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The man accused of shooting five of his neighbors "execution-style" in Texas has been apprehended after a nationwide manhunt.

Senior law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Francisco Oropeza was taken into custody Tuesday by law enforcement.

Remember ... Oropeza is accused of shooting his neighbors Friday night in Cleveland, Texas after they complained about him firing off rounds for target practice on his property.

Oropeza's alleged rampage killed 5 people in the home next to his ... including an 8-year-old child. Cops say he was intoxicated on alcohol and/or drugs and used an AR-15-style rifle in the slayings.

Police say Oropeza was shooting his rifle in his yard late Friday night when his neighbors walked up to the fence dividing their properties and asked him to stop shooting his gun because their baby was trying to sleep.

Cops say Oropez grew annoyed, telling his neighbors ... "I'll do what I want to in my front yard." Police say he then marched over to the neighbor's house, went inside and started shooting.

There were at least 10 people inside the home when Oropeza opened fire, police said, and most were killed at super close range and from the neck up.

Oropeza was reportedly caught on a Ring doorbell camera entering the home ... and 3 kids were discovered without physical injuries inside the house. They were found drenched in blood in what was sure to be a traumatic experience. The women who were killed were using their bodies to shield the kids.

A Texas judge issued an arrest warrant for Oropeza after the shootings, and he went on the run. Investigators thought he may have fled the country, and the FBI joined police in a manhunt.

The firearm Oropeza allegedly used in the deadly rampage has since been recovered ... along with some of his clothes and his cell phone.

Steven Tyler is firing back at the woman suing him for allegedly sexually assaulting her 50 years ago when she was 16 years old ... claiming she can't use his memoir as a weapon in court.

The legendary Aerosmith frontman says his accuser, Julia Holcomb, shouldn't be able to use his memoirs in which he discussed the relationship decades later to sue him for intentionally causing her severe emotional distress.

Julia sued Steven in December, accusing him of sexual assault, sexual battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

She claims he first had sex with her when she was 16 and he was 25, impregnating her when she was 17 and pushing her to have an abortion. They were in a relationship for 3 years.

In new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Steven claims the alleged distress Julia experienced back in 2011 was not a result of his memoir published that year, in which he used a pseudonym to describe their relationship from Tyler's perspective, but rather from a Star Magazine article published months before his memoir was released.

Tyler says he purposefully did not mention Julia by name in his memoirs when he wrote about them having sex back in the day, and he says she's got no problem using their relationship to promote herself in the media.

What's more, Tyler says she waited 11 years to sue him after his memoir was published ... and he says she's barred from suing him for intentional infliction of emotional distress because of a 2-year statute of limitations on such claims.

Tyler also claims his memoirs are a vessel to share his own experiences from his "newsworthy life" ... and he says her IIED claim is therefore barred by the First Amendment.

We reached out to Julia's camp ... so far no word back.

TikTok star Brayden Whaley is going through a nasty breakup with his ex-girlfriend, influencer McKenzi Brooke ... and things are so ugly, he's seeking court-ordered protection from her.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Brayden claims McKenzi falsely accused him of getting physical with her when she went on a recent podcast and said he "laid hands on her" ... something Brayden denies.

Instead, Brayden claims he was at a party where McKenzi and her mom were trying to convince him to commit to an exclusive relationship with her to boost her social media brand, ganging up on him and refusing to let him leave the party.

Brayden says he only gently put his hands on her to move her out of his way so he could leave, but he claims she blocked him from leaving and begged him to stay in a relationship with her.

He refused and now claims McKenzi's "turned jealous, controlling and threatening" ... as evidenced by her trashing him on the podcast. He also claims her alleged lies are hurting him financially and emotionally.

Brayden says McKenzi keeps posting about him online, painting him in a negative light, and he and his family feel threatened because she has legions of followers who they fear might retaliate on her behalf.

What's more, Brayden says he's tried to get McKenzi to take down the posts ... but says she has continued to escalate her online attacks.

A Southern California police officer beat an unarmed Black man with a baton during an arrest -- which has echoes of Rodney King ... but cops say this guy instigated it.

Check out this video, obtained by TMZ, which shows an older gentleman retreating with his hands up while being pursued by a Barstow PD officer Friday afternoon in the desert community. The cop has his baton raised as he inches closer, and eventually swings on him.

