Crime & Arrests

Puddle of Mudd’s Wes Scantlin was arrested after a traffic stop turned into a tense standoff ... with cops eventually resorting to using pepper spray to get him out of his car ... this according to law enforcement.

Burbank PD tells TMZ Wesley was arrested Wednesday ... after they pulled over his black Hummer H2 in Burbank for a traffic violation and asked him for his ID. Officers say they found out Scantlin had an active warrant from a previous case for allegedly having a weapon at an airport.

We’re told when officers asked Wesley to get out of the car, he refused … and after several attempts, a crisis negotiator came to negotiate, but cops say he still wouldn’t budge.

An animal sanctuary in Hawaii is ramping up security after two men allegedly stole their beloved pet pig and killed it on camera ... TMZ has learned.

The Kitty Charm Farm -- an animal rescue and sanctuary on Maui that takes in and rehomes a variety of critters -- found itself on the wrong end of a tragic story recently, when two men allegedly broke in and stole Eddie The Pig.

Prosecutors say the men recorded a staged video of them "hunting" and killing the 250-lb domestic animal ... all so they could win a feral pig hunting contest and its $1,000 prize -- a hair-brained scheme that completely backfired on them, and which cost Eddie's life.

Todd Chrisley is praising his daughter, Savannah, for her speech at the Republican National Convention -- one he watched from prison, which he thinks she knocked out of the park.

The reality TV star's defense attorney, Jay Surgent, tells TMZ ... Todd tuned in from FPC Pensacola in Florida and came away pretty damn impressed by his daughter's convention appearance ... where she stepped up to the podium as one of the many guest speakers.

We're told Todd believes Savannah spoke well and was focused, not only talking about her incarcerated parents but also advocating against the way our criminal justice system currently operates, particularly on the federal level.

The teenager who's been accused of stabbing and killing multiple little girls who came together to dance to Taylor Swift music smiled at the media while in court this week.

17-year-old Axel Rudakubana -- who's being tried as an adult -- showed up before a judge Thursday in the U.K. and was arraigned on murder and attempted murder charges ... getting rung up for the deaths of 3 girls, and the brutal stabbing of several others.

Per local media ... Rudakubana walked into the building and looked out to reporters who were on hand -- and he apparently flashed a grin before trying to bury/hide his head.

Weston Cage and his mom, Christina Fulton, are still at odds ... trading barbs through the media as his felony assault case moves forward, with an official plea on the books.

Nicolas Cage's son pled not guilty Wednesday to a charge of assault with a deadly weapon, stemming from his alleged beatdown of his own mother -- a startling allegation that surfaced back in May ... when TMZ first broke the story.

We got Weston on his way out of a downtown Los Angeles courthouse on the heels of his not guilty plea -- and our photog asked him about what Christina had told us on her way into court ... namely, that she was hoping Weston would get the help she thinks he needs.

A human trafficking sting operation at San Diego Comic-Con resulted in more than a dozen arrests and nearly as many victims recovered ... this according to Cali's top attorney.

California AG Rob Bonta's office released an update Wednesday confirming law enforcement officials conducted a three-day long operation from July 25 to July 27 while the event was going on ... noting big events tend to attract human traffickers.

According to officials ... law enforcement personnel masqueraded as sex buyers to identify and contact trafficking victims -- while also posting online ads to solicit and then arrest alleged Johns and would-be sex traffickers.

Hector David Jr. -- an actor best known for his role on "Power Rangers" -- is a suspect in a misdemeanor battery case ... and we're told he's wanted by Idaho police.

Nampa PD in Idaho tells TMZ ... cops are looking for the former Green Power Ranger for allegedly shoving an elderly man down in a parking lot over the weekend.

Video of the alleged attack's been going around online after NPD posted it to their official Facebook account. In it, a man in a Patriots jersey walks up and pushes a man using a walker over before hopping in his truck and driving off.

10:20 AM PT -- Netflix tells TMZ ... "The letter was sent to the DCMS Select Committee on 23 May, well before any legal case was filed, and has been publicly available since. It does not impact our legal position."

Netflix seems to now be backtracking on the "true story" nature of "Baby Reindeer" -- they've reportedly admitted that the "real-life Martha" is not, in fact, a convicted stalker.

According to Deadline ... the streaming giant recently submitted a letter to Parliament's Culture, Media and Sport Committee in which their senior UK director of public policy admitted Fiona Harvey -- the woman who we all now know served as inspiration for Martha in the show -- was not actually convicted of stalking, despite being depicted as such on TV.

If you haven't seen it ... the show ends with an emotional scene where Martha receives a guilty verdict in court and goes to prison -- the character's second conviction, as described/shown in the series.

