Crime

New footage from a bank robbery earlier this year shows just how delicate the situation was ... with one police sniper taking a seemingly impossible shot to rescue hostages.

Officers for the Lee County Sheriff's Department surrounded a Fort Myers Bank of America after a 36-year-old man attempted to rob the establishment in February. The culprit took 2 hostages inside the bank ... using them as shields while communicating with a negotiator.

The Sheriff's Department released video of the standoff -- with a sniper steadying his aim onto the suspect while right outside ... balancing his gun on another deputy's shoulder.

The father of the late Kim Porter is speaking out about the now infamous Diddy-Cassie beatdown video – slamming the music mogul for his "despicable" attack on her.

During a phone interview, Jake Porter told Rolling Stone mag he fought in the Vietnam War and would never treat his enemy the way Diddy viciously assaulted his ex-girlfriend Cassie in the surveillance footage.

As you know, Kim was also one of Diddy's girlfriends, dating him from 1994 to 2007 and sharing three children with him. In 2018, Kim died from pneumonia in her Los Angeles home.

Johnny Wactor's body was cremated after he was murdered in Los Angeles ... TMZ has learned.

According to the late actor's death certificate, obtained by TMZ, his remains were transferred to his mother, Scarlett, cremated, and now reside at her home in South Carolina. Johnny's family had made it known they wanted his body sent over after he was killed in L.A.

Johnny's occupation is listed as an actor, and the doc also notes he'd been in the entertainment industry for 15 years.

Sean Kingston is leaning on family and friends after being released from jail in his fraud case ... 'cause his ma paid him a visit at his Florida home, and she brought Safaree along.

The "Beautiful Girls" singer couldn't be bothered to put on pants to welcome his guests Wednesday ... greeting them outside his Weston estate in nothing but a white tee and some black biker shorts. Indeed ... the dude looks totally relaxed, despite what's going on.

Sean's had a pretty busy day ... before the in-home visit, he got out of jail, which included conditions. He was released on a $100k bond after surrendering his passport and any firearms.

More legal woes for Kanye West ... plus Zachary Quinto and Brandon Pettigrew getting aggressive ... makes for plenty of fuel for some flaming hot TV takes.

First up, on "TMZ Live," Harvey and Charles break down the latest lawsuit against Kanye ... including some very lewd videos and text messages he allegedly sent to a former assistant.

Sean Kingston was shipped out from California to Florida in his $1 million fraud case, and now a Sunshine State sheriff's office wants to send the singer a bill for the transport costs.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the Broward County Sheriff's Office is asking the court to have Sean pay back the taxpayers of Broward County for the cost of his extradition.

BCSO says taxpayers shelled out $5,268.53 for Sean's extradition from Cali ... with transport costs going towards commercial airline tickets, hotels, car rental and travel allowances for the U.S. Marshalls and Broward County sheriffs deputies tasked with bringing Sean back to Florida.

A neighborhood dispute turned deadly in Costa Rica after a man opened fire on another guy ... and the horrific moment was caught on video, which shows the killing.

In the harrowing surveillance footage from earlier this week that's making the rounds, 2 neighbors and their respective wives are seen getting into an argument, yelling at one another from their adjoining homes in the city of Escazú. The disagreement moves to the front yard, where the 2 parties continue to hurl words back and forth.

As the argument heats up, Otoniel Orozco Mendoza -- the man who ended up getting shot, and later identified by local media -- makes the quarrel a physical one ... throwing punches at his neighbor, Eduardo Ramírez Zamora. Unfortunately, Zamora pulled a gun out in response.

Ippei Mizuhara -- Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter -- just showed up to court and pleaded guilty to two federal charges ... stemming from allegations he stole from the MLB superstar in order to pay off gambling debts.

The 39-year-old hit a Santa Ana, CA courthouse early Tuesday morning ... and was mobbed by a throng of reporters as he made his way to the proceedings.

He did not, however, address the media as he traversed through all the cameras.