You can see the officer appear to give an order -- which looks like he might've been saying get on the ground -- before manhandling the older guy and subduing him. However, as the photog who took this noted, the cop starts to wail on the dude even after he's down.

He gets about 4 good swings on him before other officers arrive to the scene and help contain the situation. The man is then handcuffed and led over to EMTs, who briefly check him ... and he's then led to a police cruiser and taken away. The man can be seen limping.

Barstow PD tells TMZ the man who took the beating is 43-year-old Gary Christian -- whom they say was wanted on an open felony warrant for a probation violation ... and who this officer recognized on Main Street. BPD says the officer attempted to make contact and place Christian under arrest, but claim Christian assaulted the officer not once ... but twice.

BPD says the officer deployed his taser unsuccessfully, at which point ... the baton came out. They say Christian was treated at a hospital for minor contusions to his leg ... and was then booked into the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Dept. High Desert Detention Center.

Barstow PD also says this ... "The department has a copy of that video and would like the community to know that a comprehensive administrative investigation will be conducted into this incident to determine if the force used by the officer was within Barstow Police Department policy and current law." In other words, they'll look into this internally.

Of course, the comparison to the beating Rodney King received in the '90s will undoubtedly be made. That incident led to destructive riots in and around Los Angeles -- and ultimately came to affect lots of other LA-based events in the years that followed.

The more concerning part about this, though, is that Barstow PD had another race-related police incident a few years ago ... when their officers shot and killed an unarmed Black in a parking lot as they felt an apparent threat. His name was Diante Yarber, a 26-year-old.

His family said the killing was unjustified ... but after a review by the authorities, they found the officers had a reasonable belief that their lives were in danger, and that deadly force was warranted. They fired around 30 bullets at his parked car, which was in a Walmart lot.

Considering the history in that town already, something tells us the community isn't going to take this latest incident very well. Fact is, it certainly looks to be excessive force on its face.

Bam Margera didn't lose his appetite after surrendering to police to face charges for allegedly assaulting his brother ... getting right back to normal life with his girlfriend and her kid.

TMZ obtained these photos of Bam breaking bread with his chick and her 8-year-old daughter Thursday afternoon in West Chester, PA ... only hours after turning himself into cops and a subsequent court appearance.

Folks who were there say Bam hit up a restaurant called Stove & Tap ... with his group chowing down on french fries, plus macaroni and cheese.

We're also told Bam was very respectful to restaurant staff, generally coming off as being very mellow ... and ducking outside a couple times to smoke some cigarettes.

Bam was right back to normal life after being on the run from police for a few days ... as we reported, he had a warrant out for his arrest after allegedly getting into an altercation with his brother, with police claiming Bam threatened to put a bullet in his sibling's head.

Bam's brother, Jesse, also claimed the former "Jackass" star has been using meth, making the allegations on social media ... and the judge ordered Bam to stay away from Jesse and complete a drug and alcohol assessment.

Friday, Bam posted a series of photos on Instagram, claiming he was finished drinking alcohol and saying he'd recently taken a drug test to prove he wasn't on meth. Bam also vowed to get Jesse removed from a home he's allegedly been renting from Bam.

TMZ broke the story ... Bam allegedly called his family while on the run, accusing them of stealing money from him and telling them how much he hated them for putting him in a treatment center.

The hits keep coming for Crazy Town singer Shifty Shellshock ... because a few days after getting into a fistfight with a bandmate, cops say he was driving drunk.

Shifty was arrested for driving under the influence early Tuesday morning in South Carolina.

According to the police report, obtained by TMZ, cops in Myrtle Beach say they were told to be on the lookout for a black SUV with California plates swerving in and out of lanes.

Police say they then got a call about a driver falling asleep behind the wheel of a black SUV at a red light. When they found the black SUV, cops say Shifty was driving and showing signs of being impaired.

Once they pulled him over, the officers say he was lethargic, slurred his words and bombed a field sobriety test. Shifty, who's publicly battled addiction for years, was arrested and charged with DUI.

As we reported, Crazy Town was in Myrtle Beach last weekend for a show, but the lowlight turned out to be Shifty and fellow bandmate Bobby Reeves brawling on video.

Kanye West says he never screwed his ex-business manager out of a payday in a new countersuit ... firing back with claims their arrangement came about when he was stressed out and in the middle of his divorce.

