Sherwin Rogers faced up to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty in April to first-degree marijuana possession, but yesterday he was sentenced to just three months in jail. Considering the circumstances of his arrest, one might say he got off easy—after a shootout at the Special Moments Day Care in East Flatbush, police found 10 pounds of weed that Mr. Rogers had stashed in the basement. For those moments when he needed a special time out. more ›

Just after 7 p.m. yesterday, a 15-year-old boy was killed and a 13-year-old was injured after a man opened fire on the pair. According to WABC 7, the gunman first went up the 13-year-old at East 39th Street and Avenue J and shot in him in the buttocks. "The suspect then walked up East 39th Street towards Avenue K and onto the playground at PS 119 where a 15-year-old boy was shot in the torso." more ›

The family of rap star Nicki Minaj did not have a happy fourth of July. Early yesterday morning Minaj's 27-year-old cousin, Nicholas Telemaque, was shot dead five blocks from his home on East 52nd Street and Farragut Road in East Flatbush. Last night Minaj tweeted: "*My cousin Nicholas. Also goes by Juse, or @brolicalcoholic* Murdered. Last nite. Near his home. Brooklyn,NY" more ›

Lanell "Country" Downing probably values his cell phone more than any high-powered executive in Midtown. He might even like his phone more than people who insist on using them as a DJ booth while on the bus. Downing loves his phone because his cell records were the deciding factor for police dropping robbery charges against the 26-year-old Brooklyn resident. more ›

An off-duty corrections officer shot and wounded a man at a McDonald's in East Flatbush this afternoon. Witnesses said a neighborhood man "with mental problems" started harassing a 67-year-old customer waiting on line for food at the McDonald's on Church Ave near Kings Highway. "The guy came in and was looking to fight anyone he could find," witness Stacy Houston told the Post. more ›

Last Saturday at 7:30 p.m., a 24-year-old man was fatally shot on Nostrand Avenue near Glenwood. A graphic surveillance video showing Trevonne Winn talking on his cellphone and then getting shot by a man was released, in hopes that more information about the suspect can be found. According to the Post, Winn's mother was extremely upset by the video, because others on the street appear to simply be standing there and watching Winn twitch from his injuries, "What kind of city is this? No one helped my child. Someone could have helped him and turned him over on his side to help him breathe... I saw that video. When I saw the video, I walked out of the room. That will be forever engraved in my memory. I saw my child fall on the floor, and nobody tried to help him." more ›

Three people are in the hospital with gunshot wounds during a robbery attempt outside of a baby shower in East Flatbush last night. One witness said of the incident, “It was just a baby shower that just went sour,” but somehow we don't think that completely sums it up. The victims, a 14-year-old girl and two adults, reportedly fled into the club—though the Post says it was a catering hall—where the party was being held to escape the bullets. more ›

Last month, a massive five-alarm fire broke out in a six-floor East Flatbush apartment, killing one and leaving dozens injured and homeless. The fire turned out to be the unintended result of a voodoo sex ritual gone wrong, after one resident paid 66-year-old Nelson (Pepe) Pierre $300 to perform such a ceremony. And police and residents say that so-called voodoo priests such as Pierre are just two-bit con men preying on desperate immigrants. more ›

The bodies were found in the trunk of a missing NJ couple's Nissan Altima parked on East 52nd Street near Snyder Avenue in East Flatbush. Evande Orna and Troy Edwards, both of Plainfield, NJ, were last seen driving to Richmond, Virginia on February 20, but then they vanished; Orna's mother became concerned when she didn't hear from her daughter, who called her every day. more ›

Oh, where to start with this one? A Brooklyn nun has recanted her story of being raped and dragged eight blocks through the snow by a 250-pound 6"4' black man. According to the nun, she made up the story to cover up a consensual sex romp she'd had with a bodega worker she slipped into her convent. Not crazy enough for you? Well, according to the nun's convent, the Apostles of Infinite Love in East Flatbush, neither the rape nor the bumping and grinding with the bodega boy is true. more ›

Ten people are filing a $50 million lawsuit against the city, accusing the NYPD of using excessive force when breaking up a Labor Day party in East Flatbush, the Daily News reports. When cops arrived to break up Rodney and Kesha Terry's annual backyard barbecue, which was attended by about 150 guests and their children, the lieutenant told the hosts, "The party's fucking over," according to one witness. But the brawl was just beginning! more ›

