Crime

New Orleans having America's highest murder rate in 2022 makes veteran NOLA rapper/activist Dee-1 sick to his stomach, and it's also why he's taking issue with Fat Joe's recent remarks about robberies.

TMZ Hip Hop linked with Dee-1 following the new report about murders rising 46% in NOLA since last year. The city is close to passing the 2021 total of 221 slayings, and it's only September.

Dee -- who's currently at Harvard University -- says it doesn't take a 4.0 student to see hip hop has been amplifying street activity across the board, and Joe Crack's street-influenced commentary following PnB Rock's murder has him extremely frustrated.

Joe recently appeared on Charlamagne's "Hell Of A Week" and said he's fine with someone robbing PnB, but not the murder -- but Dee says that mentality ignores the root problem.

Dee says Joe and other OG's should know better and thinks artists have been hiding behind the "freedom of speech" rights for too long ... highlighting bad stuff to sound good.

As for his hometown, he says too many in NOLA were competing to have the hardest 'hoods in America, and tragically they've succeeded.

Dee is at Harvard via the hip hop fellowship Nas started years ago, and as part of his studies, he's examining hip hop culture at its core ... in addition to its influence on the youth.

Talk show host and "Coming to America" star Arsenio Hall didn't have much to laugh about recently ... because cops say his L.A. home was the target of not 1, but 2 break-ins.

LAPD sources tell TMZ ... Arsenio was home Saturday at 11 AM when he heard a loud noise coming from downstairs. We're told he came down to discover someone had broken the glass on his sliding door ... attempting to get in. But, an incident last month was even scarier.

Cops say 2 people broke a window at his place back in August and entered the home. Arsenio was home when they broke in. We're told the burglars got spooked and took off before stealing anything.

Police responded both times, but the suspects beat it before they arrived. Detectives are now looking at surveillance video from the home and neighborhood to ID the suspects. They also want to know if Arsenio is being targeted. Specifically, they want to know if the same people were involved in both incidents.

The Brooklyn pastor who went viral for manhandling a woman during his church service says he and his family are the real victims ... and he's released security footage to prove his case.

Bishop Lamor Whitehead joined "TMZ Live" to explain his side of things after he came under fire for shoving a woman on Sunday, and removing her from the church. Previously, the only angle we'd seen was the live stream cam directed at the pulpit.

Whitehead says this new video shows the woman -- who appeared to be protesting the Bishop -- heading directly for his wife and 10-month-old baby while cursing at them.

We can't hear what she's saying on the security footage, Pastor Whitehead is insisting he felt the woman was a threat to his family ... and he adds the whole incident was set up by bloggers who take issue with the fact he's been known to hang with celebs.

In other words, he feels completely justified for getting physical especially because he feared she might have a weapon in a small purse that was under her arm.

He also says he never choked or scratched her, but he did grab her shoulder in order to escort her out to police ... despite her posting a huge scratch mark on her neck.

Adnan Syed, whose murder conviction was featured on the "Serial" podcast, is about to go free after spending more than 22 years of a life sentence.

A Baltimore Circuit Court judge overturned Adnan's conviction ... after prosecutors called for it, in light of new information there might have been 2 other possible suspects. The judge said Adnan should be released from prison immediately, and prosecutors now have 30 days to decide whether to file new charges.

Syed was a 17-year-old high school student when he got arrested in February 1999 for the murder of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee. He was convicted a year later. The podcast first shed light on Adnan's case in 2014, and raised a lot of questions about the case and his guilt.

Although, he had filed multiple appeals -- even attempting to get the case before the U.S. Supreme Court -- Adnan had been rejected every time. It wasn't until prosecutors poked holes in the case last month that he got what he would call justice.

Lee's brother, Young Lee, says he feels betrayed by prosecutors, and although he's not against further investigation into his sister's death, he adds ... "Everyday when I think it's over, or it's ended, it always comes back. It's killing me. It's really tough."

The "Serial" podcast Twitter account said there will be a new episode of the series released tomorrow.

August Alsina isn't denying he left Tory Lanez hanging during an attempted handshake -- but this new video shows the diss happening, and Tory's immediate and angry reaction.

You can see August strolling through a backstage hallway in the Chicago venue ... when Tory extends his hand out for a shake, AA hit him with a fierce side step to avoid all contact.

A perplexed Tory was left standing in the hallway with his hand out ... until an onlooking fan dapped him up. After shaking off the embarrassment, Tory and his security team regrouped before squaring up with August again where the alleged assault took place.

As he's prancing through the hall, you can hear a woman pleading for Tory not to "do it" because of his pending case against Megan Thee Stallion.

According to August, Tory "did it" anyway ... as the video shows his security rushing him from the area and later on, giving high fives as the cameraman talks about him knocking out AA.

