Crime & Arrests

Drake and Ye wouldn't be getting ready for tonight's huge Larry Hoover benefit concert at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum if music mogul J. Prince hadn't stepped in to broker their peace treaty ... and he's telling TMZ how he pulled it off.

The Rap-A-Lot Records honcho says there was nothing easy about getting the 2 hip-hop giants to lay down their swords after years of sniping that got incredibly personal. When J. Prince joined us on "TMZ Live," he said his choice of words mattered more than ever.

You'll recall ... Prince was side by side with Ye when he recorded a video last month, extending an olive branch to Drake by asking him to join him for a concert that would raise awareness for Larry Hoover's case, in particular, and for criminal justice reform in general.

After that, he got both men face-to-face at Drizzy's Toronto mansion, and Prince says he had to use a "special lingo to reach these guys' hearts."

He says he stressed to Drake ... he had a chance to set an example for all of hip-hop about how to settle beefs peacefully. As he put it to us, "this is a situation that could save lives."

J. Prince was quick to give Hoover himself credit for suggesting the concert ... and Larry Hoover Jr. echoed that when we saw him Wednesday in Los Angeles. He says his father -- who's been locked up since 1995 for a murder, drug conspiracy and extortion -- didn't want to see Drake and Ye possibly lose their lives to violence.

Aldon Smith is in trouble with the law once again ... TMZ Sports has learned the NFL star was arrested on Monday and booked on a felony charge of DUI causing injury.

Details surrounding the arrest are unclear -- we're working on it -- but records show Smith was booked into a Northern California jail at 7:38 PM on Monday night.

The records show Smith's bail has been set at $50,000. Smith is still in custody.

The 32-year-old pass rusher is due in court for a hearing on the matter on Wednesday, according to the records.

Smith, of course, is no stranger to run-ins with police ... he's been arrested for DUI multiple times in the past, and was also accused of domestic violence in 2018.

Smith was also most recently arrested in April in Louisiana ... after officials say he committed 2nd-degree battery at a coffee shop in the New Orleans area.

Smith was an absolute superstar with the San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders after being picked in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft ... but substance abuse issues and legal troubles derailed his career, and he was out of the league from 2016 through 2019.

Smith, though, got himself cleaned up -- telling TMZ Sports in 2020 he was "an overall better person" -- and eventually signed with the Dallas Cowboys for the '20 season.

He later signed with the Seahawks in 2021 -- though he was cut before the season began.

Former UCLA and NFL QB Cade McNown's wife is in hot water after cops say she hatched and carried out a plan to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars in designer goods from philanthropist Sydney Holland.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ, Christina McNown was arrested after a lengthy investigation revealed back in October she allegedly lifted Holland's purses, clothing and jewelry.

Sources connected to the investigation tell us McNown had been a trusted assistant and stylist for Holland for 12 years and had easy access to her personal belongings.

We're told Holland -- who famously dated Sumner Redstone for years -- started to notice items missing here and there over the span of several months before connecting the dots to McNown.

What's more, our sources say Holland noticed some of the stolen items pop up for sale online. McNown's been arrested and charged with 4 counts of felony grand theft and is set to be arraigned in February.

Christina's husband was a major BMOC when he played at UCLA, earning All-American honors in 1998, and went on to play 4 seasons in the NFL.

Ethan Crumbley -- the accused Oxford killer -- was involved in a bizarre accident a year before he shot and killed 4 of his fellow students ... and it seems something was clearly wrong with him.

This video shows then 14-year-old Crumbley in a diner where he worked back in September 2020. Crumbley is walking in a work area and you see him disoriented and wobbly before he collapses, hitting his head on a cabinet. In the video, first obtained by the Daily Mail, he struggles to get up before someone comes over and helps.

The diner's owner says someone on the staff called his parents and sent him home. His mom blamed it on Ethan not eating that day. But the owner has her doubts, saying she thinks it might've been related to his medications.

There's also this ... the diner owner claims Ethan's older brother, Eli, was caught smoking weed on the job -- he also worked at the diner -- and when someone on the staff threatened to call his parents, Eli allegedly responded, "Where do you think I got it from?"

Crumbley was taken into custody and charged in connection with the shooting. He's facing 24 counts total, including 4 counts of first-degree murder and terrorism causing death.

The man cops say is responsible for the shooting death of Jacqueline Avant, the wife of Clarence Avant, has been charged with murder ... TMZ has learned.

