LOS ANGELES (AP) — A judge remained undecided Friday on the treatment and placement plan for a man charged with stalking Jennifer Aniston and ramming his car into the front gate of her home.
Jimmy Wayne Carwyle, a 48-year-old from Mississippi, has pleaded not guilty to felony stalking and vandalism. But in May, Judge Maria Cavalluzzi found him not competent to stand trial after evaluations from two experts. At Friday’s hearing in a Los Angeles court dedicated to mental health cases, she heard arguments on Carwyle's treatment and placement.
Aniston’s lawyer, Blair Berk, spoke on her behalf for the first time, detailing two years of Carwyle’s harassment and stalking, including various failed attempts to make physical contact with the actor.
Cavalluzzi said she leaned toward sending Carwyle to a mental health treatment alternative to imprisonment. She requested another hearing, scheduled for later this month, to hear from a mental health professional before making a final decision.
Prosecutors and Aniston’s attorney will have a chance to weigh in, Cavalluzzi said.
The judge acknowledged Aniston's “very real" fear, but she said she can't ignore the opinions of mental health professionals who have evaluated Carwyle and deemed him not a danger to society. The alternative treatment option offers community-based housing, treatment and support services as opposed to incarceration.
Prosecutors alleged Carwyle had been harassing the “Friends” star with a flood of voicemail, email and social media messages for two years before driving his Chrysler PT Cruiser through the gate of her home in the wealthy Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles on May 5, “only feet away from where she was,” Berk said.
Carwyle had a stated and “persistent delusion” to impregnate Aniston with three children, Berk said, and “there is simply no way to prevent him from carrying out his delusion if he walks out.”
The prosecution expressed concern that if Carwyle were offered the treatment in Los Angeles, nothing would stop him “from traveling those few miles to Ms. Aniston,” Berk said.
Berk and William Donovan, the deputy district attorney, argued Carwyle was a present danger to Aniston and those around her. Berk said he attempted to enter her property twice, but was turned away.
Carwyle’s lawyer, Robert Krauss, said his client qualifies for alternative treatment, arguing that he hasn’t been convicted of violent crimes. Granting him alternative treatment, “is not like giving him a break or showing him leniency,” Krauss said. “Its just one thing and one thing only — and that is absolute, pure faithfulness of the law.”
Krauss also referenced a report from the probation department, which recommended Carwyle be granted probation and 90 days in jail if convicted, much less than the over three years maximum sentence for his two charges. Carwyle has been in jail since May and, if convicted, could be let out with time served.
Carwyle was present at the hearing and addressed questions from Cavalluzzi, saying he “wasn’t right in the head,” when asked about the text messages he sent Aniston. He said he has been taking medication, which is keeping him focused, and admitted his wrongdoing.
When Cavalluzzi asked how she can be sure he won’t walk away from the treatment program — a stated concern from the prosecution — Carwyle responded, “You have my word.”
Berk said Carwyle “traveled thousands of miles over a year ago “after sending thousands of messages" that reflected “his delusions and intentions to not just make contact with Ms. Aniston, but to commit criminal wrongs against her, sexual violence against her.” She added that Carwyle stressed in his messaging that he “would be unabated by doctors or others or FBI intervening.”
Donovan argued that a state hospital is a “much safer, much more effective place for him to go,” and will offer the treatment Carwyle needs to address his delusions. The prosecution also argued there’s no evidence that Carwyle’s delusions toward Aniston have stopped, even with medication.
Carwyle has been under involuntary medication for the past few months. Krauss said that Carwyle's actions toward Aniston were “just the product of psychosis from someone who is unmedicated." The government must keep its “promise of treatment rather than punishment and of rehabilitation rather than incarceration,” he said.
The hearing was postponed several times in recent months as Carwyle at first objected to the incompetence finding and asked for an opinion, and both sides sought more time to examine the case.
Carwyle remains jailed, but he is under a judge's order not to contact or get near Aniston.
Authorities said Aniston was home at the time of the gate crash, but he did not come into contact with her. A security guard stopped him in her driveway until police arrived. No one was injured.
Carwyle also faces an aggravating circumstance of the threat of great bodily harm.
Aniston became one of the biggest stars in television in her 10 years on NBC's “Friends.” She won an Emmy Award for best lead actress in a comedy for the role, and she has been nominated for nine more. She currently stars in “The Morning Show” on Apple TV+.
FILE - Jimmy Wayne Carwyle appears during an arraignment in Los Angeles, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, Pool, File)
The College Football Playoff rankings are here.
Follow live updates from The Associated Press on the playoff bracket, with analysis and Top 25 voter answers to fan questions, all in one place.
Here's the latest:
By MAURA CAREY
Oregon (5), Ole Miss (6), Texas A&M (7) and Oklahoma (8) will each be playing at home after earning spots 5-8 in the College Football Playoff rankings.
Texas A&M will host No. 10 Miami. Oklahoma will welcome No. 9 Alabama for a rematch. Ole Miss takes American Conference-winner Tulane (11). Lastly, No. 12 James Madison, fresh off a Sun Belt championship win, will head to Eugene to take on No. 5 Oregon.
As expected, the Hoosiers earned the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye after beating Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game on Saturday.
Despite the loss, the committee opted to rank Ohio State No. 2 ahead of SEC champion Georgia. The Bulldogs earned their second straight first-round bye and top four ranking in the CFP bracket, coming in at No. 3.
