Daily Voice Readers’ Choice

Nominations concluded. Finalists are being selected. Sign up for alerts to stay updated.

Burglary Suspect Headbutts Nassau County Sheriff's Officer While Awaiting Arraignment: Police Burglary Suspect Headbutts Nassau County Sheriff's Officer While Awaiting Arraignment: Police Burglary Suspect Headbutts Nassau County Sheriff's Officer While Awaiting Arraignment: Police
Burglary Suspect Headbutts Nassau County Sheriff's Officer While Awaiting Arraignment: Police A man accused of breaking into a Long Island woman's home picked up two assault charges after headbutting a Nassau County Sheriff's officer while awaiting arraignment, police said. Suhaib Ayman Al Rifai, 32, was initially arrested after Nassau County Police responded to a burglary in progress at a Jefferson Street home in Franklin Square at 9:35 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, according to a release issued Sunday.  Fifth Precinct officers arrived to find Al Rifai sitting inside the home, and he was taken into custody without incident, detectives said. The 60-year-old woman's bedroom window had…
15-Year-Old Killed, 3 Teens Shot In Early-Morning Albany Gunfire 15-Year-Old Killed, 3 Teens Shot In Early-Morning Albany Gunfire 15-Year-Old Killed, 3 Teens Shot In Early-Morning Albany Gunfire
15-Year-Old Killed, 3 Teens Shot In Early-Morning Albany Gunfire A 15-year-old boy was killed, and three other teenagers were wounded when gunfire erupted on an Albany street early Sunday morning, Oct. 4, police said. Albany Police officers responded to Hudson Avenue near Partridge Street around 2:40 a.m. following reports of a shooting, according to a release issued later Sunday. Officers arrived to find four victims suffering from gunshot wounds, police said. A 15-year-old boy was treated at the scene by the Albany Fire Department and emergency medical personnel but was pronounced dead. His name was being withheld pending notification of his family. …
Dead Passengers, Fake Drivers: NJ Woman, Colombian Lover's $13M Scheme Unravels Dead Passengers, Fake Drivers: NJ Woman, Colombian Lover's $13M Scheme Unravels Dead Passengers, Fake Drivers: NJ Woman, Colombian Lover's $13M Scheme Unravels
Dead Passengers, Fake Drivers: NJ Woman, Colombian Lover's $13M Scheme Unravels Some of the passengers were dead. Some of the drivers had never driven a car. But a New Jersey woman and her Colombian lover apparently had no trouble taking taxpayers for a ride. For years, prosecutors say, Jael Watts, 45, of Alloway, operated Pearl Transit Corporation, a New Jersey-based company that purported to have drivers scattered across the country giving rides to elderly and disabled people while also conducting outreach for homeless Americans. Watts and Luis Pino-Copete, 42, of Bogota, Colombia, were convicted following a multi-week federal trial in Utica of orchestrating a spraw…
Woman Stabbed, 88-Year-Old Beaten With Cane During Nassau County Attack, Police Say Woman Stabbed, 88-Year-Old Beaten With Cane During Nassau County Attack, Police Say Woman Stabbed, 88-Year-Old Beaten With Cane During Nassau County Attack, Police Say
Woman Stabbed, 88-Year-Old Beaten With Cane During Nassau County Attack, Police Say Two women, including an 88-year-old, were hospitalized after an argument inside a Long Island home escalated into a stabbing and assault with a flower pot and cane, police said. The violence unfolded at a residence on Empire Street in Elmont at about 1:45 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, according to Nassau County Police. A verbal argument involving 31-year-old Faheem Winstead and the two women, ages 58 and 88, turned physical, detectives said. Winstead stabbed the 58-year-old woman in the leg and struck her in the head with a flower pot, leaving her with a laceration, investigators said. He then br…
Fashion CEO, Wife Found Shot Dead Outside California Residence Fashion CEO, Wife Found Shot Dead Outside California Residence Fashion CEO, Wife Found Shot Dead Outside California Residence
Fashion CEO, Wife Found Shot Dead Outside California Residence A fashion company CEO and his wife were found shot dead outside their California home, according to multiple reports. Neighbors identified the couple as Bryan and Michelle Walker, who built the women’s clothing brand, Bryn Walker.  They were found outside their home on Panoramic Way in Oakland, California, on Friday, Oct. 2, The Berkeley Scanner reported. Police had not publicly released their names when the Scanner published its report. Michelle was 63. Reports differed on Bryan’s age. A neighbor who heard gunfire discovered the couple around 10:45 a.m., according to the Scanner, ci…
Fire Chiefs Pull Trapped Homeowner Through Window As Flames Rip Through Nassau County Home Fire Chiefs Pull Trapped Homeowner Through Window As Flames Rip Through Nassau County Home Fire Chiefs Pull Trapped Homeowner Through Window As Flames Rip Through Nassau County Home
Fire Chiefs Pull Trapped Homeowner Through Window As Flames Rip Through Nassau County Home A trapped homeowner was pulled through a window to safety as a well-advanced house fire tore through a Long Island home Saturday morning, Oct. 3, leaving the resident and a police officer hospitalized and three firefighters with minor injuries. The blaze broke out at 211 Hornbill Drive in North Hills shortly before 9:30 a.m., according to the Manhasset-Lakeville Volunteer Fire Department and Nassau County Police. Police listed the initial call at 9:26 a.m., while the fire department said its companies were dispatched at 9:27 a.m.  Arriving chiefs found flames coming from the home and c…
