-- Boston police arrested a woman for setting the fire that killed two young girls, Acia Johnson, 14, and her 3-year-old sister, Sophia, in South Boston last month. Nicole Chuminski, 25, will be arraigned Monday on two counts of murder and one count of arson. Chuminski was reportedly the girlfriend of the victims' mother, and the alleged arson may have been the outcome of a vicious spat. [Globe; Herald] -- The truck driver whose careering......

-- A man was shot around 8am this morning on Humphreys Street in Upham's Corner, Dorchester. Police rushed him to the hospital, and there is no word on his condition. [Globe] -- Boston Police have arrest warrants for two suspects in the January, 2007, murder of a 13-year-old in Jamaica Plain. Police say that two Roxbury teens shot Luis Gerena to death early last year. The two teens were in police custody on unrelated charges......

-- The press may have jumped the gun when it blamed our national pastime for the death of Matthew Matthew Beaudoin, 29, the Red Sox fan allegedly killed by a Yankee fan's vehicle. Police say that Ivonne Hernandez, 43, accelerated her car into Beaudoin in Nashua, NH, early Friday, killing him. Initial sources reported that Hernandez had become enraged when Beaudoin shouted "Yankees suck!" after a barroom argument about the teams. But, Donna Dione, Beaudoin's......

-- Cambridge is the sort of place where even burglars dress to impress. Police say that a 22-year-old Cambridge man broke into a house on Brattle Street aroudn last Friday, dressed in a suit and tie. The man allegedly broke a window, opened the front door, and made his way to the second floor bedroom, where he passed out. He was arrested soon afterward, and police do not report that anybody came to harm. [Cambridge......

-- A 6-month-old boy who was the subject of an Amber Alert yesterday was recovered unharmed by authorities. Police found the child, Lucas Whalen, with his mother, 24-year-old Danielle Boyle, when a cab driver drove the pair to Arlington police after Boyle could not pay a taxi fare. Boyle has not been charged in connection with the alleged kidnapping, but the boy's father, Michael Whalen, 42, has been charged with parental kidnapping, receiving stolen property,......

-- Yesterday's brutal stabbing in Chelsea may have been the culmination of a violent domestic conflict. Eugene Teixeira, 21, was arraigned today on charges that he stabbed his mother's boyfriend Shadeed Wiggins to death. Teixeira's 16-year-old brother also faces charges of home invasion and disorderly conduct after the pair broke into their mother's house in pursuit of Wiggins, 25. According to reports, Wiggins had attacked Janeen Teixeira, the brothers' mother, earlier in the day, part......

-- The story of Haleigh Poutre, the 14-year-old girl who, in 2005, was brought by her parents to a Westfield hospital in a vegetative state could not be more crushing. The girl has finally emerged from her coma, defying predictions that she would never reawake. (The Massachusetts Department of Social Services, for one, wanted to shut off her feeding tube.) Police interviewed her from her pediatric unit bed yesterday and have revealed a story of......

-- Cops had to call in reinforcements when they discovered a massive, all-female brawl in progress at a Dorchester party early Sunday. Four Dorchester women, whom police claim punched, kicked, and pushed one another, were arrested and charged with affray. The owner of the Westville Street residence stands accused of keeping a disorderly house. [BPDNews] -- An alleged burglar was found at the scene of the crime in Hyde Park yesterday, asleep. Parishioners of the......

-- Bike cops saw action in Roxbury, where two men were arrested after allegedly shooting guns near the Academy Homes project. The gunfire drew the attention of police from Boston's Youth Violence Strike Force, who chased the suspects into Marcella Park. The Tactical Bike Unit, responding to calls, finally caught and arrested the two men after a brawl. Universal Hub points out that one of the suspects was a recipient of a Boston anti-violence grant.......

