Racist Letter Urges Family to Leave Town, Exploding iPhone, 11 Arrested at Motorcycle Club Gathering

As the year comes to an end, here’s a look back at the top 10 most-read stories on Lindenhurst Patch in 2015.

1. Long Island Man Spends 10 Days in Hospital After iPhone Explodes in His Pocket: A Lindenhurst man reportedly bent down to pick up his keys during his cousin’s wake on Valentine’s Day when his iPhone 5c exploded in his pocket, causing a trip to the burn unit at the hospital to treat a third-degree burn the size of a football on his upper thigh.

2. Racist Letter Urges African-American Lindenhurst Family to Leave Town: A racist, anonymous letter was sent to an African-American family in Lindenhurst, urging them to leave town, simply because of the color of their skin.

3. Police Release Mugshots of 11 People Arrested During Motorcycle Club Gathering on Long Island: Eleven people were arrested during a gathering of motorcycle clubs in Lindenhurst.

4. 4 Lindenhurst Residents Arrested on Heroin Charges: Four Lindenhurst residents were arrested on drug charges in a CVS parking lot in Levittown.

5. Lindenhurst Diner Closing After 61 Years: After six decades of serving locals, the Lindenhurst Diner closed for “personal family reasons” according to the owner John Loizides, who said in March it was “time to move on.” The property was sold to a developer who had reached out to the owner.

6. Lindenhurst Teens Charged in Gunpoint Dunkin’ Donuts Robbery: Two teens were charged with armed robbery of a Lindenhurst Dunkin’ Donuts after pointing a handgun at an employee and demanding cash from the register, then fleeing in a vehicle.

7. Police: Hair-Pulling Incident on School Bus Led to N. Amityville Shooting: A Roosevelt man upset that his 6-year-old daughter had her hair pulled by another student on a school bus went to the North Amityville home of the boy he suspected of pulling her hair and shot the boy’s grandfather twice.

8. Lindenhurst Native Named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 List: Lindenhurst native Katelyn Gleason was named Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list in healthcare for her company Eligible API, which allows healthcare providers to connect seamlessly to more than 1,000 health insurance payers.

9. Lindenhurst Woman Robbed in Her Own Backyard: A woman was in her yard when she was approached by a man who threatened her with what she described as a shiny object and demanded her jewelry.

10. Police: Man Walking on Sunrise Highway in Lindenhurst Hospitalized After Attempted Robbery: A man was struck in the head during an attempted robbery in Lindenhurst.