Here's the top Oddblotter story of the year--just in time for Christmas! You've already seen some impressive tales, but the winning Oddblotter story of the year is a real head-scratcher. 1. The Priest Who Stalked Conan O'Brien. As if Boston priests didn't already have a bad reputation (sorry, Cardinal O'Malley, but they still do), Father David Ajemian, who had worked in Stoneham, took a shine to Conan O'Brien. The pair had a lot in common,......

--We're not sure if this qualifies as Blotter or accident. Whatever it is, it's terrible. Police in Lawrence are trying to find out if a woman was killed by a snow plow. WBZ reports that two people found a body by the side of Route 114 on Sunday. The snow plow theory emerged because the body was near plowed snow. Police haven't found witnesses. --Gia Nagy, the 17-year-old arrested as an accessory in the murder......

--Another storm is on the way starting tonight and running through Sunday evening. [WBZ] --One person died in a terrifying 8-alarm fire in downtown Gloucester last night. The fire also destroyed an apartment building and a synagogue. [Boston Globe, WCVB] --Regarding fires, b0st0n LiveJournal posted some fire safety tips. A lot of it is common sense (you really don't want to put the space heater by the curtains, ok?), but the reminders are useful. [b0st0n......

--Police have arrested a man for attacking a woman as the left the Brookline Village T stop early yesterday morning. The victim identified 23-year-old Samuel Prado as her attacker. The Herald reports that a State Police dispatcher made a connection when Prado was caught "acting aggressively" at Logan Airport. --A woman and her two children were found dead yesterday in Springfield. According to the Herald, Juan Mejia, 32, of Springfield, the dead woman's husband, was......

Some Bostonists found out about this the hard way--by actually being on the green line and having our drivers announce "last stop Government Center"--but the Green Line is closed between Park Street and Kenmore Square this morning after two trolleys collided at Boylston. One trolley rear-ended a stopped trolley, and one car derailed, according to the Globe. Not only were legions (including some Bostonists) made late for work, but the Globe reports nine people complained......

When searching photos tagged with 'bostonist' on Flickr, we always get excited when we stumble on a really unique picture, one that was created using alternative techniques. We certainly found that in this great shot by ChyLn. The artist used a strobe flash and long exposure to create this stop-action marvel. The way he composed the shot really conveys the frustration and restlessness one can feel while cooped up in a hospital room. This......

--Fires ran rampant yesterday. A mother and her son were injured last night in a fire in Somerville. One firefighter was treated and released at the hospital. [Boston Globe] --Another fire broke out in Haverhill last night, and people were injured jumping out of the windows. No one died in the blaze, but 24 people have lost their homes. [Boston Globe, Boston Herald] --The state Supreme Judicial Court is letting Heidi Erickson, who kept......

--Framingham Police had to deal with a perp so drunk and unruly on Sunday that they had to hold his head still when they snapped him for his mugshot. According to the MetroWest Daily News, Sandro Romero's wild night started when police happened upon Romero's friends, who were trying to take him home. Even though they got him home, the officer involved got called back due to reports of a "screaming man." While being booked,......

That's right; we almost had to go in the closets for a rare winter activation of the Panic Button. The Patriots were struggling on offense, dropping passes left and right. The defense really struggled, allowing Raven Willis McGahee to run amok for three quarters. Don Shula was up in the booth with corkscrew in hand. But somehow, the game stayed close. And Tom Brady had a chance to go up the field with 3:30 to......

--Laurel Sweet at the Herald did a piece on the sharp rise in domestic violence in the state. The statistics are startling. She writes, "Authorities project that by New Year’s Eve 57 people will have died this year in Massachusetts because of domestic violence - a toll not seen in 15 years." Almost a year ago, the Phoenix made similar observations, noting that the media remains fascinated with endangered women, yet no one seems to......

