The two 12-year-old boys charged with pushing a Target shopping cart from a fourth-floor walkway onto 47-year-old Upper West Side mother Marion Salmon Hedges last week pleaded (the juvenile equivalent of) not guilty in court yesterday. And the mom for one of the boys offered a tearful apology to Hedges, who is in a coma in critical condition, outside court: “It’s a terrible, terrible thing. I really hope she recuperates. I really, really feel for her and her children,” Rosemary Rosario told reporters. more ›

The Queens woman who admitted to killing her husband was found not guilty of second-degree murder by a jury today. Barbara Sheehan, 50, had argued that she shot her husband Raymond in self-defense, fearing for her life after 17 years of abuse. more ›

With more than 400 cops facing possible disciplinary charges, or worse, in a massive ticket-fixing probe currently being investigated, one of the biggest concerns for officials is the ramifications for other cases—prosecutors fear that once the names of those disciplined officers are revealed, it could jeopardize tons of criminal cases, casting shadows on officers' credibility. And already, those fears are being realized: a Bronx jury acquitted a man of attempted murder in the first trial involving a cop accused of fixing tickets. more ›

Maksim Gelman pleaded not guilty yesterday to four counts of murder after being accused of going on a 28-hour stabbing rampage, and court papers revealed he is confident he'll go free. The day after cops arrested him in February, he allegedly told a cop, "It's OK. I'll beat this. I'll go to a mental hospital for a few years and then I'll get out on the street again. You'll see." Unfortunately, he may be right. more ›

The WABC 7 weather anchor who allegedly falsely claimed she was raped was in court today to face charges for filing a false police report. Heidi Jones, 37, pleaded not guilty; she faces up to a year behind bars if found guilty of the two misdemeanors. Her lawyer said, "We urge everyone to keep an open mind until the conclusion of the case. This entire thing has been extremely stressful for her," but the Daily News reports that court papers reveal Jones, when confronted by cops, admitted, "I did make this up." more ›

Yesterday, Nick Brooks was charged with second-degree murder for allegedly strangling his girlfriend at the Soho House. Brooks, who previously pleaded not guilty to attempted murder but faced the second-degree murder charge once it was determined that Sylvie Cachay's death was a homicide, has now pleaded not guilty to the murder charge—and records show that he expressed his fears about jail while cops questioned him. The 24-year-old said, "I'm Jewish and I'm worried about getting beat up by white supremacists. I watch the show 'Oz.' I've seen what happens in jail." more ›

Last week NJ was host to its third "Safe Surrender" program, which allows fugitives with open warrants for non-violent crimes "favorable consideration" for turning themselves in. Almost 4,000 people turned themselves in over four days in Franklin, NJ, including a woman with 90 traffic tickets. But it seems that a considerable amount of people haven't kept very good track of their petty crimes: About 550 people showed up only to discover they weren’t wanted on any kind of warrant. more ›

Timothy West, the man who was accused of raping a 21-year-old waitress and then later texting her for a date, was reportedly found not guilty of all charges today, according to the Post. After the jury acquitted West on all five charges of rape and burglary, the Judge scolded him for hugging his lawyer, who was held in contempt of court earlier this week. Considering that West was caught having a phone conversation with the waitress in which he admitted on tape to the crime, it is quite hard to understand what happened. We have a sinking suspicion that a prosecutor really bombed this one though. more ›

The man accused of stabbing an 8-year-old boy in the back at the Dave & Buster's in Westbury, Long Island has pleaded not guilty to charges including attempted murder. However, prosecutors say that Evan Sachs, 23, was carrying a note explaining his attack—Assistant DA Daniel Looney told the Post, "The note states what his intentions were that evening -- to harm somebody." more ›

Neighbors are shocked to learn that Nicholas Welch has been arrested for shooting up a party near Seton Hall University, as he was often seen walking with his two young children down the block. Neighbor Leon Drinks told the Daily News, "In reality, he's not that type of person. He's a family man. You never see him without his kids." In his first appearance in Superior Court in Newark, Welch pleaded not guilty to murder and attempted murder. more ›

The Harvard Law School grad accused of setting a fire inside a 9/11 memorial has pleaded not guilty. The lawyer representing 27-year-old Brian Schroeder says his client was "profoundly intoxicated" when the fire broke out and that he "has very limited memories of being inside the building," where he allegedly torched teddy bears, flowers, notes, and other mementos last fall. After the incident, Schroder reportedly told police: "It felt like an adventure, and I thought I was dreaming." more ›

As was expected, admitted terrorist plotter Najibullah Zazi implicated his high school pals in his planned attack on the New York subway system. Former classmates Adis Medunjanin and Zarein Ahmedzay were arraigned before a Brooklyn Federal Judge today on new charges [PDF] of plotting three coordinated bombings on rush hour subways in Manhattan. more ›