-- An 88-year-old woman was assaulted in her Hyde Park home early this morning, Boston police say. Around 4 a.m., an intruder allegedly attacked the victim and fled. No signs of forced entry were reported and nothing was reported stolen. The victim may have been sexually assaulted, and police from the sexual assault unit are also investigating. A suspect, described by police as a 5'7" black male with a slight build, remains at large. [BPDNews;......

The recent spate of shootings in Boston has citizens nervous about safety, and none has shaken the community like the daylight killing of Luis Troncoso, a 20-year-old Dorchester father of two who was shot in the head while playing basketball in a quiet Jamaica Plain park. Yesterday, Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis toured JP's Centre Street in an effort to reassure business owners and citizens that increased police foot patrols will curb the violence. "We......

-- The 13 year old boy found shot early yesterday morning was the victim of two assailants on bicycles, police say. The victim, whose name has not been released, was steps from his own doorway when two bullets struck him in the groin. Police say the victim was not a known troublemaker and cast initial doubt that he was the target of the attack. The boy is expected to live, but may suffer permanent injury.......

-- A 13 year old boy was shot in the South End early this morning. Police found the boy on Washington Street shortly after 1am, suffering from two gunshot wounds to the groin. He was hospitalized and is expected to survive. His identity was not released, and police have not reported any arrests. [Globe; WCVB] -- A 35 year old man was found stabbed to death in Worcester this morning. Police believe that drugs were......

-- The Friday afternoon stabbing in Jamaica Plain may have been caused by pornography. Police have arrested Claribel Peralta, 21 of Boston, on charges that she stabbed her 33 year old boyfriend after flying into a rage when she discovered him watching pornography. Peralta had initially told police that she had come out of the bathroom in the victim's Amory Street apartment to find him pre-stabbed. [BPDNews; Herald] -- Two men were shot in a......

-- A stabbing this afternoon in Jamaica Plain has left one person hospitalized and another in custody, authorities say. The incident may have been the result of a domestic dispute. [Globe] -- Two men were found shot this morning in the McCormick Housing Development in South Boston. The victims, 18 and 23 years old, were taken to Boston Medical Center where they are suspected to survive. Authorities have not suggested any motives in the shootings,......

-- A confrontation at a Dorchester Dunkin' Donuts drive-thru turned absurd yesterday when a woman was dragged from her car and beaten, according to police. The victim had sounded a warning honk as the suspect attempted a drive-thru maneuver, authorities say, and the act had thrown the suspect into a rage. Along with an 30 year old male accomplice, the 27-year-old Dorchester woman allegedly blocked the victim in the drive-thru line, pulled her from her......

-- While many Bostonians remain only vaguely aware of the Bruins' playoff loss last night, at least three fans mustered enough anguish to make it to jail, police say. Last night, a celebrating Canadiens' fan found himself bleeding from the head outside the TDBanknorth Garden after allegedly being assaulted by a two-man goon squad. Police arrested the pair, one of whom was wearing a Jason Allison Bruins jersey. And, inside the Garden, a detail cop......

-- Richard "Pops" Picardi, Sr., a 76 year old cab dispatcher, was arrested Friday for dealing drugs from his Chelsea workplace. The Revere man was noted by police for his advanced age and his prosthetic leg. He faces charges that he sold the painkillers OxyContin, Roxicet and Percocet to undercover police agents over a period of about a month. [Herald; Globe] -- Authorities say the South Boston fire that killed Acia Johnson, 14, and Sophia......

-- A New Bedford woman who was set on fire last December has finally fingered her attackers. Police have taken two suspects -- one a former boyfriend of the victim -- into custody. A third is wanted on a warrant. The victim had been assaulted in her apartment, where she was doused with rubbing alcohol and set ablaze, police say. She suffered burns over her entire body. [WBZ TV] -- A mistrial was declared in......

If the crocuses and unexpected sunshine haven't clued you in, robbery suspect Timothy Flaherty, 51 of Lawrence, has provided further evidence that spring is upon us. Last night, after allegedly robbing a victim on Beacon Hill, Flaherty led police on a wild chase through the Common and the Public Garden before diving into the Frog Pond Lagoon to elude capture. (We assume that it looks much bigger in the dark.) Police surrounded the pond......

