THE BRONX

*** Police are investigating the murder of a man in his car in Melrose.

Hugo Lopez, 30, was found in a Ford Explorer near East 159th Street and Park Avenue, at 11:30 p.m. Thursday.

Lopez, shot in the head, was taken to Lincoln Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Cops discovered seven .45-caliber shell casings at the scene and a loaded .25-caliber semi-automatic handgun in the car with Lopez.

BROOKLYN

*** Detectives are looking for a man in connection with the murder of a truck mechanic shot and killed during a robbery in East New York last week.

The bicycle-riding suspect is wanted for questioning in the death of Julio “Jay” Torres, 41, at his job at Truck and Trailer Services on Stanley Avenue near Montauk Avenue at 11:07 a.m. on Oct. 6, cops said.

Torres, a married father of three, was shot after his foreman intervened in a robbery across the street from their workplace.

The gun-toting thief turned around and opened fire, striking Torres in the chest.

One of the three assailants was wearing a dark three-quarter-length coat and blue jeans and was seen riding a green Eddie Bauer bike, cops said.

A reward of up to $5,000 is being offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the slaying.

*** A mystery gunman critically wounded a teenager in Canarsie, police said yesterday.

The 18-year-old victim, whose name was not released, was gunned down on Avenue N between 103rd and 104th streets at 7 p.m. Tuesday, cops said.

Police found the teen with a head wound, and he was taken to Brookdale in critical condition.

Witnesses told cops the victim had an argument with his assailant before the gunfire erupted.

The triggerman fled the scene in a late-model pickup truck with out-of-state plates, authorities said.

*** A teenager was shot and critically injured on a Brownsville street, police said yesterday.

The 17-year-old victim, whose name was not released, took a bullet in the torso near Van Sindren and Blake avenues at 5:50 p.m. Tuesday, cops said.

He was rushed to Brookdale Hospital, where he was listed in critical condition. The suspect fled and remains at large.

MANHATTAN

*** An argument between two men in Greenwich Village led to bloodshed when one stabbed the other early yesterday, police sources said.

The 36-year-old victim, whose name was not released, got into a brawl with a knife-wielding man at the corner of West Fourth and MacDougal streets near Washington Square Park, cops said.

The injured man suffered multiple cuts and a collapsed lung and was taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital, police said.

STATEN ISLAND

*** Two men were nabbed for drug possession in Annadale, authorities said yesterday.

Louis Ventafredda, 24, and Michael Costogliola, 25, were arrested at the corner of Pompey and Rye avenues at 9:15 p.m. Thursday, law-enforcement sources said yesterday.

A police officer believed the two were trying to steal a car when he first spotted Costogliola sitting in the driver’s seat of a Jeep while Ventafredda stood outside on the passenger side, authorities said.

When the cop walked over, he noticed Ventafredda holding a bag of pot, law-enforcement sources said.

With that, Ventafredda tossed the drugs in the car and tried to run and Costogliola jumped out and ran around to close the passenger door.

Both men were caught and charged with two counts of criminal possession of marijuana, police said.

Ventafredda’s brother, Vincent, was busted last year in the hit-and-run death of a Department of Transportation worker.

*** A New Brighton man was busted for abducting and beating his girlfriend on two separate occasions, law-enforcement sources said yesterday.

Tyshawn Manley, 21, was arrested at 2:30 p.m. Thursday for allegedly holding his gal pal hostage for several hours, authorities said.

The first incident occurred at Arthur and Cedar avenues at 9 p.m. on Oct. 4, when he asked the victim to get into his 2006 Chevy TrailBlazer and walloped her once she got in, law-enforcement sources said.

Three days later, Manley allegedly picked up the woman on Richmond Avenue and held her captive for four hours as he drove through New Jersey and Brooklyn, assaulting her along the way, authorities said.

The victim said Manley yanked her by her hair when she tried to leave. He is charged with unlawful imprisonment, assault and harassment.

QUEENS

*** A man was collared in a Kew Gardens mugging three years ago, authorities said yesterday.

Marcus Edwards, 24, was arrested on Thursday for robbing a stranger on July 26 2003, law-enforcement sources said.

He allegedly crept up behind the 47-year-old victim as the man walked to work, pulled a handgun and said, “Hey Poppi, give me everything you got,” according to a Criminal Court complaint.

The victim handed cash and Edwards fled.

Edwards is charged with two counts of robbery and faces up 25 years in prison if convicted, according to a spokeswoman for DA Richard Brown.

*** (LCF) A man was stabbed early today near the intersection of Steinway Street and 35th Avenue in Astoria, police said.

The man, whose name and age were not released by the NYPD, was taken to Elmhurst Hospital in critical condition after he was attacked at 1:55 a.m.

Police said they do not know what sparked the stabbing or whether the victim knew his assailant.

Cops have not made any arrests.