-- A man suspected of being homeless was found stabbed to death in a small Dorchester park this morning. [Globe] -- After Friday's shooting on the Boston waterfront was linked to a reggae and hip-hop cruise, police feared escalated violence at this weekend's Caribbean Festival, which has seen bloodshed in the past. So, police rounded up the usual suspects before the event even started. 56 suspected gang members and alleged criminals were arrested in a......

-- 70 people were arrested in Massachusetts this week by the US Immigration and Customs service, who claim they were targeting gang members. The suspects, who hail overwhelmingly from Latin American nations (with Vietnam, Cambodia, Portugal, and Jamaica thrown in for good measure) were picked up during raids in cities and towns throughout the state. 52 of those arrested are suspected of having ties to gangs. [Globe] -- Dane Boesse, 54, of Brockton, stands accused......

-- A 15-year-old from Dorchester was found shot to death in Brockton this morning. Deavante Muldergrant was pronounced dead at Massachusetts General Hospital with a gunshot wound to the head. No arrests have been made, and police have not named any suspects. [WBZTV] -- Now that Good Time Emporium has closed, the people of Somerville have sought out new venues to hold their melees. One of these test locations, the parking lot of the Market......

-- Boston police conducted a massive crackdown on the city's gangs, arresting nearly 50 suspected offenders on Friday. The sweep included the arrest of Caiheem C. Kindell, 18, of Brockton, who is suspected in connection with the Independence Day quadruple shooting in Hyde Park. [BPDNews] -- Nevertheless, violence continued across the city. Within hours of the conclusion of the BPD sweep, a man was killed on Whittier Street in Roxbury, across the street from police......

-- Boston police report that they have arrested a suspect in yesterday's shooting of a 25-year-old on Devon Street in Roxbury. William Terrell Hart, 22, of Brockton has been charged with a number of offenses in connection with the crime, which has left the victim hospitalized in serious condition. [BPDNews] -- Three boys were shot early this morning in Dorchester. The boys, ages 13, 15, and 16, were shot on a third floor balcony on......

-- A 16-year-old boy was shot dead in Roxbury last night. Neighbors have identified him as Quamaine Williams. He is Boston's 27th homicide this year. No suspect has been named in the case. [Globe] -- A Gloucester couple pleaded guilty to charges that they photographed their 8-year-old daughter having sex and posted the images online. [Globe] -- A New Hampshire man faces charges that he raped five prostitutes in Brockton. [Herald] -- A convicted sex......

-- Luis Marquez, a 26-year-old blind man from Brighton, pleaded not guilty today in the stabbing murder of a woman who was found dead in his apartment yesterday. The victim was 56 years old, and authorities have not revealed her identity or her relationship to Marquez. She was stabbed multiple times on her torso and head. Police say that Marquez, who reportedly suffers from psychological problems, admitted to the murder at the time of his......

-- A knife-wielding East Boston man was shot and killed by Lynn police this morning after a foot pursuit, authorities say. Michael Addesa, 34, was pronounced dead at 2:45am after being transported to Salem Hospital. Police say that Addesa had attempted to cut his own wrists with the knife, which was recovered at the scene. [Herald] -- In what police characterize as related incidents, one man was shot and another man was stabbed in North......

--It seems like the only time news from Brockton reaches Boston outlets is when someone gets killed. That's true today as the Globe reports that a 15-year-old male was killed there when his 18-year-old friend's gun discharged. The Globe notes that the shooting, "...took place about an hour after Gov. Deval Patrick came to Brockton to laud local and state police for a surge of officers that had prevented any shootings since mid-February." [original......

-- 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......

--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......

--Divers are looking for the body of a man who somehow went from the Mass Pike into Sudbury River last night. [Boston Globe] --The Guardian Angels have decided to send members to Brockton. [WCVB] --A State House committee will hear testimony about whether or not people can sue for emotional distress after the death of a pet. [Boston Herald] --A helpful list of the hearings about Cape Wind that are scheduled for this week.......

--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.......

--The search for the Northeastern student who had been missing since the day after the Super Bowl has ended. BPD detectives tracked him to Paris, France, and he has now contacted his parents to let him know that he is well. He better bring some baguettes back for his parents and the BPD. [BPD News] --A South End woman and her friend allegedly lured a Brockton man back from a nightclub to her apartment,......

--Someone found violent messages in women's bathrooms, along with the date of February 28 (tomorrow), at Bridgewater State. Given recent violent incidents on college campuses nationwide, the school boosted security. Police are offering a $500 reward to find out who did it. [Boston Globe, Boston Herald] --Meanwhile, someone left a note in a bathroom at Framingham State this afternoon, leading to an evacuation. [WBZ] --57 Boston bars have been given more time to install......

An 88-year-old Brockton man was shot in the back yesterday outside of his house around one in the afternoon, the bullet passing through his chest. Despite his advanced age, the Herald reports that he is likely to fully recover. Nothing was stolen, and the motive for the attack is unclear. Brockton, about 25 miles south of Boston, was already reeling from a shooting the previous day that left one teenager wounded and another dead.......