--The National Research Council says that the federal review of the BU Biolab flunked. Future neighbors of the lab, you might want to join an opposition group or invest in a gas mask. [Boston Globe] --BU officials don't particularly care about the report. [The BU Daily Free Press] --The state appeals court overturned a 2005 reckless driving conviction for a man who drove recklessly because he had just been shot and was driving himself to......

--The Mattapan teenager who was shot in the jaw yesterday has not been named but was a student and basketball player at Charlestown High. Also yesterday, a man was stabbed last night on Cambridge Street, and he is in the hospital with life-threatening injuries. --An armed robbery happened at the Au Bon Pain at Harvard Square the night of November 19. Matt Dunning Erin Smith at the Cambridge Chronicle reports that three masked robbers "tied......

--A man who was shot on Friday night in Roxbury died at the hospital yesterday. Ruel Davis, 20, was shot on Walnut Avenue and Rockland Street. Davis' murderer was cold-blooded. O'Ryan Johnson reports that the shooter walked around Davis' body and kept firing until he thought the job was done: "Witnesses said the gunman coolly paced around the victim and continued shooting the man as he laid on the sidewalk outside the Walnut Avenue apartment......

-- Police shot and killed a corrections officer last night. Marquis Barker, 38, an officer at Nashua Street Jail, was gunned down after stealing a police cruiser and leading officers on a chase through Dorchester and Mattapan. Police responding to calls found Barker out of control outside his Dorchester home, wielding what appeared to be a handgun. Barker begged police to shoot and kill him before escaping in the police cruiser. After crashing the cruiser......

--The man who fell off a roof and died at an Allston party Friday night has been identified as 21-year-old student Shawn Dow. Dow attended the Art Institute of Boston. Although a brawl erupted at the party, BPD reports indicate that Dow wasn't involved and accidentally fell off the roof. However, according to the Globe, "Some of Dow's friends and classmates who attended the party disputed the police account, saying a beating in the brawl......

--Another man has been arrested for impersonating a police officer, this time in Cambridge. Alixson Marc, 21, was chasing three men on Mass Ave early in the morning on November 6. He sported a badge and a police radio. Does the Romney campaign have any openings? --A recently fired employee returned to his former place of work in North Andover and started shooting this morning. Robert Hassam, Jr., 25, of Lawrence, fired on employees of......

--A Worcester doctor found himself in an awkward position when he was caught soliciting a hooker who turned out to be a cop. Dr. Peter Rice said he was "gathering information" for his research, which sounds like the lamest excuse ever. As outlandish as it sounds, we looked it up, and Dr. Rice really does study infectious diseases at UMass Memorial. We are also endlessly amused that the entire incident took place on--ahem--Tainter Street. As......

--Deval Patrick has signed a bill that expands buffer zones around abortion clinics. Anyone who protests must stand at least 35 feet away from entrances and driveways to the clinic. [WBZ] --Three men are being tried for funneling profits from charity to promoting jihad. [Boston Globe] --The injury toll for yesterday's fire in Mattapan has risen to 16, and the 2-year-old baby rescued in the fire is in critical condition in the hospital. [Boston Globe]......

Father David Ajemian, who was arrested in New York City last week for stalking Conan O'Brien, is back in town after making bail. Once home, he promptly went missing, only to be found a few hours later. So if you thought you saw Conan O'Brien's priest-stalker around the South End, you probably did. The BPD issued a report telling people to be on the lookout (BOLO in BPD parlance) for Father Ajemian. The report notes......

--Masshole victory! The Big Dig tunnels will get wireless antennas! Now drivers can be even more distracted! [Boston Globe] --Wolfe Styke, the MIT student who was stabbed multiple times by an ex, has been released from the hospital. His ex, Wellesley student Anna Tang, will be held in jail until her next court appearance on December 3. [Boston Globe] --A commuter train struck and killed a man walking on the tracks in Lynn yesterday......

