the outcomes. Fair or not, he deserves something. What, I don’t know, but he was absolutely wrong."

Favre also addressed the backlash he faced last week after his comments about wanting to keep politics out of sports ... saying he stands by what he said.