As we reported, August later hit social media to post pics of his bloody mouth and scraped skin, accusing Tory and his team of the brutal beatdown while also daring them to release footage he says they have of the whole thing.

Charlamagne Tha God is highlighting what he sees as hip hop hypocrisy in the wake of PnB Rock's murder last week.

As The Breakfast Club crew was discussing the home invasion/robbery of Tee Grizzley, Charlamagne spoke on how rappers tend to get sad when their fellow artists get killed and flood social media with 'RIP' messages -- but then continue supporting the same lifestyle and culture that got their homie killed in the first place.

Charlamagne says the unfortunate trend of murdered rappers should have made artists smarten up by now, and he's confused why that's not more apparent by now.

TMZ broke the story ... Tee's Los Angeles suburban home was broken into a couple of weeks ago and suspects made off with more than $1 million in jewelry -- in addition to the cash they stole.

Following the report, the Detroit-born rapper took to Instagram to reassure fans he was safe but urged rappers to be careful of the content of their music ... noting how bad juju could be spoken into existence on wax. He also advised rappers to speak in third-person or from the arc of a storyteller instead of making their lyrics direct with dirt.

Tee's recently released single "Robbery Part 4" plays out just like that ... it's a fictional tale that's more cinematic than reality.

He also asked the fans to pray for King Von and PnB's families ... the latter of who say they're having a hard time getting PnB's body back to Philly due to the open homicide investigation.

Von died in 2020 after being shot and killed in Atlanta and PnB was gunned down last week while eating with his girlfriend inside a Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles restaurant.

Justin and Hailey Bieber's home had an unwanted visitor ... the security team spotted a guy who broke into the backyard and it ended in a mad foot chase.

LAPD sources tell TMZ ... cops were called to the couple's home in an exclusive gated Los Angeles community last Saturday ... after Justin's security said they saw a guy in the backyard, hanging out by the couple's BBQ.

We're told when security approached the man, he took off running ... jumping over one of the walls and into the neighborhood. Security gave chase but the guy disappeared.

Justin and Hailey were not home ... they were away on vacation.

Once police arrived, they searched the area, but came up empty-handed.

It's unclear how the guy got into the gated community, but it's not the first time this has happened. Tim McGraw and Faith Hill previously had their home burglarized and Lisa Vanderpump's car was stolen a few years back.

This also is not the first time Justin has had to deal with unwanted visitors either. He's had some really disturbing run-ins in the past with folks showing up to his property ... like the time a lady got into his hotel room.

Superstar hip hop producer Honorable C.N.O.T.E. isn't bowing down amid the surging crime wave in the U.S. -- he's literally fighting back when it comes to his own belongings!!!

TMZ Hip Hop linked with the veteran soundman following his viral moment this week ... where he was filmed in Los Angeles catching a carjacker breaking his window, with his luggage still inside the whip.

C.N.O.T.E. says he hopped off the plane, fresh from LAX, and hit up a grocery store ... but noticed a suspicious BMW near his rental car.

Soon after, he heard the car alarm buzzing and spotted the thief -- who had busted a rear door window -- trying to yank stuff outta his ride. C.N.O.T.E. ran up on him and proceeded to lay the smackdown!!!

It might not look like it from the beating -- which someone in the neighborhood recorded -- but C.N.O.T.E. tells us he actually dialed back his 350 lb-frame punches after realizing the thief was just a kid, and showed him mercy.

He says they even exchanged words, which he wants to keep between them. Now, here's the plot twist -- C.N.O.T.E. wants to reconnect with the kid in order to mentor him. He's also thankful the issue didn't result in gunplay.

C.N.O.T.E. slammed social media commenters who said he should've taken fatal action ... explaining how everyone is a victim of the same struggle.

The altercation happened a couple of days before the tragic PnB Rock murder, and the Georgia-based artist says hip-hop culture's been steered down the wrong path for too long.

Moving forward, C.N.O.T.E. is gearing up for his "Signs 3" project ... which he's really excited about, thanks to a mix of old and new school flavor from artists such as current XXL Freshman Cochise and No Limit Records soldier Fiend.

The album drops October 7 and C.N.O.T.E. thinks hip hop is the best way to get through to the youth in today's climate.

Rapper Tee Grizzley's not only mourning his friend, PnB Rock ... he's also got drama at home after burglars made off with $1 million in bills and bling.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... burglars smashed a window at Tee's house about 2 weeks ago in his Porter Ranch neighborhood outside Los Angeles. We're told the jewelry alone they found was worth more than a mil, and they also walked away with a ton of cash.

According to the police report, no one was home at the time of the break-in, and there's an open investigation.