When Bobby Brown returns to Massachusetts, he always makes a splash. While cable-TV audiences can watch him sleeping and holding conversations with sandwiches, Brockton fans got to see him as he headed to Brockton District Court to address cocaine possession charges. Luckily for Brown, a court magistrate delayed the decision on whether or not to charge Brown for having cocaine in his SUV at a Holiday Inn parking lot. Laurel Sweet describes the scene and......

--Someone shot a Brockton cab driver in the head yesterday morning. The shot caused the driver's foot to hit the gas, sending the car crashing into three other ones. The driver, Edward Conley, had been sent to the street where he died to fulfill a cab request. However, the motive is hazy. Conley still had money on his person, according to sources. All that is known about the subject is that he wore a gray......

You heard that right--"on our lawn" as opposed to "off our lawn." We're serious! Turns out that Boston--Boston, home of constant tension between college students and permanent residents--is one of the best 100 communities in the United States for children and young people. America's Promise Alliance spotlights the "best places for young people to live and grow up." Mayor Menino is already touting the development in a press release. Some of the city's programs that......

--A man died this morning after being stabbed in Savin Hill. [Boston Globe] --Another man was found dead of a gunshot wound early this morning on Stratton Street. [BPD News] --Also early this morning, in Brockton, a woman led police on a car chase and put a twist in the story by taking her baby along for the ride. A State Trooper pulled her over, but she took off. The car crashed, but no one......

After what could be considered a triumphant show at this year's Boston Music Awards, Bobby Brown still can't find any love from local law enforcement. According to Laurel Sweet, the State Police want to charge Brown with cocaine possession. The state police had to deal with Brown, who caused a ruckus at a Holiday Inn in Brockton last December and allegedly had some cocaine. Brown's case will be heard in Brockton District Court on February......

The problems at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner haven't gone away with the departure of Mark Flomenbaum. In December, someone at the office picked up the wrong body from a Brockton hospital. While the incident didn't go quite as far as the wrong body winding up in someone else's grave, the employee was clearly confused. Luckily, someone at the South Boston office realized they had the wrong person and returned the body to......

--In Suffolk Superior Court today, Masha Badinter testified against Eliezer Falcon, who allegedly set her on fire after she was bullied at a 2005 party in Allston. The case is baffling and gruesome. According to a release from the DA's Office, Badinter had "second- and third-degree burns from the base of her spine to the nape of her neck," and Falcon may have threatened her to keep her from talking to police. The Herald adds......

Late-Breaking: BPD has released the news that a 23-year-old was shot and killed early this morning at the intersection of Bowdoin and Norton. [BPD News] --Party animal night: First, a woman was escorted out of Hurricane O'Reilly's after a fight early Saturday and didn't get the hint that she shouldn't go back into the place. She punched a detail officer in the face. After she was arrested, she pulled a Pumkin and spat in the......

--This is borderline blotter and definitely dumbass. A South Boston high school set up a shooting range for its students. The shooting range is for Junior ROTC students and is in the basement at Monument High School. According to the Herald, "A school employee notified the Herald about the practice after seeing two teenagers firing weapons at targets without supervision or warning signs in a locked classroom in early December." Weren't school officials trying to......

--Last night, a snowplow struck a pregnant woman as she was walking in Billerica. She is now in the hospital. Her injuries are non-life-threatening. The driver of the snowplow stayed on the scene, but he was citied for driving with a suspended license. [Boston Globe] --A woman riding in a car tried to remove a police barricade that had been set up in response to the fatal South Boston fire early on New Year's Day.......

--Only one woman at MIT this year was granted tenure. Uh, you've come a long way, baby? [Boston Globe] --In better news for gender equality, Massachusetts ranks fifth when it comes to the number of women in powerful state government positions. Women make up almost half of Governor Deval Patrick's leadership team. [Boston Herald] --Seven people were injured in a house fire in Brockton yesterday afternoon, including former Brockton city councilor George Papas. [The Enterprise]......

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino said he's on Brockton's side when it comes to where the World Boxing Council should put a statue of Rocky Marciano--and it worked. The World Boxing Council (WBC) announced that it will erect a statue of Marciano in Marciano's hometown of Brockton after initially announcing it would be in Boston--much to Brockton's chagrin. The Globe reported that Mayor Menino and Brockton mayor James E. Harrington got in touch with WBC president......

The World Boxing Council should get its ears boxed. They have decided to build a statue honoring boxer Rocky Marciano. However, they are placing the statue in Boston, not in Brockton, where Marciano was from and where he became a legend. Brian Ballou at the Globe spoke with the World Boxing Council president Jose Sulaiman, who verbally punched Brockton below the belt: "Boston is visited by people of the world." Does that mean Brockton is......

--At Fairview and Robert, a 15-year-old masked teenager from Roslindale tried to steal a woman's bag last night. The woman started yelling, and two people at a gas station ran after him and caught him. The perp tried to say he was only 15. Nice try, bub. He was still arrested. Elsewhere on the Blotter, police arrested a whole bunch of alleged hookers as part of "Operation Squeeze." One of them was 56 years old.......