TMZ Hip Hop obtained docs filed by Kanye and his Yeezy brand ... where he claims the deal he struck with Thomas St. John isn't enforceable because he signed it without help from a lawyer when he was "sleep-deprived, stressed, anxious, and under duress."

According to the lawsuit, Ye says he met St. John around March 2022 -- and they sketched out a deal that would place him on a $300k monthly retainer.

Kanye admits the two met during one of his many social media meltdowns -- and St. John swooped in as a respected biz manager who could steer the ship back on course.

Although Ye admits to signing a document with St. John in May 2022 ... he claims he did so without the presence and counsel of his lawyers, and as his high-profile divorce with Kim Kardashian was taking a serious toll.

Ye also says the increased volume of paparazzi encounters amid the divorce was causing sleep deprivation, stress and anxiousness.

Ye is also complaining about a clause in the "barebones" agreement that prevented St. John from being terminated for at least the first 18 months ... essentially guaranteeing his bank account stayed stacked with Ye's funds.

Coach Monica Aldama, known from the hit Netflix series "Cheer," is pushing back on the claims and lawsuit against her ... saying in no way did she try to silence one of her cheerleader's claims of sexual assault.

Aldama tells TMZ ... she's "heartbroken by the false allegations" made against her by former Navarro College and cheer squad member Madi Lane -- adding the safety of her students is a top priority.

Aldama says she worked "year after year" to keep Navarro Cheer a safe space, adding she'd never remain silent about sexual assault claims "if I were aware that any sexual misconduct occurred in the Cheer program."

Navarro College, which is also getting sued by Lane, echoed Aldama's denial -- with a rep telling us it's prepared to "vigorously defend itself in court."

As we reported, Lane claims she was sexually assaulted by a fellow teammate in 2021 during her freshman year ... saying she brought it to Aldama's attention, but was allegedly told, "If you keep quiet, I’ll make sure you can cheer anywhere you want."

Bam Margera is no longer on the run in Pennsylvania, surrendering to face charges for allegedly assaulting his brother ... and speaking out with details of how he says it all went down.

Bam turned himself in Thursday, days after cops in PA put out a warrant for his arrest. It was Sunday when Bam allegedly got in an altercation with his brother, where cops say he threatened to put a bullet in his head.

The Pennsylvania State Police tells TMZ ... Bam appeared in court for his first appearance and his bail was set at $50,000. He's due back in court at the end of May.

According to court docs, the judge ordered Bam to complete a drug and alcohol assessment. He was also ordered to stay away from his brother and the other victims and his brother's house. The judge said Bam has to get permission from the Pretrial Services Department if he wants to leave the state of Pennsylvania.

Upon turning himself in, Bam shared a photo of himself in front of the courthouse on social media and captioned it, "I just got out of the courthouse with my lawyers. Everything went great and the false accusations of what my brother says are not true and he will be sued for defamation as well as being evicted from castle bam sooner than later. The reason I lost my cool is because I read his phone saying he wants me back in California and he wants to find a way to 302 me. F*** him"

Bam's attorney Michael van der Veen tells TMZ... “He was arraigned and entered his plea of not guilty. He was released on an unsecured bail. Mr. Margera enjoys all of his constitutional rights, including the presumption of innocence. The wild rumors regarding his behavior this week are absolutely false. He is in good health and in good spirits.”

TMZ broke the story ... cops were called to a home in Pocopson Township, PA Sunday where Bam's brother, Jess, claimed Bam attacked him, hitting him multiple times in the head. Jess said Bam was enraged, allegedly saying, "I'll kill you. I'll put a bullet in your head".

Jess said Bam fled into the woods after the alleged attack.

TMZ broke the story ... Bam allegedly made phone calls to his family while on the run, seemingly intoxicated, telling everyone how much he hated them for putting him in a treatment center last year and accusing them of stealing money from him.

Bam Margera is on the run from cops, but he's still contacting family members with disturbing and aggressive phone calls ... blaming them for his struggles.

Sources close to Margera tell us ... Bam's family is clueless as to where he fled since disappearing Sunday. We're told everyone who loves Bam is extremely worried -- he's been a loose cannon lately and they want him to come home so they can help him.

What's more ... our sources say Bam has made random calls to family members -- seemingly intoxicated -- telling them how much he hates all of them for putting him in a Florida treatment center last year. He's also accusing them of selling his home and stealing money. He trusts no one and has threatened to sue them for money he claims they stole from him.