Update: The body of Roc Sanon, who was declared missing over the weekend, was found near Route 98 and Interstate 93. The BPD says, "The death does not appear to be suspicious." [BPD News] -- A man was shot in Roxbury last night. The man, whom police did not identify, was in his 40s, and suffered life threatening injuries. [Globe] -- Boston police are bracing for a violent summer after last week's seasonal Wednesday brought......

-- A Worcester pastor was arrested this morning for the rape of a 15-year-old boy. Tyrone Forbes, 49, faces charges that he had engaged in a sexual relationship with the child since last November. In addition to serving as pastor at Mount Sinai Church of God in Christ, Forbes also teaches music to children at the Seven Hills Charter School. The alleged victim was not Forbes's student. [Herald; WCVB] -- The subprime crisis is beginning......

-- A man killed himself after shooting a co-worker at the Alloy Fabricators of New England in Randolph this morning. Howard Trang, 48 of Dorchester, allegedly barged into the factory with a .45 caliber pistol, shot 52 year-old Gene Dure in the arm and abdomen, and turned the weapon on himself. Police have not advanced a motive. Dure was taken to Caritas Good Samaritan Hospital in Brockton. No word on his condition. [Herald; Globe] --......

-- Police have arrested a 17 year-old suspect in the February 16 shooting death of Brockton cab driver Edward Conley. The incident happened on Galen Street, a Brockton cul-de-sac. Police say that Adilson Neves bragged about the shooting to friends and gave a taped confession while in custody. Neves admitted that he had left a shoe at the crime scene, according to authorities. He was arraigned today in Brockton District Court and faces charges including......

The aide to Governor Deval Patrick who had been accused of sexually assaulting a teen boy at a Florida resort must be a happy man tonight. Charges against him have been dropped, Casey Ross reports that there wasn't enough evidence to prove the boy's story: “There was no physical evidence collected that may have been able to place both individuals together in the steam room, nor are there any independent witnesses that could do so,”......

-- A woman and her boyfriend were arrested on charges that they abused a 7 year old Middleborough boy. David Privette, 22 of Boston, was arrested Monday after the child's school filed a third report of abuse with the Department of Social Services. Police say the boy had burns on his genitals and buttocks and that Privette put them there. He was also accused of striking the boy with a belt and urinating on him.......

-- A fight that began at a McDonald's last night escalated into a street brawl that resulted in two stabbings and landed eight in jail. Police say that three girls assaulted a fourth at a Roxbury McDonald's around 7:00pm last night, a fight that ended when an onlooker called 911. Police captured the three suspects, two 15 year-olds from Dorchester and a 16 year-old from Roxbury. But it didn't end there. An hour later and......

-- Police report that a Somerville woman, aged 28, attacked her roommate, trapped her in their house, and set fire to the building. [Somerville Journal] -- A North Cambridge man who was found shot in front of his house early on Tuesday may face his own set of charges. Police say they found "a large amount" of marijuana and a sawed-off shotgun in the man's home. Nobody has been charged in connection with his shooting......

-- Breaking: Police have arrested a suspect in the March 6 double stabbing at the Roxbury Crossing Orange Line station. MBTA police apprehended an 18 year-old Roxbury man on the platform of the Jackson Square station this afternoon. Authorities say the arrest follows five days of close cooperation between Transit, Boston, and State Police. -- It was a painful case for two alleged South Boston drug runners. Last night, a Boston Neighborhood Drug Unit raided......

-- Police arrested the Dorchester man responsible for the February 27th lunch brawl at West Roxbury High School. Edwin Reyes, 39, surrendered to police yesterday. Police say that Reyes led a posse of four adults, including his two brothers and an unidentified woman, to assault a West Roxbury student who had allegedly beat up Reyes's son. Reyes stands accused of punching a West Roxbury student and driving his car into a school police officer while......