John Harper, of 1426 N. Burling St., learned the importance of fleeing the scene last week after police arrested him for alleged armed robbery.

Officers were patrolling on the 800 block of West Eastman Street at around 3:15 a.m. on Oct. 30 when they were flagged down by two men who stated that they had just been robbed by a man armed with a handgun, adding that the offender was in a car parked around the corner.

Police approached Harper, 27, who was sitting in a 1988 Chevrolet Caprice, and upon searching the car they found a .38-caliber Colt revolver. Harper was then put into custody, and the victims later identified him as the perpetrator.

Officers returned their belongings, which included $12 cash and a pair of sunglasses.

At 4 a.m. on Oct. 30, police officers responding to a call on the 900 block of North Weed Street arrived to find a burning car filled with smoke. Upon inspection, they observed that the back seat of the vehicle had been set on fire. Officers were unable to locate the owner of the car, a 48-year-old man from Madison, Wis. at the time of the incident. Chicago Fire Department personnel arrived shortly after to put out the blaze.

On the evening of Oct. 29, a cab driver picked up two women at the corner of Foster and Lawrence avenues and began heading south.

The passengers, both believed to be in their early 20s, told him to driver to 47th Street, but the cabbie said that he wouldn’t because he was due to turn in his cab shortly and couldn’t drive too far away from the garage. One of the women then responded by spraying the driver in the face with what he believed to be pepper spray before they both fled from car on the 2300 block of North Cannon Drive.

At around 6 a.m. on Oct. 27, a 43-year-old woman was walking to a bus stop on the 1200 block of North Cherry Avenue when an unknown man approached her and asked for a light. As she looked in her purse the man pushed her to the ground; the victim, confused, attempted to get up, at which point the man again pushed her to the ground and grabbed her cell phone. The offender tried to search the woman’s jacket but she shouted and the man fled in an unknown direction, taking the phone with him.

Police arrested Timothy C. Parker and a teenage girl for possession and use of cannabis in a city park on the afternoon of Oct. 27.

At around 3:45 p.m., bike officers were patrolling Seneca Park, on the 200 block of East Chicago Avenue, when they came upon Robinson, 18, of the 3700 block of South Greenwood Avenue, and the girl, smoking what appeared to be a joint.

After spotting the officers, Parker threw the object in the grass. The officers, who had picked up the scent of marijuana, asked Parker what he had thrown, to which he replied “That was the rest of our joint.”

The girl was hesitant to give her name but did relinquish a bag containing 9 grams of marijuana when asked if she was carrying any drugs. As she handed over the bag, one of the officers looked into her book bag and observed a silver handgun.

Both suspects were put under arrest, and the girl was found to be carrying additional small baggies of cannabis. She told police that she had gotten the gun from Parker.