Crime

A University of Wisconsin-Whitewater wrestler has been arrested for murder ... following the shooting death of star gymnast Kara Welsh, law enforcement tells TMZ Sports.

The Whitewater Police released a statement days after Welsh, 21 years old, was found dead at her off-campus apartment ... tragically struck down by multiple gunshots on August 30.

A 23-year-old male, Chad Richards, was present at the apartment when police arrived following the fatal shooting ... and after a thorough investigation, WPD determined the shooting was a result of an altercation between the two.

San Francisco 49ers GM John Lynch says Ricky Pearsall's current health status is nothing short of a miracle ... revealing the wide receiver is "doing really well" just days after he was shot during an attempted robbery.

The Hall of Fame safety shared the incredible news with the media on Tuesday ... saying the 23-year-old rookie has already rejoined his teammates at the facility -- and the whole organization is "incredibly blessed."

Lynch confirmed Pearsall -- who suffered a gunshot wound to the chest around 4 PM in San Francisco on Saturday -- does not have nerve or organ damage as a result of the altercation.

Denard Robinson has struck a deal with prosecutors to close out his drinking and driving case, TMZ Sports has learned.

According to court records, the former University of Michigan superstar pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of operating while visibly impaired last week. In exchange, records show officials agreed to drop the misdemeanor operating while intoxicated count he had been first hit with.

A rep for the Ann Arbor City Attorney's Office tells us ... Robinson is now facing a sentence of up to 93 days in jail, up to $300 in fines, and four points to his driver's license. Under the initial OWI charge, Robinson had been facing up to 93 days in jail and a fine of up to $500 -- plus six points on his license.

A shocking case in France has just gone to trial ... and it centers around a 71-year-old man who is accused of inviting dozens of strangers to rape his drugged wife in their home.

Dominique Pelicot is accused of using a website to enlist strangers for sex with his wife ... and prosecutors say he filmed the rapes ... which occurred while his wife was knocked unconscious.

Pelicot allegedly brought home 83 men to defile his wife over a period of nearly a decade ... and the judge in the case says Pelicot also kept a nude photo of his daughter on his phone.

Star boxer Jermall Charlo has been formally hit with a DWI charge following allegations he drunkenly crashed his Lamborghini in Texas back in May.

According to court documents, obtained by TMZ Sports, in addition to the DWI ... prosecutors also levied a misdemeanor leaving the scene of an accident charge against Charlo. Court records show officials formally filed the misdemeanor counts against the 34-year-old pugilist on Aug. 20.

As we previously reported, Charlo was first arrested in the case on May 6 -- when cops claimed Charlo slammed his red Urus into another car on a Brazoria County roadway.

James McAvoy says he pulled some inspiration for his psychopathic character from "Speak No Evil" on a pretty famous dude ... explaining the character's toxic masculinity's based on influencer Andrew Tate.

The actor revealed the surprising link during an interview with Empire ... saying he thought about his character as being Tate from the country in a sense -- with the character's attitude focusing on teaching men to be men again.

James says he put more of an unassuming face on his character than Tate does in his own diatribes ... but, the undercurrent of that toxicity's very much there.

The federal authorities investigating Diddy to possibly get a criminal indictment against the music mogul are chugging along ... issuing a new grand jury subpoena related to a hotel in Florida.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, federal prosecutors from the Southern District of New York got a subpoena requiring the fancy Miami hotel to cough up documents and other evidence related to Diddy.

Diddy and his ex Daphne Joy are both named in the subpoena. The subpoena calls for the hotel to hand over reservation records involving Diddy, Daphne and other associates of the Bad Boy Entertainment CEO.

Ricky Pearsall, the 49ers 2024 first-round draft pick, was shot earlier today during an attempted burglary in San Francisco, the city's mayor announced.

23-year-old Pearsall is in stable condition at a local hospital ... after reportedly being shot in the arm around 3:30 PM.

The alleged shooter was caught at the scene and is currently in custody.

The harrowing incident went down Saturday afternoon in the Union Square area of downtown SF, according to SFPD.

2:35 PM PT -- U.S. Magistrate Judge Jean Rosenbluth ordered Dr. Mark Chavez released on $50,000 bond Friday. Chavez agreed at a separate administrative hearing earlier this week -- not in federal court -- to surrender his California medical license.

One of the doctors charged in connection with Matthew Perry's ketamine death appeared in front of a judge for the first time Friday.

Dr. Mark Chavez, one of two physicians busted in the Perry case, was arraigned Friday afternoon in a federal courthouse in downtown Los Angeles.

He appeared with his lawyer, and Judge Jean Rosenbluth told Chavez he could remain free on bond with restrictions, according to the Associated Press. Chavez agreed to surrender his passport, and not to work as a doctor.

12:37 PM PT -- A rep for the Napa County Sheriff's Office tells TMZ -- Deputies responded to a domestic violence call at a location in the town of Yountville shortly before 10 AM Thursday. An arrest was made at the scene, and injuries were reportedly involved.

