Since its inception in the 1830s, the Sun has chronicled crime in the mean streets of the City that Never Sleeps, and to this day, the police blotter – or its digital equivalent – offers fascinating snapshots into lives gone wrong in the myriad neighborhoods of the five boroughs. Our aim here is to chronicle the more curious criminal incidents across New York City that, with local news coverage in retreat, may not otherwise come under a spotlight. 

Please remember when perusing this blotter that arrests do not constitute guilt, and all suspects are innocent until proven guilty. Moreover, the reported items are merely a snapshot of a criminal matter– what is known at the time of publishing. In most cases, the persons arrested for breaking the law haven’t been convicted (yet). It’s also possible that the charges brought against them may be reduced or even withdrawn

Olinville, The Bronx: “Several Pairs of Shoes Burned on Stove”

A woman was caught trying to set fire to her boyfriend’s shoe collection as a means to reach authorities. 

On the morning of December 26, the suspect was captured placing “several pairs of shoes” on the stovetop. 

The 30-year-old’s barbecue was inside her beau’s home on Willet Avenue where two of the man’s relatives were inside. 

She managed to char the footwear while the flames spread from the stove to the kitchen counter, its walls and sink. 

Once captured, the woman allegedly told authorities that she decided to become a firestarter because “I had no way to contact 911.”

The accused pleaded not guilty during her December 27 arraignment and released pending her next appearance in early January. 

Marble Hill, The Bronx: Boy, 12, “Refusing To Cooperate” After Shooting Himself

A child was fooling around with a loaded gun that managed to go off — sending him to the hospital. 

The 12-year-old shot himself minutes after 11 p.m. on Deccember 17 inside of an apartment on West 230th Street near Broadway. 

The child was spirited to Jacobi Hospital and listed in stable condition. 

However, a source said that when authorities attempted to talk to him bedside about the shooting he was “refusing to cooperate”. 

Rodman’s Neck, The Bronx: “Drunk” Driver Fleeing Police Crashes Into Police Shooting Range 

The NYPD’s training academy shooting range was greeted by an interloper who drove into the brass-littered grounds and crashed into a trailer. 

At around 1:15 p.m. on December 5, a 64-year-old driver was caught after authorities say he sped onto the vast spread where cadets and officers sharpen their sharpshooting skills — and while attempting to flee smashed into a trailer deep inside the compound. The collision sparked a fire that had to be battled back by FDNY bravest. 

The man  was taken to Jacobi Hospital for minor injuries. 

Annadale, Staten Island: Blackmailer Threatened Woman That He’d Send Nude Pics To Her Boss If She Didn’t Pay Up

A woman was terrorized by a man who demanded cash or he allegedly would send her boss intimate photographs of her, police say. 

The 44-year-old man was hit with a revenge porn rap after he allegedly called the woman at her Edgegrove Avenue home at around 7 p.m. back on December 5. 

The woman was told that she should pay the man a sum of money or that he would do harm to her. 

“I’ll send you where your parents are,” he allegedly warned the woman, whose parents are dead, should she stiff him, according to the criminal complaint reviewed by The Sun. 

The alleged shakedown artist  was exposed as the source of the attempted embezzlement and charged with attempted grand larceny, attempted petit larceny, attempted criminal possession of stolen property, aggravated harassment, harassment and unlawful disclosure of an intimate image. 

In 2019, New York signed into law tougher consequences for those who maliciously attempt to  share intimate pictures or videos. 

Woodrow, Staten Island: Burglars Target Homes With Parked Luxury Cars

A pattern of car thievery plaguing the borough led to one woman left with her Audi being boosted. 

A trio of gearhead goons wormed their way into an Edgegrove Avenue home back at around 2:30 a.m. on December 17. 

A woman discovered that the trio, dressed in all black, left her valuables alone, save for a key fob stowed in a kitchen drawer. 

The road bandits then sped off in the woman’s gray, 2023 Audi Q-8.

Law enforcement sources believe the incident is part of a wider pattern of thieves targeting high end cars parked in the driveways of homes and brazenly swiping the key to score the wheels without much fuss. 

The woman’s car remains outstanding as do the three car thieves. 

East Harlem, Manhattan: Bullet Strikes Child’s Bedroom Window 

A Harlem family were startled in the middle of the night after a gunshot pierced their window. 

The mother, 37, had put her daughter to bed in their apartment on 124th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenue at around 7:30 p.m. on December 15. 