During these phone calls, we're told Bam refuses to disclose his location ... they don't even know if he's still in Pennsylvania. Our sources say cops are interviewing people and trying to determine his whereabouts.

Bam doesn't have a cell phone, and cops have allegedly told the family they aren't working to ping the girlfriend's cell (he's allegedly traveling with her) because the case isn't considered a priority.

TMZ broke the story ... cops were called to a home in Pocopson Township Sunday, April 23 after Bam's brother, Jess, says Bam attacked him, striking him multiple times in the head. Jess says Bam was enraged, allegedly saying, "I'll kill you. I'll put a bullet in your head."

Jess says Bam fled into the woods behind the house after the alleged attack, and cops have not been able to locate him since.

Tyrese Gibson says he can pay the more than half a million bucks for child support and his ex-wife's lawyers -- but he still thinks the judge did him dirty, and that's why he's gonna keep fighting it in court.

Tyrese laid it all out Wednesday at LAX, one day after he was ordered to pay $636K -- with $237K going to his ex-wife Samantha Lee Gibson for back child support and $399K going to her attorneys.

He's got no doubts he can cover the steep fee, and confirms he'll always support his kids ... but insists he won't be takin' this ruling lying down, and instead plans to appeal it.

You gotta see him boldly declare his battle will be one for the ages ... one that actually changes laws for all child support cases in Georgia. He believes you'll be hearing Gibson v. Gibson cited in future court hearings once he gets what he sees as justice.

As we reported, Tyrese refused to pay the $10K/month the judge ordered last August ... which is why he was held in contempt Tuesday in court.

He even ripped Judge Farmer on social media ahead of the hearing ... and the judge certainly clapped back, at least financially, with his ruling.

Disney is escalating its beef with Ron DeSantis ... it's now suing Florida's Governor for what Disney claims is a targeted campaign of retaliation, and one that's hurting the company's bottom line.

The Walt Disney Co. filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against DeSantis, ripping the Republican presidential hopeful as being "patently retaliatory, anti-business, and patently unconstitutional."

In the suit, Disney claims DeSantis is waging a "relentless campaign to weaponize government power" to punish Disney's political views ... with Disney saying the Governor's actions are now threatening its business, jeopardizing its economic future in Florida and violating its constitutional rights.

Disney says it regrets having to sue DeSantis, but the company says he gave them no choice ... pointing out DeSantis recently talked publicly about wanting to tax the hell out of Disney and build a state prison next to Walt Disney World.

In the suit, Disney says it's being "forced to defend itself against a State weaponizing its power to inflict political punishment" ... with Disney claiming DeSantis is orchestrating a retaliation campaign against the company simply because Disney "expressed an opinion with which the government disagreed."

Although the suit references the "government" in several places, Disney is not suing the state of Florida.

Remember ... the beef started when Disney came out in opposition to Florida's "Don't Say Gay" legislation, which DeSantis has championed. DeSantis then started targeting Disney's special tax district, which has essentially allowed Disney to self-govern in Florida since the 1960s.

Disney says the lawsuit is a response to DeSantis' hand-picked board of supervisors moving to undo a recent development deal Disney struck to strip the board's power over WDW.

Kim Kardashian says she'd be happy to give up reality TV to become a lawyer full time -- 'cause she sees it as just as fulfilling ... if not more so.

The beauty and fashion mogul was being interviewed at the TIME100 Summit Tuesday and talked about her criminal justice reform efforts ... getting into the nitty-gritty of her work to help secure the release of Alice Marie Johnson from prison.

As she was diving into this chapter of her life -- which she says has been eye-opening and life-changing on several fronts -- Kim was asked point blank ... could she ever see herself living a life not in front of the cameras? She answered quickly -- absolutely!

Kim goes on to say she and her extended family have come to cherish the private moments they share off-camera -- so a transition to post-reality TV wouldn't be that difficult.

Plus, it sounds like KK legitimately loves the art of law ... not to mention the idea of helping people in need. They discuss her progress in that regard -- Kim says she's taken and passed the baby bar exam.

Kim says she'll take the real bar exam in February ... so she could be a real-life attorney and actually pursue this new career that she's mulling over here in this chat -- IF she passes.

Kim's passion for law/justice has been well-documented over the past several years -- in addition to trips to D.C. for lobbying efforts, she's continued to speak out and highlight cases where she feels certain people have been wrongly imprisoned, including death row inmates.