A far-right, Islamophobic group has unleashed havoc outside a Southport mosque over in the UK -- not far from the tragic site where 3 children were stabbed to death this week.

English Defense League members have been tossing bottles and bricks outside the religious place of worship Tuesday -- where Muslims go for prayer, mind you -- and violently clashed with police ... with videos of the tense scenes making the rounds online.

As you can see, these guys went to town .... torching a police riot van, with one officer even ending up with a broken nose amid the madness.

Two heroic teachers are fighting for their lives after being stabbed while trying to save kids at a Taylor Swift-themed party over in the UK.

Leanne Lucas sprang into action, getting kids to safety through a fire escape ... while her colleague Heidi Barlow locked others in a bathroom stall to protect them from the knife-wielding maniac who went on a rampage at the yoga and dance event in Southport Monday.

Both women are now critical condition -- with Leanne's aunt, Pauline Bennett, saying she's waiting to undergo surgery. She added all Leanne wanted to do was protect the kids, but given her small frame ... she didn't stand a chance against the knifeman.

New footage shows a UK man pacing in front of a house 20 minutes before Monday's horrific knife attack at a Taylor Swift themed dance class -- a house that was raided by cops after the massacre.

Check out the video obtained by ITV -- a young man in a green hoodie is seen pacing back and forth in the front of a home.

The attack left 3 children dead, 5 other kids in critical condition. Two adults are also in critical condition.

12:03 PM PT -- R. Kelly's attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, came on 'TMZ Live' Tuesday to discuss her client's SCOTUS filing in more depth -- and she made a pretty compelling argument.

One other interesting thing ... Bonjean says she actually thinks this current version of the Supreme Court is perfect to hear R. Kelly's case -- and it sounds like believes they'd actually side with him if they were to take it up on their docket ... politics be damned!!!

R. Kelly is asking the United States Supreme Court to throw out his convictions for possession of child porn and inducing minors to have sex – claiming his alleged acts occurred decades ago and the charges were therefore barred by the statute of limitations.

Here's the deal ... when R. Kelly was accused in 2020 of possessing child pornography and engaging in sexual acts with underage girls way back in the mid to late-1990s, he argued the statute of limitations had already run its course.

But, prosecutors argued a 2003 law – called the PROTECT Act – made the statute of limitations indefinite for child sex crimes.

Tampa police feel like they're on the right track to solving rapper Julio Foolio's murder ... 3 people were arrested in connection with the deadly shooting and cops say they're closing in on 2 more!!!

On Monday, Tampa PD held a press conference announcing the arrests of and first-degree murder charges for Isaiah Chance, Alicia Andrews and Sean Gathright. The suspects were all nabbed in Jacksonville.

Cops also released new footage of the June 23 deadly shooting ... and it shows multiple masked gunmen zipping around the Tampa Holiday Inn parking lot, taking position in bushes and firing dozens of rounds into the vehicle carrying Julio.

1:47 PM PT -- Prince William and Kate Middleton just weighed in on the tragedy -- writing in part, "As parents, we cannot begin to imagine what the families, friends and loved ones of those killed and injured in Southport today are going through."

They went on to extend their condolences, while thanking first-responders who arrived on the scene.

12:28 PM PT -- Officials have now confirmed even more tragic news from this horrific incident -- namely, the fact that a second child has now died.

In addition to this ... cops have identified the alleged perpetrator as a 17-year-old male. His name has yet to be released -- and it's unclear if the authorities plan to do that.

A Taylor Swift-themed dance workshop in the UK turned into something straight out of a horror movie ... when a mass stabbing left a young girl dead and 7 others injured.

Justin Timberlake might have an ace in the hole to get his DWI case dismissed ... and it's a woman who took the keys to his car after his arrest ... TMZ has learned.

As we reported, Justin was busted for drunk driving last month, after partying with friends at a Sag Harbor hotel. Cops say they saw him blow a stop sign and swerve as he was following some friends.

After he was stopped, cops say he failed multiple sobriety field tests and also smelled of alcohol. He refused to blow into a Breathalyzer, and claimed he only drank one martini.

Dutch volleyball star Steven van de Velde, a convicted child rapist, is slated to compete in the Paris Olympics this week ... and the IOC is now facing serious pressure to investigate how he was able to be included in the Games despite his disgraced past.

Van de Velde allegedly raped a 12-year-old back in 2014 -- when he was 19. Authorities claimed he initially met the girl online -- and then flew from Amsterdam to London a short time later to have sexual relations with her -- this despite him being aware of her age. In 2016, he was convicted of rape and sentenced to four years in prison.

However, after serving 12 months behind bars in Britain, he was transferred to the Netherlands, where he was resentenced. Roughly a month later, he was released. Following his time served, he told a local media outlet he was not a pedophile.