-- 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......

Boston panhandlers proudly uphold the city's reputation for being as direct as possible--sometimes too direct and so direct that it merits a trip to jail. The Globe did a story on how the police have been dispersing the panhandlers and "squeegee men" at Mass Ave and Melnea Cass. But do they really have to take their squeegee supplies? The BPD took the stuff one guy used, along with a backpack and clothes, which seems......

-- 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 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.......

-- 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......

-- 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......

--Two firefighters were stabbed last night at the Club Caravan in Revere. They were off duty at the time. [WBZ] --In Waltham yesterday, a youth football and baseball coach was arraigned on child pornography charges. He has pled not guilty and says that he was surfing child pornography websites in an attempt to catch pedophiles. [Boston Herald, AP/Boston Globe] --A BPD officer on a detail in Dorchester yesterday morning was a hero. He heard sounds......

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......

--Police put out a BOLO ("Be on the lookout") for a recent immigrant from Haiti who speaks no English and who has been missing since Wednesday. His name is Roc Sanon, he is 43 years old, and his photo is to the left. [BPD News] --Early this morning in Jamaica Plain on Gayhead Street, a woman was stabbed eight times and sustained life-threatening injuries. The BPD report indicates that the victim knew her attacker and......

--A Level 3 sex offender who didn't register as an offender and left Massachsuetts was tracked down and arrested in Las Vegas. [Boston Globe] --In Fairhaven last night, a 30-year-old man was stabbed to death during a fight that broke out at a party at a VFW Post. [WCVB] --A 10-year-old boy was arrested on Thursday in Framingham for allegedly chasing a 12-year-old neighbor with a steak knife. [MetroWest Daily News] --The BPD arrested three......

The BPD Blotter recorded a spat between two neighbors that turned ugly last night on East Concord street when one neighbor accused the other of hooking. The hooking slur didn't make the neighbor happy, and the neighbor expressed umbrage with an unusual weapon: "The victim stated that he then approached his neighbor and told him that he needed to stop prostituting in his apartment. Per the victim, his neighbor “flipped out” and started to yell......

--A man allegedly shot himself, his wife and their Great Dane in Lawrence several days ago. They hadn't been seen by neighbors, and their bodies were found when police checked on them. Police say there was no record of past incidents at their home. [Lawrence Eagle Tribune] --A man was allegedly caught shoplifting last night at Lord & Taylor's. When confronted, he behaved as if he had a gun. He took off, but police......

--A 25-year-old man was shot to death while sitting in his car early this morning in Allston. An image of the shot-out window and info on WBZ indicates that whoever killed him walked to the rear passenger window and fired. [WBZ] --The alleged child rapist who escaped from police in New Bedford was sighted at a YMCA. [WBZ] --In Brighton early this morning, a 22-year-old fell off a second-story porch. His injuries were not life-threatening......

Ex-Herald crime writer Michele McPhee hasn't completely abandoned print journalism for the joys of radio--which include sharing the booth with media maven Mayor Menino. She has a lengthy (4000+ words) and well-sourced piece in the newest issue of Boston Magazine that brings perspective and insight to the much-chronicled troubles of the Boston Police Department. The force's legitimacy has been crippled by a string of recent scandals, some of which McPhee recounts. But she's also......

--A truck crashed into a house in Brockton early this morning. Five people were injured. Not to be jaded, but does either a truck or a car crash into a house every weekend? [WCVB] --Speaking of automobiles meeting other inanimate objects, a limo in a funeral procession went off Hyde Park Avenue and drove into a tree, injuring six people. [Boston Herald] --In Springfield, a 51-year-old man was stabbed to death. The cause? Allegedly he......

--Police Commissioner Ed Davis is considering testing BPD officers for steroid use because of fears of potential 'roid rage. [Boston Globe] --In Fitchburg last night, a man speeding away from the law in his car drove into an SUV, injuring a mother and her daughter. Luckily, their injuries were minor. [WCVB] All charges alleged until proven under law.......

--Twenty-four hours after a Herald cover story about BPD undercover agents who are aiming to reduce groping of women on public transportation, the tabloid reports that they've already busted one alleged criminal. The incident was on the green line and involved a 20-year-old BU student victim. [Boston Herald] --Four bombs made of household products were used to explode mailboxes in Lexington. Police there say they've received confessions from three teenagers, who could face felony......

-- 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......

A BPD officer has found himself on the wrong side of the law after a St. Patrick's Day trip to Savannah, Georgia. The crime of which he is accused is especially unsavory: "Joyce forced his way into the home of two women and held them against their will. He physically restrained the women and pulled them out of their home, but took nothing. Officers patrolling the festival apprehended Joyce after he fled the scene and......

--The BPD has put out a missing person alert for 73-year-old Maureen Talbot of Roxbury. Talbot is showing "early signs of dementia." [BPD News] --A follow-up to the scary machete attack near City Hall. BPD police commissioner Ed Davis says the alleged machete-wielding perps "are wannabes who call themselves MS-13 but are not connected to the bloodthirsty enterprise that has been the subject of an FBI probe." No response yet from MS-13's PR team on......

Applications to the police academy will likely rise after the Globe reported today on the highest salaries from the city's payroll. Maybe Mayor Tom Menino, in his role as chief executive of the city government, can pull some strings and become a Boston police officer, who averaged $52,000 last year in overtime wages alone. Menino, at $175,000, was the 109th highest paid city employee last year, behind 107 police officers and one firefighter. Captain......

-- 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......

--In Hopkinton, 17 teenagers were arrested for a booze-fueled party. Yes, a "keeper of a disorderly house" charge was involved. [MetroWest Daily News] --As usual, the MetroWest Daily News is home to all odd crimes. While in protective custody in Framingham, a 82-year-old man allegedly set his own shirt on fire to keep warm. Police had missed a pack of matches the man was carrying before they put him in a cell, where he took......

--Two people were stabbed, one fatally, at the intersection of Melnea Cass Boulevard and Washington Street late yesterday afternoon. An unidentified man died, and an unidentified woman sustained life-threatening injuries. The two suspects then got on an MBTA bus. At rush hour. Traffic mayhem ensued. When a person allegedly commits a crime that leads to a traffic mess, they should not expect an easy escape. They were apprehended. [BPD News, Boston Globe] --An argument over......

-- 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......

--Leading off with a happy story: officers in East Boston responded to a car where a woman was in labor. After her water broke in their presence, the police helped deliver the baby, put the baby in a blanket, checked that the baby was breathing properly, and then made sure the family arrived safely at Mass General Hospital. Somebody deserves a raise. [BPD News] --Authorities are investigating a string of robberies targeting illegal immigrants......

--Five men were arrested for the stabbing death of Terrence Jacobs, 16, last May. Everyone arrested is from Dorchester, except one man from Brockton. [Boston Globe] --In a follow-up to the case in which a man stabbed his ex to death, stabbed another woman 8 times, bit a man, and then stabbed himself to death in New Bedford, Jane Doe Inc. notes that the incident marks the sixth domestic violence homicide in Massachusetts this year.......