E-Bike Stop Leads To 70 Heroin Envelopes, Arrest: Nassau County Police E-Bike Stop Leads To 70 Heroin Envelopes, Arrest: Nassau County Police E-Bike Stop Leads To 70 Heroin Envelopes, Arrest: Nassau County Police
E-Bike Stop Leads To 70 Heroin Envelopes, Arrest: Nassau County Police A routine e-bike stop on Long Island led to the discovery of 70 envelopes of suspected heroin and the arrest of a 47-year-old man, police announced Friday, Oct. 2. Nassau County Police Bureau of Special Operations officers spotted Thomas Coyle, of Seaford, riding an e-bike west on the sidewalk along Merrick Road at approximately 3:18 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 1, according to the department. 1001261518.7O Officers activated their emergency lights and stopped Coyle near Merrick Road and Seaford Avenue, police said. During the investigation, officers allegedly found Coyle carrying 70 glassine envel…
Nassau Woman Attacked By Man With Loaded Gun, Suspect Captured After Chase: Police Nassau Woman Attacked By Man With Loaded Gun, Suspect Captured After Chase: Police Nassau Woman Attacked By Man With Loaded Gun, Suspect Captured After Chase: Police
Nassau Woman Attacked By Man With Loaded Gun, Suspect Captured After Chase: Police A Long Island man threatened a woman with a loaded gun and bit her on the lip during an attack Thursday, Oct. 1, police said. Ernest Naranjo, 22, of Westbury, got into a “disturbance” with a 21-year-old woman at a home in New Cassel around 7:30 p.m., the Nassau County Police Department said. Naranjo initially bit the woman on the lip, then walked outside, cops said. But he quickly returned, kicked in the front door, and pointed a firearm at the victim, police said. As the woman feared for her life, Naranjo struck her with the weapon, then fled on foot, investigators said. The victim called…
Fake Federal Agents Steal $6.5M In National Fraud; Victims Didn't Know They Were Scammed Fake Federal Agents Steal $6.5M In National Fraud; Victims Didn't Know They Were Scammed Fake Federal Agents Steal $6.5M In National Fraud; Victims Didn't Know They Were Scammed
Fake Federal Agents Steal $6.5M In National Fraud; Victims Didn't Know They Were Scammed Two more victims of a nationwide gold scam involving fake federal agents had no idea they had been swindled until troopers contacted them, Pennsylvania State Police announced on Friday, Oct. 2. The scheme has been linked to approximately $6.5 million in losses across the country, with victims identified in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Washington State, according to police. The releases do not say whether the newly detailed losses are already included in that figure. “There are victims that are completely unaware that they are even victims,” Trooper Lauren Lesher wrote in an email to Daily Vo…
Former Yale Football Coach Tony Reno Dies At 52 After Lengthy Illness Former Yale Football Coach Tony Reno Dies At 52 After Lengthy Illness Former Yale Football Coach Tony Reno Dies At 52 After Lengthy Illness
Former Yale Football Coach Tony Reno Dies At 52 After Lengthy Illness Tony Reno, the coach who guided Yale football to five Ivy League championships, has died at 52, the university’s athletic director announced on Friday, Oct. 2.  Reno stepped down for health reasons in February. He had been living with a neurodegenerative disease since August 2025.  Even as his health declined, Reno coached the Bulldogs through every game of the 2025 season. Yale won another Ivy League title and reached the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. His loss reaches beyond the sidelines in New Haven. His son, Dante, serves as Yale’s starting quarterback. Re…
2 Men Avoid Prison After Setting Off Blast Inside Harvard Medical School 2 Men Avoid Prison After Setting Off Blast Inside Harvard Medical School 2 Men Avoid Prison After Setting Off Blast Inside Harvard Medical School
2 Men Avoid Prison After Setting Off Blast Inside Harvard Medical School Two Massachusetts men received probation after admitting to setting off an explosion inside a Harvard Medical School research lab.  Logan David Patterson, 19, of Plymouth, and Dominick Frank Cardoza, 21, of Bourne, set off a large commercial firework that triggered a fire alarm at the school’s Goldenson Building in Boston around 2:45 a.m. on Nov. 1, 2025, federal prosecutors said. US District Judge Angel Kelley sentenced each man to three years of probation. She also ordered them to pay $28,517 in restitution to the medical school. Both men pleaded guilty in April 2026 to conspir…
Father Of Four Stabbed To Death On NYC Subway, ‘Heartbroken’ Children Launch Fundraiser Father Of Four Stabbed To Death On NYC Subway, ‘Heartbroken’ Children Launch Fundraiser Father Of Four Stabbed To Death On NYC Subway, ‘Heartbroken’ Children Launch Fundraiser
Father Of Four Stabbed To Death On NYC Subway, ‘Heartbroken’ Children Launch Fundraiser After a father of four was stabbed to death in a random attack on the New York City subway, his children have launched a fundraiser to honor his life. Mesias Lojano, 59, of Jamaica, Queens, was killed while riding the J train near Woodhaven Boulevard on Wednesday, Sept. 30. “He was a devoted father to four children, a cherished member of our family, and a friend to so many,” the Lojano children wrote in a GoFundMe. “We are his children, William, Laura, Darwin, and Edwin, and we are heartbroken.” Jyrell Thomas, 25, of the Bronx, was arrested and charged with murder in Lojano’s death, WABC r…