The parents of an East Flatbush teenager who was fatally shot in June are begging for help finding their son's murderer—and they think a high school classmate had something to do with it. The family of Brent Duncan believe their son was killed when a pregnant schoolmate, who Duncan teased more than a year ago, got her gang members brothers to retaliate. more ›

The High School for Public Service in East Flatbush is harvesting around 500 lbs. of organic produce a week from its 10,000 square foot front yard vegetable garden. Principal Ben Shuldiner. told the Daily News, "The goal was to create a focal point for learning about healthier eating. Sadly, access to fruits and vegetables is very limited in this neighborhood." Students ran the farm all summer with the help of BK Farmyards, and sell the produce at a farmer's market in front of the school every Wednesday. That sound you hear is Jamie Oliver crying over his missed opportunity. more ›

Police have released this surveillance video of a man suspected of shooting a 9-year-old boy in the leg. The boy was biking through East Flatbush at 8:30 p.m. on Friday when shots rang out from a nearby barber shop. The boy was struck in the leg, but was able to bike home, and from there he was brought to Kings County Hospital. more ›

Can you really blame him? A 9-year-old boy shot in the leg while biking through East Flatbush on Friday night told his mom he doesn't want to play outside ever again. The boy had moved to the neighborhood with his family from Canarsie the day before, and was biking down Church Avenue around 8:30 p.m. when he was struck by a shot fired outside a nearby barber shop. A man claiming to be the intended target of the gunfire said, "I knew what was going to happen. All of a sudden, shots started firing and I see the little boy go down." However, he doesn't seem to be giving up the name of the shooter, if he knows it. more ›

A 9-year-old boy was rushed to Kings County Hospital last night after being shot in the leg while biking through East Flatbush. His family had just moved to the neighborhood the day before, and the boy had been biking down Church Avenue—a block away from his new home—around 8:30 p.m. He then stumbled on a gunfight. more ›

A disabled teenager wielding a 6-inch knife was shot in the abdomen by police officers last night. Stanley Cherenfant, 19, who has trouble with his right arm because of a childhood stroke, got into a fight with his cousin over a craps game in East Flatbush late last night. Once Cherenfant left to get a weapon, his cousin called 911, claiming Cherenfant was threatening him with a gun. Cops say they identified themselves to Cherenfant and attempted to stop him with pepper spray, but he continued walking towards them and refused to drop the knife. Once he was about six feet from the cops, an officer shot him in the lower abdomen. more ›

East Flatbush, where on average commuters spent 48 minutes getting to work in 2008! That's nearly ten minutes longer than the citywide mean, 39.4 minutes, reports the Post. Other deep Brooklyn locales offered nearly-as-grueling journeys: Brownsville residents spent 47.4 minutes door-to-door. As for East New York, the winner in a previous survey, its average commute of 63.3 minutes fell considerably to 46 minutes. Researchers say that's because people gave up on public transportation and decided to drive. more ›

Cops are trying to track down two men suspected of mugging at least nine livery cab drivers in Brooklyn since December. In all of the reported robberies, the perps would hail a black cab and tell the driver to bring them to a destination in East Flatbush, often on or around East 35th Street. Once the taxi reached the destination, one of the men would pull out a gun while the other would restrain the driver and take any valuables he could, according to MyFoxNY. more ›

Police shot an East Flatbush man four times in the legs after he lunged at them with a machete last night. Three officers encountered the 49-year-old after responding to a call from the man's daughter alerting them of an emotionally disturbed person in their East 94th Street residence, according to the Times. When the cops arrived at the door, the man approached them with the blade. After "pepper spray failed to subdue the man," an NYPD sergeant fired 13 shots, hitting him in both legs. The man, whose name has not yet been released, had no previous arrest record. In past years, machetes have been used in multiple stabbings, including several gang-related incidents in Williamsburg. more ›

The police arrested 24-year-old Jermaine Ruiz for the murders of his 22-year-old girlfriend and her two children. After receiving a tip, cops found Ruiz in an East Flatbush apartment yesterday, covered in blood and apparently preparing to get rid of the bodies. more ›

