Teens accused of robbing man at gunpoint

Five teens are to be arraigned today in Boston Juvenile Court on charges that they robbed a man at gunpoint near the intersection of Boylston Street and Park Drive on Saturday. The victim, whose name was not released, told police he was walking when a group of teens approached him and pointed pistols at his abdomen and at the back of his head just before 8 p.m. They ran off with a black bag he was carrying. Northeastern University police later told Boston police that young men fitting the description were seen near Westland Avenue. Boston police found two air pistols and the victim's bag in their possession, and arrested them. The group included two 14-year-olds and a 15-year-old from Roxbury, a 16-year-old from Avon, and a 15-year-old from Boston.

Taxicab crashes into Big Dig ditch

Police are investigating an accident early yesterday in which a taxi carrying two passengers drove through an open gate in the Big Dig and into a large ditch near 350 Atlantic Ave. The driver and passengers exited the vehicle on their own and were waiting alongside the taxi as police arrived. The driver was transported to New England Medical Center, where he was treated for head, neck, and back injuries. The passengers did not need medical attention. The vehicle sustained heavy damage and had to be removed from the ditch by crane.

SWAMPSCOTT

Fire hits van parked at synagogue

A suspicious fire on Saturday consumed a van parked at a Swampscott synagogue, triggering an investigation by local and federal law enforcement, authorities said. The van belonged to the Chabad of the North Shore, which earlier this month was painted with obscene anti-Semitic graffiti. Swampscott police yesterday said they have not concluded the van fire was racist or even intentionally set. However, since the incident occurred at a house of worship, agents from the US Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms and Explosives, which often investigates hate crimes, were called in, said authorities. Both incidents at the synagogue occurred during the holiest month on the Jewish calendar.

LANGDON, N.H.

Body may be of flood victim, officials say

State Police have found what may be the body of one of four people believed to have been swept away in flooding two weeks ago. Police said they uncovered the body of a man in the flood debris in a cornfield near the Cold River on Saturday afternoon. It was discovered during cleanup and recovery efforts. The body has not been identified. Police said an autopsy is planned to identify the victim and determine the cause of death. Three people died in the flooding in southwestern New Hampshire. Four others are missing and presumed dead. (AP)

WOBURN

Nine people treated after chemical spill

Nine people were sent to the hospital for decontamination and evaluation after a chemical spill at a semiconductor plant on Saturday night, officials said. The decontamination was handled by hospital staff, and the workers from Skyworks Solutions Inc. were later released. Four other people were also treated after showing symptoms of toxic exposure. The accident at Skyworks Solutions was initially thought to have been an arsenic spill, but officials have not yet confirmed the chemical involved or how it happened, authorities said.

PROVIDENCE

Jury selection to start in civil rights case

Jury selection is expected to begin this week in a federal civil rights lawsuit brought by the mother of a black police sergeant mistakenly slain by two white officers more than five years ago. Sergeant Cornel Young Jr. was off-duty and in plain clothes when he tried to assist fellow officers with a disturbance outside a diner on Jan. 28, 2000. The officers, supervisor Carlos Saraiva and rookie Michael Solitro, mistook Young for a suspect and fatally shot him after he failed to drop his gun. Young's mother, Leisa Young, sued the city for $20 million in damages, alleging that haphazard training and hiring by the department led to her son's death. US District Judge Mary Lisi threw out the case in 2003, soon after a jury decided that Solitro violated Young's civil rights but Saraiva did not. An appeals court restored part of the lawsuit in April. The new trial will center on whether the city government failed to properly train Solitro and therefore violated Young's civil rights. Solitro and Saraiva have been cleared of any criminal charges by a statewide grand jury and the US attorney's office. (AP)