Indicted Councilman Larry Seabrook won't quit. The Bronx Democrat accused by federal prosecutors of taking part in real estate scams, soliciting a $50,000 bribe, and doctoring a $7 receipt for a bagel and a drink so he was reimbursed $177, says he won't resign. When asked by the Post if he took a bribe in exchange for getting a boiler company a gig at Yankee Stadium, Seabrook reportedly said "absolutely not" four times and laughed. He vowed to fight the charges, and claimed a close reading of the 66-page indictment against him reveals he's innocent. "I think if you read it, you'll see for yourself from that," he said. more ›

The three police officers accused of sodomizing a man inside a Brooklyn subway station were found not guilty this morning by a Brooklyn jury, the Post and City Room are reporting. Despite testimony from a transit cop who says he witnessed the assault, Officer Richard Kern has been acquitted on all counts of sexually assaulting Michael Mineo with his police baton during an arrest in a Brooklyn subway station in 2008. Two other officers, Andrew Morales, 27, and Alex Cruz, 28, were found not guilty of helping cover up the crime. more ›

The City Councilman accused of fraud, extortion, money laundering, and doctoring a receipt so he was reimbursed $177 for a $7 bagel sandwich, pleaded not guilty yesterday. After getting hit with a litany of charges in a 65-page federal indictment [PDF], Councilman Larry Seabrook (D-Bronx) was released on a $500,000 personal recognizance bond. "We have no hesitation in saying that we don't perceive that a crime was committed," said his lawyer, who claimed reimbursement checks issued to the Councilman were legitimate expenses. "That's laundering? I question that." more ›

At his arraignment today, the father of accused terrorist Najibullah Zazi pleaded not guilty to charges of obstructing the investigation of his son by destroying evidence—glasses, chemical bottles and masks that could have been the materials for homemade bombs. The hearing in Brooklyn Federal Court was kept secret and not marked on a public calendar, but there was a recording. After pleading not guilty, Mohamed Wali Zazi was told he'd no longer be released on bail (before today he was being monitored electronically). Prosecutors were against letting him free because of the "gravity of his charges" and the "risk of flight," reports the Post. more ›

Finally! After grammatical errors and charges of lesbianism, Alexia Moore has been found not guilty of prostitution, according to the Post. Moore and fellow dancer Falynn Rodriguez (whose prostitution charges were thrown out on Sunday) were accused of offering more than just lap dances at Big Daddy Lou's Hot Lap Dance Club. more ›

After deliberating for just four hours, a jury acquitted the man accused of fatally stabbing a 19-year-old college student who cut the line at the popular midtown Halal Chicken and Gyro food cart. Ziad Tayeh, 26, never denied killing Tyrone Gibbons during the October 2006 fight, but he's always maintained that it was in self-defense. The bloody incident began when Gibbons, his brother Shannon, and a third man, Chandradat Deodat, insinuated themselves in front of Tayeh on the line. When he protested, an argument led to a car chase and then a fateful confrontation at a red light at 52nd Street. more ›

Today, a federal jury found two Bear Stearns hedge fund managers not guilty of fraud related to subprime mortgages. Portfolio manager Ralph Cioffi and the funds' COO Matthew Tannin were accused of misleading investors—and losing $1.6 billion—were acquitted after a jury took less than a day to deliberate on charges. more ›

While you were busy doing Sudoku at your temp job, industrious 19-year-old computer whiz Adeniyi Adeyemi was using his three month temp job to launch a $1.1 million fraud scheme, according to a 149-count indictment. During his stint in the IT department at Bank of New York Mellon in November 2001, Adeyemi allegedly stole personal identifying information from dozens of employees, using the information from more than 30 bank and brokerage accounts in their names. Over the next eight years he used the stolen identities to set up more than 30 fraudulent bank and brokerage accounts, prosecutors say. more ›

You may recall the sad, stupid saga of (former) maintenance man Robert Lopez, who was arrested in 2007 while sitting on the stoop of his apartment building with some fake sticks of dynamite he found in the trash. Lopez had brought the cartoonish-looking "bomb" home from work with the intention of making a piggy bank out of it, but when a concerned transit worker called the cops, his ridiculous legal nightmare began. more ›

When news broke that alleged Pan Am hijacker Luis Armando Peña Soltren—the FBI's longest wanted fugitive—had turned himself over to authorities yesterday, it seemed probable that Soltren had worked out a plea deal in exchange for surrendering after more than four decades in exile. But today Soltren pleaded not guilty to participating in the 1968 hijacking of a Pan Am flight from New York and rerouting it to Havana, where he has lived ever since. more ›

The six person jury in the trial of Christopher Carter – the stockbroker accused of assaulting an overly vocal spin classmate at Equinox gym – found him not guilty yesterday of a misdemeanor assault charge which could have landed him in jail for a year. Though the victim, hedge fund manager Stuart Sugarman, spent almost two weeks in the hospital undergoing surgery for a herniated disc, the jury remained unconvinced that his injuries resulted from the incident. more ›

Al Sharpton released the locations and schedule of his civil disobedience capaign, which is supposed to take place next week. The purpose is to maximize public inconvenience, and Al Sharpton decided that it would be more effective to have as many people show up as possible, as well as to let the NYPD where they were going to be in advance. NY1 reports "The goal of the protests is to tie up traffic and force police to make arrests. more ›