Tee's havin' a rough time these last few weeks -- as you know, PnB was shot and killed Monday while eating lunch at a Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles. The murderer, who's still on the loose, stole several diamond chains off the rapper.

Tee released the music video for part 4 of his "Robbery" series the day after Rock's death, opening with a "Rest In Heaven" message for PnB.

FYI, the track has nothing to do with Tee or PnB's situations ... it's a fictional story he'd been working on before either incident happened.

"Flex" rapper Rich Homie Quan is fired up these days as he's plotting a comeback to the top spot ... but he realizes things are much different in the game today than they were in 2013 when he got rich rapping.

TMZ Hip Hop spotted RHQ Wednesday in NYC, and gauged his wisdom regarding hip hop's lack of fun ... with the murder of PnB Rock being the latest dark cloud hovering over the culture.

RHQ thinks the genre's gone too soft, but also too hard in some regards, claiming hip hop needs to do away with both "bubblegum" and "shoot 'em up, bang bang" rappers.

He even bigged up Benny The Butcher as the best MC in the Empire State and urged rappers to splurge their money on property as opposed to buying expensive jewelry.

That might be a hard sell considering the messenger is iced out himself ... but RHQ is taking a veteran approach to his career these days.

The Atlanta native recently aligned his Rich Homie Entertainment imprint with industry mavens Troy Carter and Suzy Ryoo's Venice Music for his next album ... "Family & Mula," which comes out in October.

And his latest single "Krazy" features all the energy RHQ fans are accustomed to, but also ups the ante on raising awareness of the gun violence plaguing his hometown.

A Chick-fil-A worker looked more like Conor McGregor during an incident at one of the popular fast food joint's Florida locations this week ... thwarting an alleged carjacking by putting a wild MMA move on the suspect.

According to the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office, the altercation went down after 43-year-old William Branch grabbed the car keys from a woman holding a baby and then attempted to steal her vehicle.

Cops say the woman screamed for help -- and that's when a young Chick-fil-A employee sprung into action.

Video shot by a witness shows the man latched on to Branch -- and put the guy in a guillotine ... before taking him to the ground.

The restaurant staffer then wrestled with Branch for several moments -- before eventually subduing him.

Cops later arrived on the scene and arrested Branch, booking him on charges of carjacking with a weapon and battery. They later commended the Chick-fil-A worker for his bravery.

"A major shout-out to this young man for his courage!" police said in a statement.

R. Kelly is guilty of 6 of the 13 charges he faced in his Illinois federal case ... the jury just came back with its verdict.

The jury convicted him Wednesday on the child pornography counts he faced, but acquitted him on 7 others -- including charges of conspiracy and enticement.

Remember, Kelly was facing child pornography charges and prosecutors also accused him of concealing video evidence from his infamous 2008 case and threatening witnesses.

The trial just got underway last month, with prosecutors accusing Kelly of videotaping sexual encounters with minors.

As we reported, Kelly's trial included explosive testimony ... with his former goddaughter claiming the singer had sex with her hundreds of times before she turned 18 years old, with their first sexual intercourse happening when she was only 15.

Kelly's attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, told the jury the singer was "imperfect" but insisted he was innocent.

A juror suffered a panic attack Monday, but the trial pressed forward as the judge immediately put the alternate juror in her place.

Trevor Bauer is asking a judge to throw out a lawsuit filed by the woman who accused him of sexual assault ... claiming he has video proof, taken from bed after their second sexual encounter, which proves she lied about her injuries.

TMZ Sports obtained a motion filed by 31-year-old Bauer's legal team in southern California, which includes a video that was allegedly recorded by accuser Lindsey Hill after they had sex the night of May 16, 2021.

"She appears to be willingly in bed with a sleeping Mr. Bauer, and is smirking and uninjured," the Cy Young award winner's attorney wrote in the filing.

The clip, which we've seen, is less than 10 seconds long and doesn't contain audio.

Bauer's team believes the video -- which they say they recently received from the Pasadena police department -- proves Hill didn't actually sustain injuries to her face, torpedoing her case.

Hill previously claimed Bauer gave her two black eyes.

Bauer's accuser filed a lawsuit for battery against the pitcher in August 2022, claiming ... "Last year, disgraced Major League Baseball player Trevor Bauer violently and sadistically abused Hill in the most appalling manner imaginable, sexually battering and battering a defenseless woman."

Hill did not specify how much money she's seeking.

At the time, Trevor's team responded to the suit, saying ... "Lindsey Hill’s claims were judicially disproven last August following a hearing regarding a DVRO petition filed in bad faith."

In August 2021, a court denied Hill's request for a permanent restraining order against Bauer ... saying Hill hadn't set clear lines before they had sex. However, the judge described the injuries in photos presented as evidence as "terrible."