It's interesting to hear her say she'd leave TV (and presumably the spotlight that comes with it) behind ... frankly, she's been an entertainment staple for about two decades now.

It'd certainly be the end of an era ... and we might be coming up on it sooner than later.

We covered it all in the latest episode of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms!

Larry Bakman -- an ex-TV judge on the reality show "Hot Bench" -- might end up having to answer to one himself because an attorney claims he got violent ... and has the whole thing captured on audio.

Fari B. Nejadpour -- who's been repping a woman in a DV case here in L.A. -- tells TMZ ... Bakman is representing the woman's husband. Nejadpour says the case started last fall but things took a nasty turn this week.

According to Nejadpour ... Bakman had filed a motion asking that Nejadpour be disqualified as the wife's attorney due to an alleged conflict -- namely, he'd repped the aunt of a client of Bakman's about a year ago ... something Nejadpour says is completely irrelevant.

He filed an opposition to Larry's motion, which was going to be heard Monday in an L.A. courtroom -- Nejadpour tells us that's when he ran into Bakman in a courthouse hallway.

Nejadpour says he confronted Bakman about his filing, and claims Bakman responded with hostility ... allegedly replying, "F*** you, ass****."

Nejadpour tells us he was shocked and told Bakman he was going to record him to show the judge how he was behaving. He says he turned on the recorder and started following Bakman, who he says was walking away to enter the courtroom.

At this point -- which we're told is when the audio starts to pick up -- Nejadpour claims Bakman quickly turned around and punched him in the chest with both hands ... which Nejadpour says sent him crumbling to his feet and writhing in pain.

He tells us he checked into a hospital that day, where he currently remains. Nejadpour claims to have suffered a laceration to the right side of his chest and an injury to his knee ... he also says he wants Bakman prosecuted.

LAPD tells us a battery report was filed, and they're investigating. We're told Bakman hasn't been arrested.

We also reached out to Bakman, who declined to comment.

The judge Tyrese publicly called out before his child custody hearing is ordering him to fork over nearly $250K to his ex-wife, and almost $400K to her attorney!

The actor/singer was in Fulton County court Tuesday to deal with his ongoing child support battle with Samantha Lee Gibson -- the main issue being Tyrese refusing to pay the $10,000/month he was ordered to pay last August, because he felt the judge was "racist" and biased against him.

Also, as he stated on the stand today, Tyrese feels the $10K is excessive -- he claims Samantha doesn't need that much, because she makes good money on her own.

Leading up to today's hearing, Tyrese ripped Judge Kevin Farmer in a video calling on people like civil rights attorney Ben Crump and Martin Luther King III to show up in court to support him in his fight against the judge. They weren't there.

Inside court, the judge fired back at Tyrese for his failure to cough up the money he'd been ordered to pay, and held him in contempt of court. He could have been arrested, but the judge cut him a break ... well, aside from the staggering amounts of money he's gotta pay now.

Tyrese was ordered to pay a total of $237,944 in back child support for their daughter Soraya and $399K for Samantha's attorney fees. He also has to foot a $17K bill for the special master ... a referee, of sorts, appointed by the judge to handle minor disputes during the case.

You'll recall, Tyrese incurred Judge Farmer's wrath during last summer's hearing and was nearly held in contempt back then -- so, maybe it's not all that shocking today's proceedings were so testy.

Ed Sheeran is ready to get it on in court ... the federal courthouse where a jury will decide if his Grammy-winning song "Thinking Out Loud" is a rip-off of a Marvin Gaye classic.

The singer arrived Tuesday morning at the Manhattan federal court Tuesday for his trial, and he's expected to take the stand and testify.

Ed strolling into court in a suit and tie caused a media frenzy ... as you can see, the scene outside the courthouse looks like a circus, with tons of photogs and reporters.

In case you missed it, Sheeran was sued back in 2017 by the heirs of Ed Townsend, Marvin's cowriter for the 1973 hit, "Let's Get It On" -- the suit accuses him of copying the soul classic for his massive 2014 ballad, "Thinking Out Loud."

The case has finally made it to trial after multiple delays ... and Ed's among the witnesses expected to testify.

The suit involves the underlying musical composition of the 2 songs, so the jury is supposed to only focus on the melody, harmony and rhythm.

The trial is expected to last up to 2 weeks, and all eyes in the music industry will be watching.

Stay tuned ...