The L.A. County District Attorney's office announced the charges of murder, attempted murder and felon with a firearm as well as two counts of residential burglary with person present against Aariel Maynor Monday, less than a week after Avant was killed.

George Gascón, the D.A. says, “Mrs. Avant was a treasured member of our community. Her generosity and good will touched so many lives.”

TMZ broke the story, Maynor allegedly broke into the family home around 2:30 the morning of December 1. He then shot and killed Jackie and opened fire on a security guard. Both Clarence and the guard were uninjured.

As we reported, Maynor was arrested the night of the murder when he was found in a backyard 6 miles from the Avant home in the process of committing another crime. Somehow, Maynor shot himself in the foot with the same weapon it's believed he used to kill Avant.

Maynor's motive is currently unknown, but it's possible the Avants fell victim to a random attack at their Trousdale Estates home.

Clarence, known as the "Godfather of Black Music" is a music legend, with a career and influence spanning decades. He and Jacqueline were regulars at public outings, and after her death, tributes poured in across the entertainment and political world.

The fallout from the Oxford High School shooting was at the forefront of the Detroit Lions' collective minds Sunday -- which made for an emotional moment after their big win.

The Lions won their first game of the season on Sunday in a thriller of a match against the Minnesota Vikings. Prior to this, their record was 0-10-1, meaning they hadn't won a single game all season.

Turns out, their victory meant more than just what appeared on paper ... and the team's QB, Jared Goff, made that clear in the post-game interview  -- making sure to point out that the game was dedicated to those affected by the deadly tragedy ... which claimed 4 lives.

Check it out ... he gets pretty emotional talking about what happened this week, saying sometimes certain moments are bigger than just sports ... and this was one of them.

The Lions coach, Dan Campbell, echoed that with his own remarks ... bestowing the game ball to the township of Oxford, and reading off the names of the deceased, among others.

The parents of a 15-year-old Michigan student who killed 4 students in a school shooting have been arrested after hiding out in a warehouse, and they have just been arraigned on 4 counts of involuntary manslaughter.

Jennifer and James Crumbley were nabbed after a tipster contacted police, saying their SUV was in a parking lot connected to a warehouse. Police say they appeared "very distressed" during their arrest. The police chief says they were wearing hoodies and seemed "just very upset."

The Crumbleys have been charged with 4 counts of involuntary manslaughter -- one count each for the 4 students who were murdered -- and each count carries a maximum prison sentence of 15 years.

The charges are unusual and possibly even unprecedented. Authorities say the parents knew their son, Ethan Crumbley, had serious mental health issues and yet they bought him a gun just days before he shot up his school. School officials were so concerned about the boy they brought him in along with his parents just before the shooting, not knowing he had the gun in his backpack.

Ethan and his father went to a gun store the day after Thanksgiving and bought the 9-millimeter Sig Sauer handgun, which Ethan called on social media, "My new beauty."

The Monday following Thanksgiving, a teacher saw Ethan looking up information online about ammunition, told his mother but she did not appear alarmed. In fact, she texted her son, "LOL, I'm not mad at you. You have to learn not to get caught." The next day he shot 4 of his Oxford High School classmates to death.

Atlanta Braves star Marcell Ozuna had his hand aggressively wrapped around his wife's neck just minutes before his arrest last May ... new police video, obtained by TMZ Sports, shows.

The incident all went down on May 29 in Sandy Springs, GA., after cops say they were called to a residence regarding "an assault in progress."

In an officer's bodycam footage from the scene, you can see as the cop arrived at the home, Ozuna grabbed his wife around her throat with his right hand.

"Get your hands off her!" the officer can be heard telling the 6-foot-1, 225-pound MLB player in the footage. "Get on the ground! Get on the ground!"

Ozuna -- who was wearing a hard cast on his left hand due to an injury he had suffered in a game just days before the incident -- complied, and was eventually arrested.

In police documents, cops say Ozuna's wife told them the altercation had all begun over cheating claims.

Ozuna was initially hit with felony charges over the incident, including aggravated assault by strangulation. But, the counts were eventually reduced to misdemeanor family violence charges -- and Ozuna agreed to enter into a pretrial diversion program to close out the case.

Ozuna was ordered to, among other things, complete at least 200 hours of community service as well as take an anger management course. He was also placed on six months of supervision.

The outfielder was ultimately suspended by the MLB over it all this week, getting hit with a 20-game ban -- although because the punishment was retroactive in nature, Ozuna is now eligible to return as soon as the 2022 season begins.