Investigators believe a 24-year-old fatally stabbed his girlfriend and her two young daughters in a Flatbush residence, then told a relative he had committed the crime. After getting a tip from the relative, police arrived at the home on Rogers Avenue at around 1 pm today and the suspect — identified as Jermaine Ruiz — reportedly opened the door in clothing "splattered in blood." The Times reports that when officers from the 67th Precinct entered the home they found the bodies of Rogers' 22-year-old partner, as well as her daughters, ages 2 and 5. According to 1010WINS, the bodies were found in the kitchen. Law enforcement sources said the suspect might have been putting the children into plastic garbage bags, and noted: "We think they have been dead for a couple of days." more ›

Marty Markowitz and The Department of Transportation got another wake-up call on Sunday when a Brooklyn man died after hitting a giant pothole. The 32-year-old driver of a packed Honda Odyssey was thrown from his side window after hitting the hole and then slamming into a telephone pole. He ended up on the pavement near the corner of Kings Highway and Tilden Avenue in East Flatbush, and the car landed on top of him. He died at Brookdale University Hospital shortly after the crash at 3:30 a.m. "The van was on top of the driver," one witness told the NY Daily News. "They had to jack up the vehicle to get it off him." His five passengers, who told officials they were coming from a nearby club, were injured but are expected to survive. "It's crazy—I'm absolutely shocked," said another witness. "I've never seen an accident this bad." more ›

Two men killed a 50-year-old social worker in a brutal attack over fitness equipment in a Brooklyn gym, according to police. Douglas Smith was murdered after a dispute over who had dibs to a Nautilus elliptical machine at the Church Avenue Fitness Club in East Flatbush. more ›

Yesterday morning, reggae artist Major Mackerel was slashed by a neighbor who thought that Mackerel had harassed his wife. And the neighbor, Oliver Joseph, used a 26-inch samurai sword to get his point across. more ›

A 15-year-old Brooklyn boy was arrested yesterday after accidentally shooting himself in the penis. The Post's stupid headline is, "So much for packing a, um, rod," and there are going to be plenty of bad jokes about going off half-cocked in the comments, but we can't help but pity the kid. Khamir Grant told cops he was walking home from Amersfort Park in East Flatbush around 1:30 a.m. Sunday with a gun in his waistband when the piece began to slip into his pants. When Grant grabbed for it, he accidentally pulled the trigger, firing a bullet "right through his penis," in the Post's words. Grant staggered home, told his mother what happened, and they took a livery car to Kings County Hospital, where Grant was released after treatment and then arrested. He's charged with reckless endangerment and criminal possession of a weapon—the same charges levied against Plaxico Burress, who last year shot himself in a nightclub under similar circumstances, albeit with less catastrophic results. more ›

Now that everyone is paying attention to Javier Bardem and James Franco as they film scenes in Brooklyn, Gerard Butler's publicist is clearly leaking stories to the press as a reminder that he is also still in the borough making movie magic! The NY Post reports that he set for the new Jennifer Aniston film The Bounty (in which he co-stars) has been surrounded by paparazzi, and one bodyguard "allegedly flipped out and keyed a photographer's car—causing thousands of dollars in damage" to his 2003 Infiniti. The WireImage photographer was the victim of the East Flatbush incident, saying that he was "surprised that the community had my back." The guard was assigned to protect Gerard Butler, who is rumored to be dating Aniston; perhaps he was trying to stop the photog from taking this photo of Butler in flagrante delicto with another woman! more ›

On Tuesday night, Kester La Roc was killed in gunfire near his East Flatbush home. LaRoc has been taking his son Kessai home around 10 p.m.; according to the Daily News, the "2-year-old Brooklyn boy was splattered with his father's blood when the dad was ambushed and killed." LaRoc was hit twice in the chest while a friend was hit in the thigh; apparently the friend was able to bring Kessai inside the house. Police have not found a motive for the shooting; LaRoc did have a criminal record (marijuana possession, disorderly conduct). LaRoc's girlfriend and the child's mother told the News, "He was a good dad. He spent time with his son, picked him up from day care, watched him. A very loving person," while LaRoc's mother said, "He was not perfect, but no one deserves this, to die like he did. He wanted to get his life straight." more ›