-- A 50-year-old Melrose man faces charges that he stuffed his pants with a bunch of road flares, told a Revere bank teller that he had a bomb, and left a 72 word note instructing her to bring a bag of money into the bank's parking lot. The note, which was TL;DR, only prompted the teller to call the cops, who scooped up Bryan Sullivan and charged him with armed assault with intent to rob,......

-- A Barnstable resident found a bag in his front yard containing a loaded .22-caliber pistol, two ammunition magazines, and a t-shirts. No word yet on whether the package was a mislaid NRA schwag bag. [Globe] -- Wakefield cops say that they busted Miguel Fernandez, 41 of Mexico, with 232 grams of cocaine in his minivan. The cocaine was divided into plastic bags and had a street value between $18,000 and $20,000, authorities say. The......

-- Bostonist would like the words "Roxbury" and "Dorchester" to go on hiatus from the Blotter headlines for a few weeks. A quadruple shooting in Roxbury left four teenagers, two boys and two girls, hospitalized last night with non-life-threatening injuries. The children, aged 15 and 16, were shot by a fleet footed gunman while they sat on a stoop on Wardman Road, blocks from the Jamaica Plain border, and within a short walk of the......

While it's long been a truism that people in Cambridge do not wear any pants, the Somerville Journal reports that Somerville's drug dealers have started strapping on two pairs. Ambassadors from Boston—where, Allston excluded, residents wear one pair of pants—have been dispatched to work out a compromise.......

(L to R) Carolyn Mugar, Ian Bowles, Mayor Menino, John Mellencamp, Casey Steinberg. Photo by Jessie Gladin-Kramer, Courtesy Farm Aid. After more than two decades, the annual Farm Aid concert will finally arrive in Massachusetts on September 20 at Great Woods Tweeter Center Comcast Center. The showcase, usually held in the Midwest and the South, has been creeping up the coast--the past two concerts were held in New Jersey and New York. You might......

-- 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......

Homemade Lobster Roll Somerville $6.32 per roll (w/ chips) There's no reason to pay big money for a good lobster roll. With a little effort, the yumminess-to-dollar ratio can be high. Part of a lobster roll's beauty is that you simply eat it without getting your hands dirty. Just like other aspects of life, there can also be quite a bit of satisfaction in self-service. Getting your lobster at a supermarket is fine, but......

-- Deadly violence in Boston continued unabated as a man was found shot to death in Roxbury early this morning. Police say that Alex Burgos, 22, of Boston, was shot multiple times on Ditmus Court, near the intersection of Tremont and Lenox. No motive has been advanced for the killing and no arrests have been made. [BPDNews] -- Police arrested a 20-year-old Dorchester man on charges that he shot someone late Sunday night. Police say......

Wicked Local Somerville reports that Somerville has passed an ordinance requiring business owners to recycle plastic bags. However, the ordinance does not put into place any mechanisms for aiding businesses in getting those bags recycled. Many larger stores currently hire private companies to take the bags away, but smaller businesses might not be able to afford this expense. We approve of the recycling idea, but wish there were better infrastructure in place to aid businesses......

-- 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,......

-- Two people were found shot early this morning in Mattapan. One of the victims, a 27-year-old male who had been shot in the arm, drove the other, a 28-year-old woman, to Carney Hospital, where she died. No arrests have been made in connection with the incidents. [BPDNews] -- James Keown was convicted today of the 2004 murder by antifreeze of his wife. He received a sentence of life without the possibility of parole. [Globe]......

The Good Time Emporium, which closed its doors for good this weekend, holds a hallowed place in the Boston Blotter hall-of fame. (This Bostonist will never forget the time that 200 patrons remembered the "reason for the season" with an impromptu Easter Sunday melee.) Were you expecting everybody's favorite go-cart/laser tag/assault and battery locale to close with a classy bow or curtsy? Good Time was not going out like that. Friday night, two drunkards......

-- A 7-year-old boy was shot last night amid the crossfire between warring youths. The child had been playing kickball near Smith Street on the Mission Hill end of Roxbury when he was apparently struck by ricocheting bullets. He remains hospitalized with multiple injuries. The shooting started when a man on a bicycle allegedly fired at two men in a Honda SUV, hitting the driver, who was later hospitalized at Brigham and Women's. The passenger,......

We freely admit it, we just love sandcastlematt. Today's great shot of the Somerville Independence Day fireworks is another example of his always fun and vibrant photos.......

-- Neil Entwistle was convicted on two counts of first degree murder today. He shot his wife and 9-month-old daughter. The defense, and Entwistle's surviving family, maintain that he is innocent. The minimum sentence in Massachusetts for first degree murder is life imprisonment without parole. Luckily for the Herald and Globe, who can't seem to find any other juicy crime story, Entwistle's case will undergo an automatic review by the Supreme Judicial Court. [Globe] --......