"Any instance of domestic violence is unacceptable, and we fully support the decision by the commissioner's office regarding Marcell," the Braves said after the MLB announced the suspension.

"We are encouraged to know that Marcell has accepted full responsibility for his actions and is taking the necessary measures to learn and grow from the situation."

We've reached out to both the MLB and the Braves following the release of the police video, but so far, no word back yet.

Gunshots rang out at a shopping mall in North Carolina, sending Black Friday shoppers running for their lives ... and leaving multiple people injured.

The shooting went down at Southpoint Mall in Durham, N.C. ... where police say 3 people were struck by gunfire.

Naturally, the mall was super packed with folks coming through for Black Friday deals ... and the hail of bullets resulted in chaos, with people scrambling for cover as a stampede broke out.

A local reporter also captured video outside the mall, showing throngs of shoppers booking it to their cars to try to get the hell outta Dodge.

Police say one person is in custody, though others involved in the shooting managed to flee the scene. Cops say there is no active shooting threat.

YFN Lucci and Allison Mack are spending their first Thanksgiving behind bars and they're about to get a crash course in what R. Kelly, YNW Melly, Suge Knight and Harvey Weinstein learned the hard way ... the turkey tastes better on the outside.

TMZ's obtained prison and jail menus from across the country, where locked-up stars are being treated to your typical Turkey Day faire ... turkey, stuffing, gravy and pie.

Here's a breakdown of their Thanksgiving feasts:

Kelly at MDC Brooklyn:

-- Roast turkey or roast eggplant, turkey gravy, cornbread stuffing, cranberry sauce, biscuit and pie

Mack at California's FCI Dublin

-- Roasted turkey with pan gravy, country ham, mashed potatoes or baked potato, candied sweet potatoes, cornbread stuffing, steamed green beans, cranberry sauce, turkey gravy, dinner roll and pie

Lucci at Georgia's Fulton County Jail:

-- Sliced turkey, cranberry sauce, cornbread stuffing, green beans, sweet potatoes, dinner roll and dessert

Suge at San Diego's Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility:

-- Roast turkey, green salad with dressing, cranberry sauce, cornbread stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, vegetables, dinner roll or biscuit and pumpkin pie

Melly at Florida's Broward County Jail:

-- Turkey breast, gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans, breadsticks and bread pudding

Weinstein at Los Angeles County Jail:

-- Roast turkey, mashed potatoes, brown gravy, cranberry sauce, green beans, tossed salad with dressing, dinner roll and pumpkin muffin

Tyga just got a little bit of good news in his domestic violence case ... we've learned he will NOT be hit with a felony.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the police passed the rapper's DV case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office so they could decide if they wanted to file charges against Tyga.

But, according to the L.A. County D.A. ... the case has now been kicked over to the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office ... and that means he won't be charged with a felony because only the D.A.'s Office can charge folks with a felony.

TMZ broke the story ... Tyga was arrested for felony domestic violence last month, turning himself in to authorities after his ex-girlfriend, Camaryn Swanson, claimed he got physical with her.

Camaryn filed a police report, claiming Tyga hit her ... and she later posted video showing her alleged injuries. Tyga's camp claims her allegations are "false and will be disproven."

The exes reportedly started dating early this year, and in March they went Instagram official. It's unclear when they split, but we're told it happened before the alleged incident.

We're told, Camaryn's injuries and the evidence did not rise to a felony charge and that's the reason it was kicked to the City Attorney.

Soccer star Karim Benzema was found guilty for his involvement in a sex tape blackmail case this week ... getting handed a 1-year suspended prison sentence and a fine, according to reports.

But, Karim's attorney is adamant he did nothing wrong ... and says he will appeal the conviction, CNN reports.

Remember, the Real Madrid striker was arrested way back in 2015 ... after investigators claimed he played a role with 4 other men in extorting French national teammate Mathieu Valbuena over a sexually explicit video.

Benzema -- considered one of the best soccer players in the world -- was accused of being a middleman in the plot to get money from Valbuena over the video ... but the player maintained he was just trying to help his teammate handle the issue.

Officials saw it differently, however ... claiming his conversations with Valbuena were all part of the scheme.

Benzema was found guilty of complicity in a Versailles court this week ... resulting in the suspended sentence and a 75,000 euro fine (about $84,000) -- meaning if he keeps his nose clean, he won't have to serve the time behind bars.

What's interesting ... the prosecutor actually requested a 10-month sentence, but the judge gave Benzema more time.