The victim in the case has asked for total confidentiality, the sheriff's rep says.

The investigation remains ongoing.

2:51 PM PT -- A spokesperson for Colorado Gov. Jared Polis told TMZ in response to our story: "Over the last month, Gov. Polis has been in regular contact with the City of Aurora and the Aurora Police Department and has offered all state assistance to support their efforts if requested."

"He really hopes that the city council members in charge stop trashing their own city when they are supposed to keep it safe. We know violent crime in Aurora went down between 2022-2023, fully expect the data will show further declines for 2024, and the recent misinformation campaign threatens actual criminal investigations and could hurt the climate for small businesses in Aurora.”

The Aurora, Colorado councilwoman who leaked video of alleged gang members storming into an apartment in the Denver metro city ... says men with guns control buildings full of American residents, and the living conditions she describes are terrifying.

Councilwoman Danielle Jurinsky spoke with TMZ Thursday about the viral video  ... saying she released the clip 'cause she feels politicians aren't moving quickly enough to fix the dangerous issue, instead playing politics with people's lives.

Jurinsky describes the grim scenes at apartment complexes she's seen and visited ... trash, broken windows and other vandalism -- and lots of guns. She claims American families are trapped by thugs who've taken over.

Convicted child killer Susan Smith should not be paroled, because her bad behavior in prison included performing sex acts and doing drugs ... so says the former correctional officer with whom she hooked up.

Alfred Rowe, the disgraced prison guard previously employed at Camille Graham Correctional Center in South Carolina, tells TMZ ... Susan is not ready to be released.

Smith becomes eligible for parole in early November for murdering her two children, Michael and Alexander, according to a South Carolina corrections official.

Tom Girardi, the disgraced powerhouse attorney known for his marriage to "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Erika Jayne, has been found guilty of embezzling more than $15 million from former clients.

A federal jury issued the verdict Tuesday in Los Angeles, where the famed lawyer stood trial for running a fraud scheme between 2010 and 2020 ... in which he pilfered millions from settlement funds from several clients. Girardi was found guilty on 4 counts of wire fraud.

Girardi's defense attorney, Charles Snyder, painted a different picture for the jury ... claiming others at TG's now-defunct law firm Girardi Keese -- which represented plaintiffs in several high-profile cases, including the one against Pacific Gas & Electric Co. dramatized in the film "Erin Brockovich" -- stole the funds as Girardi's mental health declined.

Cops in New Jersey say a Florida man whipped out a steak knife and lunged at another diner during a heated argument over spilled wine in a restaurant ... and it's all on video!!!

Intense footage from inside celebrity chef David Burke's Red Horse restaurant shows the wild altercation ... and the tension is so thick you could cut it with a knife.

The video picks up with a restaurant manager trying to calm down two parties at neighboring tables ... and a guy in a white shirt, who cops say ultimately gets cut by a knife, tells the other group, "You shouldn't be doing medication and drinking martinis."

8/29 -- 12:01 PM PT -- Roberto Orcí's spokesperson Sallie Hofmeister tells TMZ ...  "Ms. Taylor’s counterclaim is an attempt to retaliate against her husband with fabricated allegations after he got a restraining order against her, filed for divorce, and sued her in June for assault, battery, and financially abusing him when he was vulnerable and trying to get treatment for alcoholism. Her history of violent behavior is well documented, having been arrested at least twice during their marriage--once after she tried strangling her husband and he called the police, and once when a Vegas hotel called the authorities after Mr. Orci showed up in the lobby, locked out of his room by his wife, bloodied and half dressed. Ms. Taylor was also detained after assaulting immigration officials at LAX."

The statement concludes, "Before Mr. Orci’s recovery, Ms. Taylor would ply him with alcohol and beat him relentlessly. On separate occasions, she hit him with a baseball bat, shot him with a taser then sprayed him with Mace, threw him down a set of stairs, and punched him multiple times while he was driving. In 2022 and 2023, she transferred without her husband’s knowledge at least $1.2 million from their joint bank account to foreign banks. Now, she is fabricating salacious allegations in a desperate attempt to extract more money from him."

"The Blacklist" actress Adele Heather Taylor is responding to allegations of domestic violence from her estranged husband, screenwriter Roberto Orcí ... claiming in a new countersuit that she's the real victim ... accusing him of rape and assault.

Police have identified and charged a woman accused of jumping a zoo fence in an attempt to pet a tiger in a now-viral video ... and cops say she's trespassed into more than one dangerous restricted area.

ICYMI ... the Internet was sent into a tizzy after footage of a woman climbing into a tiger enclosure at the Cohanzick Zoo in Bridgeton, New Jersey made the rounds last week.

At the time, Bridgeton Police were eager to track down the culprit ... as she violated a city ordinance against climbing over or on any zoo fence -- and violated common sense too.