Houston Texans star wideout Tank Dell is opening up about the shooting that almost derailed his sophomore season in the NFL ... saying the incident was simply a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

As we previously reported, Dell was wounded after gunfire broke out at a Florida nightclub back in April ... which was sparked by a verbal altercation between a 16-year-old and another individual at the club.

Dell was hit during the incident ... and suffered minor injuries.

Former Detroit Lions tight end Brandon Pettigrew spent part of his Sunday morning in jail ... after he punched and broke a glass door during a spat with authorities inside a Texas convenience store.

TMZ Sports has learned ... the incident happened at around 2 AM at a 7-Eleven in Dallas -- when police say Pettigrew became aggressive during an argument inside the shop.

It's unclear exactly what kicked off the tiff -- but in surveillance video, you can see after Pettigrew and several people exchanged words, the former ex-NFLer threw a right hook at the front door, causing it to break.

Louisiana lawmakers have put their support behind a bill that could see convicted pedophiles and child molesters being ordered to undergo surgical castration.

The bill received final approval from lawmakers Monday ... and is now heading to the desk of Governor Jeff Landry, who will make the final decision on whether it becomes a law.

ICYMI ... The proposed law would allow judges to sentence surgical castration, as well as prison time, to someone convicted of aggravated sex crimes -- rape, incest, molestation, etc. -- against a minor under the age of 13.

Henry Jarecki -- an award-winning psychiatrist and Hollywood movie producer -- is being dragged to court by one of Jeffrey Epstein's accusers ... a woman who claims Jarecki sexually assaulted and trafficked her.

According to a new lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, the woman claims Jarecki was a close associate of Epstein's, and someone JE relied on as part of Epstein's sex-trafficking operation. She claims Epstein sent her to Jarecki for mental-health treatment and instead of helping her as a psychiatrist, Jarecki raped her.

In the docs, the woman claims she came to the United States around 2010 through a modeling agency but couldn't legally work because she did not have a visa, and she ended up being introduced to Epstein, who she claims began sexually abusing her and controlling her entire life.

Jonathan Tucker usually plays misfits and bad guys on TV and in movies -- but he became a real-life hero this weekend ... rescuing a neighbor and her kids after a home invasion.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... the actor -- famous from "Kingdom," "Hostage," "The Ruins," and other shows/films -- called 911 Sunday evening to report a suspicious man who was going around banging on doors and talking to himself in his L.A. neighborhood.

We're told after Jon got off the phone with cops, he went outside after losing sight of the guy -- and when he got out there ... he saw that one of his neighbors' front doors was wide open, so he raced over to make sure everything was okay.

Move over Donald Trump, it's now Hunter Biden's time to go to court.

President Joe Biden's son is on trial in Delaware, where federal prosecutors previously indicted Hunter on gun charges. Hunter showed up at a Wilmington courthouse bright and early Monday, and jury selection is currently underway.

The Bidens are making history here ... Hunter's trial is the first ever involving the child of a sitting president.

Gypsy Rose Blanchard is fuming over a blogger allegedly trashing her and her family's names after a planned partnership went south -- and now, she's taking the woman to court.

The recently-released GRB filed a lawsuit against April Johns -- whom Gypsy says presented herself as Franchesca Macelli when they first linked up back in 2017 -- and she's alleging fraud, breach of contract, unjust enrichment, defamation and false light against her.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Gypsy says she and her father/stepmother -- Rod and Kristy Blanchard, respectively -- were approached by Macelli for a possible team-up in media shortly after she was incarcerated for her role in her mother Dee Dee's murder.

Caroline Manzo is painting more of a portrait of what happened to her allegedly at the hands of Brandi Glanville – and the new allegations are nothing less than shocking!

First, the back story ... the 'Real Housewives of New Jersey' star filed a lawsuit against Bravo – which produces the reality show – in January 2024.

In the suit, Manzo accused Glanville – formerly a castmate on 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' – of sexually harassing her while they were shooting a 2023 reality show called "The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip." Manzo claimed Glanville kissed her without her consent in a rental house in Morocco, while also mounting her on the couch.