-- Boston police are looking for a trio of bandits who pulled off a pair robberies in southwest Boston last week. The group knocked over a Hyde Park convenience store with a fourth man on Wednesday in broad daylight and took down a Jamaica Plain bodega on Thursday night. They threatened clerks with silver handguns and netted nearly $6000 from the two stick-ups. [BPDNews] -- The notorious goatee bandit was thwarted by an off-duty Cambridge......

-- A man was shot and killed in Mattapan last Thursday night. Police say that Victor Torres, 21, was killed by a single gunshot wound. Torres was not known to police, who are still trying to determine whether he was the intended victim of the gunman. No arrests have been made. The shooting took place blocks away from the residence where five month-year-old Alianna Peguero was shot in an apparently gang-related incident. Universal Hub has......

Are pies the new cupcakes? This Bostonist hopes so. From cup-pies at the Piehole on ABC's Pushing Daisies to the opening of Pie Bakery in Newton a few months ago, it seems like we're on the verge of a new flood of sweet treats. But Petsi Pies, in Somerville and Cambridge, has been around since 2003, proving it's not a fad. Named after owner Renee's childhood nickname, Petsi Pies offers a vast array of......

-- A 16-year-old boy was shot in East Somerville yesterday evening in what police believe was a gang-related drive-by. Somerville police are on the lookout for a suspected MS-13 gang member, whom they believe fired the shots from a 1997 Toyota Camry. Authorities have not revealed whether they believe the victim, who is expected to survive the attack, was involved in any gang activity. [Somerville Journal] -- A Cape Cod massage therapist stands accused of......

-- 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......

Fun palace and Boston Blotter superstar the Good Time Emporium is closing as a direct result of IKEA's arrival in Somerville. Depending on whom you talk to, the Good Time Emporium was a source for genuinely clean family fun, or it was a breeding ground for Oddblotter incidents, such as the following: --Dudes who toted in two ounces of coke while leaving three rounds of ammo in the car. --Customers tangling with the police over......

The uteri of an undetermined number of Boston women turned themselves inside out today with the news that a Somerville man had been posing as little-known NBA player Jeff Turner on local singles' message boards. Ronnie Craven admitted today that he had been using the name of Turner, an unremarkable power forward/center who played ten seasons for the New Jersey Nets and Orlando Magic, in order to get laid. When reached at his Somerville home......

--Investigators with the ATF are helping to find out what caused the James Hook fire, which destroyed the business and 60,000 pounds of lobster. [Boston Globe, photos of the scene from Bostonist] --An open letter to a restaurant patron who must have been an absolute beast at Toro. [Undercover Blonde] --Sports fans, mark your calendars: The Red Sox are moving up their game against Tampa Bay by one hour on Thursday, to 6:05 pm,......

-- A 20-year-old man was found shot dead behind a home on Bowdoin Street in Dorchester this afternoon, according to authorities. No further details were immediately available. [WBZTV] -- Paul R. Stanley, the defrocked priest who was convicted in 2005 on rape and assault charges, has challenged the "repressed memory" evidence that put him behind bars. He has requested a new trial to revisit the question of whether he raped and fondled a young boy......

-- Police have identified the victim of yesterday's fatal shooting in Mission Hill. Rebecca Payne, 22, was an athletic training major Northeastern University student who was well-liked by her colleagues and an active member of the university. Payne was shot twice in her legs and once in her chest. Police have not ruled out the possibility that she knew her killer and have not released any further information about their investigation. Although witnesses claim to......

--An MBTA bus struck a pregnant woman and her 2-year-old child after the child ran into Washington Street last night. Their injuries are non-life-threatening. [WBZ] --In light of the traveling carnival mishap in California, the state of Massachusetts will be inspecting all Yo-Yo rides. The mere name "Yo-Yo Ride" makes us queasy. [Boston Globe] --This isn't a crime, but it is embarrassing. A New Bedford police officer didn't unload his weapon before a safety......

At first glance, Dave's Fresh Pasta in Davis Square may just look like a tiny market - there's a display case filled with ready-to-take-home meals, bottles of wine and beer, and freezers filled with assorted appetizers, pastas, and ice cream. Take a look at the wall above the cash register, though, and you'll see that there are plenty of options for eating right away. Sandwiches run from $6 to $8 and come in some......

Bostonist would like to offer some advice for future New England Real Ale Exhibition attendees: (1) Buy tickets in advance. (2) Bring plenty of friends, and make sure they do (1). Bostonist did (2) but not (1), and consequently spent two hours over the course of two evenings waiting in line to see the inside of the Dilboy Post VFW just once. There's some incredible beer in there—eighty firkins of it (which is a......

-- 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......

Wicked Local reports that two soused chaps not only puked in a cab and stiffed the driver, but actually stole from him as well. You gotta feel for cabbies in these situations. A fine fellow from Somerville and his Providence pal allegedly hacked it up in the backseat of a cab, then nabbed the driver's bag from the front seat and scurried away with it after a scuffle. The bag was located later that night......