Texas Tech rounded out the top four after beating BYU on Saturday. All four teams get the luxury of having the first round off and will resume game action in the quarterfinals.
By ERIC OLSON
Alabama would be on the outside looking if the College Football Playoff selection committee’s final rankings echo the new AP Top 25 poll. So would BYU, Vanderbilt and Texas.
And for the first time, there would be two Group of Five schools in the playoff, with James Madison joining Tulane on the bracket.
Here’s how the CFP bracket would look if it were based on the AP poll:
— No. 9 seed Notre Dame at No. 8 seed Oklahoma. Winner vs. No. 1 Indiana.
— No. 12 seed James Madison at No. 5 Oregon. Winner vs. No. 4 Texas Tech.
— No. 10 seed Miami at No. 7 Texas A&M. Winner vs. No. 2 Georgia.
— No. 11 seed Tulane at No. 6 Mississippi. Winner vs. No. 3 Ohio State.
The Associated Press Top 25 is out, with Indiana taking the No. 1 spot for the first time in program history. Now what will the final College Football Playoff rankings look like? We’ll find out at noon Eastern.
The order of teams in the AP poll and CFP rankings have been similar since the playoff selection committee started putting out its top 25 in November.
Indiana, Georgia, Ohio State and Texas Tech are the top four teams in the new AP poll. They were also the top four in last week’s CFP rankings and it’s a good bet the bracket will award those teams top-four seeds and first-round byes. It’s possible the committee would put Ohio State second and Georgia third based on the narrow margin of victory in the Big Ten title game.
Mississippi, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Notre Dame and Miami are teams 6 through 10 in the AP poll. AP voters moved Miami up two spots — ahead of Alabama and BYU. The Hurricanes will be hoping the committee follows suit, which would grant them an at-large bid.
AP Top 25 poll rankings
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
1. Indiana
2. Georgia
3. Ohio State
4. Texas Tech
5. Oregon
6. Ole Miss
7. Texas A&M
8. Oklahoma
9. Notre Dame
10. Miami (Fla.)
11. Alabama
12. BYU
13. Vanderbilt
14. Texas
15. Utah
16. USC
17. Tulane
18. Michigan
19. James Madison
20. Virginia
21. Arizona
22. Navy
23. North Texas
24. Georgia Tech
25. Missouri
By DAVE ZELIO
Indiana’s Tyrique Tucker and Drew Evans celebrate after the Big Ten championship NCAA college football game against Ohio State in Indianapolis, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)
One team that doesn’t have to sweat much today about the College Football Playoff announcement: Indiana.
At 13-0, the Hoosiers are the last unbeaten team in major college football after beating Ohio State in a thriller for their first outright championship since 1945. By beating the Buckeyes, Indiana ended the nation’s longest active winning streak at 16 and the Big Ten’s longest winning streak in a series between two teams.
In between, the Hoosiers shed the label of FBS’ losing-est program, too.
Most expect Indiana to grab AP’s No. 1 ranking and get the No. 1 CFP seed later today.
Duke tight end Jeremiah Hasley (85) scores a touchdown against Virginia in overtime of the Atlantic Coast Conference championship NCAA college football game Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman)
Duke’s overtime win against No. 16 Virginia in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game was something of a doomsday scenario for the league when it comes to the College Football Playoff.
The five-loss Blue Devils were unranked in the CFP, which raises the potential that the ACC could get shut out of the 12-team playoff later today. Sun Belt champion James Madison could secure the last automatic bid that goes to the five highest-ranked conference champions; three of those –- the Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC -– are locks and American champ Tulane is considered the fourth.
ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips says his league deserves two bids: one for No. 12 Miami as an at-large team and one for Saturday’s title-game winner.
Alabama, Notre Dame and Miami fans probably had something of a sleepless night ahead of the College Football Playoff bracket announcement.
Last week’s CFP rankings moved Alabama up a spot, raising the idea that the Crimson Tide have a cushion to make the bracket even if they lost to Georgia in the SEC championship game, which they did.
Notre Dame has won 10 straight games convincingly since starting 0-2, but had a lighter schedule than both Alabama and Miami, which handed the Fighting Irish one of those losses. Altogether those factors complicate the bottom of the playoff bracket.
It’s one of the biggest days on the calendar in college sports: The College Football Playoff will release its second 12-team bracket to kick off the postseason chase for the national championship.
We will kick things off soon with the final regular-season AP Top 25 football poll, so keep an eye for changes there that could foreshadow what you see in the CFP bracket.
There are eight teams that can feel pretty good about making the CFP, from Indiana to Ohio State and Georgia to Texas Tech and Ole Miss.
The final four slots are something else entirely. There is a lot of uncertainty on those and we will update you throughout the bracket release.
No organization has been ranking teams and naming a major college football national champion longer than The Associated Press, since 1936.
AP employees don’t vote themselves, but they do choose the voters. AP Top 25 voters comprise around 60 writers and broadcasters who cover college football for AP members and other select outlets. The goal is to have every state with a Football Bowl Subdivision school represented by at least one voter.
There is a 1-to-25 point system, with a team voted No. 1 receiving 25 points down to 1 point for a 25th-place vote. After that, it’s simple: The poll lists the teams with the most points from 1 to 25, and others receiving votes are also noted.
Voting is done online, and the tabulation is automated.
Indiana's Fernando Mendoza celebrates after the Big Ten championship NCAA college football game against Ohio State in Indianapolis, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)