The woman who was violently beaten by Zac Stacy is set to testify in court against the ex-NFL player on Wednesday ... hoping a judge makes it harder for Stacy to be released from custody.

Kristin Evans will be in the Orange County, Fla. courtroom in just minutes ... arguing that Stacy's bond should be heavily increased.

A judge initially set the bond at $10,150 for Stacy -- who was charged with two felonies over the Nov. 16 attack on Evans -- but Evans argued on social media afterward that was nowhere near enough.

Evans said she feared Stacy would try to hurt her again if he was released from custody -- and now wants a judge to up his bond amount at the hearing.

Stacy, meanwhile, has been ordered to be in the courtroom in person -- and it's all slated to begin at 7 AM PT.

As we previously reported, Stacy was hit with one count of aggravated battery and one count of criminal mischief after video showed him punching Evans and then throwing her into a television in Oakland, Fla. earlier this month.

Stacy wasn't initially apprehended at the scene, but he was ultimately arrested in the Orlando area on Nov. 18.

Duke basketball star Paolo Banchero is finally addressing his run-in with police near the Durham, NC campus ... vowing to learn a lesson after getting jammed up by the police.

As we previously reported, 19-year-old Banchero -- who many believe could be the #1 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft -- was cited for aiding and abetting his Duke teammate, Michael Savarino, who was busted for DWI last week.

20-year-old Savarino, who happens to be Coach K's grandson, was pulled over by North Carolina Highway Patrol after they allege he blew a stop sign.

Banchero was a passenger in the car at the time of the stop ... which ultimately led to his citation.

On Monday, Paolo finally broke his silence, telling the media he wasn't able to speak in specifics but made it clear he wants to move on past the incident.

"You can't really say much about it, but we learned from it and handled it as a team. We moved on and we want to get on with our season."

Banchero said he didn't regret the incident, adding, "My teammates had my back, so it wasn't too hard for me."

The freshman had his best performance of the season during Duke's 107-81 win over Citadel Monday night, dropping 28 points, and admitting the situation's been weighing on him the past week.

"I'm not going to say it wasn't on my mind the past two games. It was. I feel like today was a bounce-back game for me and I felt good out there.''

The likely future NBA star says he's ready to learn his lesson and move on with the season ... one Duke hopes will end in an NCAA championship.

"Got a big trip coming up. Two big games Gonzaga and Ohio State next Tuesday."

The man who's been reported as a person of interest in the Waukesha parade tragedy -- killing at least 5 people -- is a local rapper who used an SUV in one of his music videos that appears to be the same one that plowed through the crowd.

Darrell Brooks Jr. -- who went by the stage name Mathboi Fly -- released a music video a couple years ago set in Milwaukee. Several times in the video, you see the red Ford Escape, which looks like the one seen in the horrific videos of the Christmas Parade.

YouTube pulled the music video from the original account, leaving this message in its place -- "This video is no longer available because the YouTube account associated with this video has been terminated."

However, it's since been re-posted by at least one other account.

CBS 58 News got Brooks' vehicle in his driveway shortly after the massacre -- the damage is clear, and beyond disturbing.

Brooks Jr. has a recent criminal history in the area ... getting charged on November 5 with resisting an officer, bail jumping, 2nd degree recklessly endangering safety, disorderly conduct and battery.

In addition to the 5 fatalities, cops said Sunday night at least 40 more were injured when the SUV rammed through the crowd of parade viewers and participants.

TMZ Sports has obtained video of Nigel Bradham's weed bust arrest ... and in the footage, you can clearly see cops seizing a firearm from the NFL player's Corvette.

The stop all went down in Leon County, Fla. on Nov. 13 ... after police say they discovered the tag on his sportscar did not belong to the ride.

During the stop ... officers say they found 3.5 pounds of marijuana as well two guns in the expensive whip.

In the police dashcam footage from the scene, you can see one officer pulled a gun from the glove box right after pulling over the former Philadelphia Eagles linebacker.

Later, after putting 32-year-old Bradham in the back of a squad car, officers can be seen pulling bags of what looks like weed from the vehicle.

At one point during the video, you can hear an officer claiming he found a second gun in the car -- saying into his mic, "He told me there wasn't another one, and there's another one. Frickin' A bud."

Bradham was eventually arrested and hit with two felony weed charges -- as well as one felony gun charge. Cops say one of the firearms removed from the car came back as stolen when they checked the system.