Despite the court's ruling, Major League Baseball hit the former Dodgers pitcher with a two-year suspension without pay.

Trevor is appealing MLB's decision.

Montrezl Harrell chopped it up with cops for over half an hour about all kinds of NBA topics during his weed stop in May -- including LaMelo Ball and free agency -- and the entire conversation was captured on police video, obtained by TMZ Sports.

The traffic-stop-turned-round-ball-talk all happened in Richmond, Kentucky on May 12 ... after Kentucky State Police pulled over Harrell and his friend in a 2020 Honda Pilot after cops say they were following another car too closely on the road.

During the stop, cops said they smelled an odor of marijuana coming from the ride -- so they detained the basketball player and his friend to check everything out.

While probing the car and asking questions, video shows cops at the scene found out Harrell was an NBA player -- and then wanted to get all kinds of Association scoop from the former Hornets power forward.

At one point, a cop needed to know Harrell's opinion of Ball -- his famous teammate in Charlotte.

"How's LaMelo?" the cop asked.

"He's a cool person," Harrell responded. "I mean, regular kid. At the end of the day, people got to understand he's a kid."

The cop later told Harrell, "I think his dad messed him up."

Cops eventually got Harrell out of the car -- and claim they then found three pounds of marijuana in vacuum-sealed bags in a backpack in the back seat of the ride.

"Damn," Harrell said on the video. "Didn't know that was in there."

But the cops were calm with Harrell and his friend -- even at one point saying in the footage, "We are not the weed police."

As they continued to search the car -- the cops peppered Harrell with NBA questions ... asking him about the playoffs, his former teammates, "the biggest prick in the" league, and "the best big guy you ever had to play against."

At one point, Harrell was asked who had the worst facilities in the league -- and he said Philadelphia ... which was ironic, considering he went on to sign as a free agent with the 76ers earlier this month.

Eventually, cops issued a citation to Harrell and the other man, before letting them go.

Video shows one of the cops ultimately took the weed they found in Harrell's vehicle and put it into a squad car.

Harrell was charged with trafficking less than five pounds of marijuana -- a Class D felony -- over the stop ... but he cut a plea with prosecutors last month to close out the case.

Britney Spears' ex-husband, Jason Alexander, just can't seem to stay out of trouble with the law -- because now he's wanted by the cops again ... this after missing a court date.

Alexander was due to appear before a judge Tuesday in Napa County, where he's facing 2 felony counts of grand theft and buying/receiving stolen property. The charges involve a woman who claims he stole some expensive jewelry from her back in 2015.

You'll recall ... Jason hadn't dealt with the case for years, and then he got arrested a few months ago here in SoCal for crashing Britney's wedding to Sam Asghari.

When he got arrested by Ventura County officials, the warrant for the Napa case also popped up. The dude was extradited to face the charges after he completed a 60-day sentence in jail. After his Napa arraignment, he was cut loose and told to come back on Sep. 13.

A court clerk tells TMZ Jason never made it ... and now, a new warrant for his arrest has been issued.

Ouncie Allen -- a top 25-ranked pro bull rider -- has been killed after a deadly shooting at a Salt Lake City apartment on Monday ... and police are calling it a domestic violence-related homicide.

He was only 27.

Salt Lake City Police Department said they received a call at 12:06 AM on Monday about a man being shot at an apartment complex located almost 2 miles south of the Utah Jazz's Vivint Arena.

When officers arrived, they found a male outside of the apartment with at least one gunshot wound ... and transported the man to the local hospital.

Sadly, the man passed away and SLCPD later identified the victim as Demetrius Omar Lateef Allen, also known as "Ouncie."

SLCPD said they arrested female suspect LaShawn Denise Bagley ... and charged the 21-year-old with murder and felony discharge of a firearm.

Detectives believe the Houston bull rider came to Salt Lake City for the Utah State Fair and was staying with Bagley during his visit. However, things apparently went bad after he left the fair.

"After attending the fair, Allen and Bagley went to a downtown bar where they got into an argument," SLCPD said.

"Allen went to Bagley’s apartment to get his property when shots were fired."

Allen was currently ranked 24th in the world in pro rodeo bull riding ... and recently won the Tri-State Rodeo event in Fort Madison, Iowa.

He also placed first at the Big Timber Weekly Rodeo in Montana and at the Northwest Montana Fair and Rodeo in August.

Ouncie's cousin, Ezekiel, is also a bull rider and was the Challenger Series Champion in 2017.

Sean Gleason, the CEO of Professional Bull Riders, said they are "shocked and saddened" by the terrible news and called Ouncie a "talented cowboy."

Allen is survived by his 4-year-old daughter.