-- Boston police have arrested a man in connection with the June 30 shooting of a 7-year-old boy who was playing kickball in Roxbury. Richard Penha, 19, of Hyde Park, pleaded not guilty to charges that he shot the boy during a shootout with an assailant on a bicycle. Authorities say that the man on the bicycle shot Penha while he was driving and that Penha returned fire, striking the boy. Penha's passenger, Kenny Francois, had previously been arrested on firearms charges related to the incident. Penha's lawyers argue that police arrested the wrong man. [WBZTV; Globe]

-- A 21-year-old Hyde Park man was arrested last night in the July 4th murder of Ronald Marc, the 17-year-old Hyde Park boy who was shot to death outside a holiday cookout. [BPDNews]

-- Boston police also arrested a 21-year-old Dorchester man in connection with the June 26 non-fatal shooting of a man at Nightingale and Wales Streets in Dorchester. The suspect had shot himself in the foot. [BPDNews]

-- Somerville police arrested a man in connection with the Sunday rape of a 23-year-old Tufts student. Michael K. Mahoney, whom police also suspect in connection with a June 28 assault, had been arrested in March for biting his own mother. He stands charged with aggravated rape and assault in connection with Sunday's crime. [Herald; Somerville Journal]

-- Jason Meeks, 27, pleaded guilty yesterday to voluntary manslaughter for the 2001 shooting death of Alvaro Sanders. As a younger man, Meeks had written a letter begging Governor William Weld to "Stop the violence." [Herald]

-- Rodrick Taylor, who was convicted last week in the 2006 strangling death of former Milton High cheerleader Dominique Samuels, was sentenced today to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 years, the mandatory minimum sentence for second degree murder. After Taylor murdered Samuels, he burned her body and left it in Franklin Park. [Globe]

All charges alleged until proven under law.