All was quiet until she checked on the child at 12:30 a.m. and spotted a hole in the window,  some shattered glass on the floor, and a bullet fragment.

That prompted her to dial 911 and report the incident. The child was unhurt and other than the window nothing else in the home was damaged. 

Tribeca, Manhattan: Suspected Homophobic Sock Slugger Thought Man Stared At His Groin  

Someone eyes allegedly aiming below the belt allegedly set off a maniac to hurl homophobic and racist slurs and inflict a painful wallop. 

Back at around 2:30 p.m. on August 28, a 39-year-old man told authorities that while he was on the corner of Lafayette Street and Canal Street, a man was “looking at my private area” and that perceived privacy invasion set him off.

 “You’re a f—-t,” he allegedly shouted, attacking the accused leering stranger. “I kill f—-ts as N-words! I don’t like f—-ts.”

The suspect straphanger  was picked up inside a biz on Walker Street months later on December. 3. 

He not only stands accused of pummeling the human target to the face — he also is said to have swung and struck him with a sock filled at the bottom with a metal Master Lock padlock. 

The suspect then allegedly swiped from the victim’s shirt pocket his identification card and two debit cards.

Cops recovered the cards as well as the makeshift sock weapon.

A day after he was cuffed, according to Bronx DA officials, the accused appeared before an arraignment judge to defend against the robbery and assault as a hate crime. 

A cash bail was set at $25,000. 

Midtown Manhattan: Subway Pickpocket Targeting Nonagenarian Gets Popped 

A suspected thief aboard a subway train was nabbed after allegedly swiping a wallet from an elderly commuter. 

The alleged thief, 55, was taken into custody for allegedly targeting a 91-year-old man aboard a southbound 6 train back at around 4:15 p.m. on December 18. 

Cops say that the victim claimed he was on the train when a stranger brushed up against him. 

Moments later, the senior discovered his wallet was gone from his trouser pocket. 

Once the train pulled into the 59th Street station — the victim alerted transit cops of the thievery. 

He turned officers onto the suspect and they stopped and questioned him on the mezzanine.  

They then searched his person and found the missing wallet. 

The suspect, who goes by an alias, was cuffed and charged with grand larceny. 

The suspect has a lengthy rap sheet including 27 priors of mostly drug-involved busts. 

Harlem, Manhattan: Hammer Hater 

A quarrel between two straphanger pugilists ended with some punches and ended with one hammering the rival’s head. 

A 44 -yearold man, was engaged in a heated beef with a 26-year-old, on the platform of the 137th Street platform of the 1 train minutes before 5:30 a.m. on New Year’s Day, police say. 

The elder allegedly delivered a combo of punches that landed on his challenger’s  face.

That had the younger man  allegedly drawing a hammer and whacking the older man  in the head.  

First responders arrived and busted the hammer swinger  while rushing the fallen older rivalto Harlem Hospital where he was treated for his injuries. 

The hammer hitting brute  was hit with two counts of assault, assault with a weapon and assault causing an injury. He was arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court on January 2, where he pleaded not guilty and he was released without cash bail conditions.

And after being released from the hospital, the older man who suffered the worst of the duel  was charged with assault.

Morningside Heights, Manhattan: Teen Rogues Seen Running After Bullets Fly  

Cops are trying to determine the source of rogue gunfire. 

At around 5:45 p.m. on December 15, witnesses told cops they heard two gunshots and then saw four teenage boys dashing off.

A unit responded to comb around the West 100th Street and Columbus Avenue shooting scene for video and ballistic but were unable to secure any.

There appears to be no walk-in, gunshot patients to any ER and no arrests so far have been made. 

Brownsville, Brooklyn: Ex Stabs Gal’s Dog For Not Being Home During Unlawful Visit 

There’s a manhunt for a woman’s dog stabber. 

A 31-year-old woman reported that while she was at work a man came to visit her Newport Street home at around 7 p.m. on December 15. 

The man was the victim’s ex-boyfriend and he was especially sore when he found only the woman’s daughter home alone. 

The 31-year-old suspect, who was barred from being in contact with the mother and has an active order of protection against him — pulled a knife and decided to stab the family’s dog in the leg. 

He then fled and the woman’s daughter called the police.  

While the stabber vanished, responding officers managed to rush the pooch to an emergency veterinarian on Ralph Avenue and the pet survived.