Justin “Drinks on Me” Timberlake is bringing it back this week after suing Sag Harbor Village to prevent the release of bodycam footage from his 2024 arrest for drunk driving, per this story from Fox and the NYT. As previously reported, Timberlake was arrested in Sag Harbor, New York, in June 2024 and pled guilty to impaired driving in September 2024. On March 1, police notified Timberlake of its intent to release eight hours of footage in response to a public-records request. Timberlake responded by suing the police department and the municipality, claiming that public dissemination of the video would severely harm his reputation and subject him to public ridicule. The village said Tuesday it would delay releasing the video. Read on for more criminal law news.
Mounties Dismounted, Eh? Seven Toronto police officers are facing charges arising from an investigation into organized crime, as reported by the AP. The officers are alleged to have collected private personal information and distributed it to organized crime figures, which the mobsters then used to carry out shootings and other violent crimes. According to investigators, Toronto Police Constable Timothy Barnhardt provided confidential information to Brian Da Costa, a suspected drug trafficker and the “key figure,” according to police, in a criminal network operating in the Toronto area. Some officers were allegedly involved in bribery schemes, while others were allegedly involved in cocaine trafficking. Officers suspected of wrongdoing have been suspended.
The Smoking Gun. The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Monday in United States v. Hemani, a case testing the constitutionality of a federal law making it a crime for drug users to possess firearms. Hemani was charged in February 2023 with unlawfully possessing a firearm as an unlawful user of marijuana. The district court granted his motion to dismiss, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed that order in February 2024. In October 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court granted review. As reported by NPR, the parties’ briefs dispute the facts, with Hemani’s lawyer portraying him as an honor student and valued member of his religious community, and the government’s brief portraying him as a drug dealer with terrorist ties and a marijuana habit. As noted by SCOTUSblog, a decision is expected by summer.
Operation Hot Lunch. Though he never set foot in New York while arranging to ship guns from North Carolina, William Pulley of Hollister, North Carolina, was sentenced on Monday in Orange County, New York, to twelve years in prison for criminal sale of a firearm and conspiracy, per this story from local media and a county press release. Police named their investigation “Operation Hot Lunch” after learning that suspects were selling drugs and guns from a food truck parked in front of the Newburgh City Courthouse. During the investigation, police seized cocaine, fentanyl, guns, cash, and vehicles, including the food truck. Pulley was one of 33 people charged with various offenses. Pulley pled guilty in October 2025, admitting that he obtained firearms in North Carolina and agreed with others to have them sold illegally in Orange County, New York.
Expanding “Son of Sam” Laws. The Ohio legislature is considering a bill to ban crowdfunding for people charged with violent crimes after more than $55,000 was collected for a man charged with killing a sheriff’s deputy, as reported by local media. Twenty-seven states, including North Carolina, have Son of Sam laws (named after the nom de crime of serial killer David Berkowitz), designed to keep criminals from profiting from the publicity of their crimes. Ohio’s Son of Sam law already bars people charged with violent crimes from profiting from book deals and movie rights. According to its sponsor, the new bill would close a loophole by extending the prohibition to include fundraising websites. The proposal follows the case of Rodney Hinton, Jr., who is accused of intentionally crashing into Hamilton County Deputy Sheriff Larry Henderson, Jr. A fundraiser in support of Hinton launched on the website GiveSendGo raised the substantial sum.
Driver of Flying Pickup Charged. Jacob Hankins, the driver of a pickup truck that crashed into a home in Tigard, Oregon, has been charged with possession of a firearm by a felon, among other crimes. Local media has the story (and the video). The crash occurred around 3 a.m. on February 13 after Hankins was allegedly speeding. He launched his truck off a dirt mound, cleared a 3-foot retaining wall, traveled 100 feet through the air, and crashed into the home’s first-floor bathroom. All the family members, including three young children, were upstairs at the time of the crash. Nobody in the family was injured, and Hankins and his passenger suffered only minor injuries.
To Serve and Protect, and We Deliver! Police in Washington Township, New Jersey, went beyond the call of duty after conducting a traffic stop, the Independent reported on Thursday. During the traffic stop, an officer discovered the driver had outstanding warrants and arrested him. The driver then told police he was delivering two DoorDash orders that remained in his car. Sgt. Matt Barnett and Officer Mike Scheer seized the food and completed the deliveries, surprising the recipients. As one of the officers explained, “arrested your driver, but, yea, we delivered your food.” (My colleague Phil Dixon covered a similar incident here, where he beat me to the clever tagline.)
Python Patrol. A man in Riviera Beach, Florida, called police Sunday to report a “big a** python” blocking the exit to his home, as reported by local media. Officer Josh Wilson was dispatched to the scene, where he found two men, one armed with a gun and another with a shovel, attempting to wrangle a five-to-seven-foot snake slithering near the home’s entryway. Using the shovel, Wilson managed to capture the snake in a blue recycling bin. No one was injured, including the snake. On Tuesday, police identified the snake as a Colombian Red Tail Boa Constrictor that had escaped from a private home while its owner rushed his wife, who was in labor, to the hospital. Riviera Beach Police Department advised community members to keep their distance from snakes.