For a day that featured not a single Boston professional sports team in game mode, Tuesday was jam-packed with sports news. And what made things even more ridiculous was the fact that, for a good portion of the day, one faced difficulty figuring out what news was legit and what was a sports scribe's attempt at an exclusive gone wrong (Tom Brady exclusive, anyone? Don't worry, we'll get it to it). We're going to sort......

--Don't eat the yellow pills: "Mixing cough syrup, Vicodin or Lipitor with cat litter is the new advice on getting rid of unused medications. Preferably used cat litter." [WCVB] --Another BPD (pardon us, ex-BPD) officer has pled guilty to protecting shipments of cocaine. Unfortunately for him, the people shipping the cocaine were undercover FBI. [Boston Globe] --A boiler explosion in Salem sends three people to the hospital. [WCVB] --A huge sinkhole in the middle of......

Somebody is getting kicked out of the bowling league. Erin Smith at the Cambridge Chronicle tells the story of a rumble at Lanes and Games that sent one employee to the hospital on Sunday night.* Seven people were boozing it up (no word about their game) and grew pugnacious when the owner tried to toss them. The suspects left, but they returned to kick some bowling-alley-employee butt. Believe it or not, the suspects left and......

--A cabbie got shot by an armed robber early yesterday morning in Roxbury. O'Ryan Johnson writes that the cabbie was changing a tire when the robber accosted him. After the cabbie handed everything over, the robber shot him and wounded him in the leg and buttocks. Elsewhere, early this morning, a man was shot several times in Roslindale and is now in the hospital. --More problems for cabbies: A BU student gave a cabbie a......

--Needham went into lockdown yesterday when 78-year-old Robert J. Moore was murdered in his home, prompting a manhunt and a standoff with a suspicious man at Stone Hearth Pizza. However, the guy at the pizza shop wasn't the killer. He was just acting nervous. During the standoff, a State Police K-9 unit was busy arresting William Dunn, 41, of Norwood, who had fled to a marsh. The Globe writes that Norwood Dunn was at the......

--Some local gangs have taken time out from their busy schedules of mayhem to post YouTube videos celebrating the aforementioned mayhem. Maria Cramer at the Globe reports that the gangs involved include Castlegate and Morse Street. Needless to say, police are thrilled at their good fortune that the gang members are taping themselves for posterity, but those who work with gang members are worried that innocent people might get in trouble just because they appear......

The boys are back in town, the taco meat has been brought up from the cellar, and all of New England's non-essential personnel are taking the afternoon off for a parade. (Dude...Tuesday afternoon? Really?!) The good news, for some people, is that Jonathan Papelbon's dance of spontaneous excitement and youthful exuberance has now been added to the Official Canon of Sox-Nation-Approved Quirks. The Duck Boats will slow down at predesignated locations so that Papelbon can......

Early this Tuesday morning, Anna Tang, a 20-year-old Wellesley student, snuck into her ex-boyfriend's Next House dorm room at MIT and stabbed him seven times while he slept. The victim, Wolfe Styke, 20, is in the hospital. According to the Middlesex DA's office, Tang was found with a "buck" knife in her backpack, and her jacket was covered in blood. Apparently, she also wanted to get caught and told police "Here I am" when they......

--Early this morning, a 22-year-old man was found shot in the head on Bowdoin Street. He was pronounced dead at the scene. --Last night, the Codman Square Safe Street Team heard shots fired at Dunlap and Washington. They soon found the alleged shooter, Oscar Mohamed, 19, of Jamaica Plain. Mohamed had shot two men. Both sustained non-life-threatening injuries. One of them didn't waste any time and took a cab to the hospital before emergency reinforcements......

All the local news outlets went nutty over Ben Affleck at the Boston premiere of Gone Baby Gone. They were especially tickled that Matt Damon showed up, too. Of course they both said they would sneak out so they wouldn't miss the Red Sox game. Affleck is on a real hearts-and-minds mission. On Tuesday, he went to City Hall and joined Mayor Menino to help the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) unionize hospital employees.......