A desk clerk for a hotel located in the 100 block of E. Harrison said a man booked a room on March 27. As the man was checking in, the clerk told him he could not smoke in his room and asked the man to leave a $30 security deposit to enforce that rule. The next day, when the man checked out, the clerk asked the man if he smoked in his room. He said he had not. The clerk summoned a housekeeper who said the man had smoked in his room. The guest became upset, grabbed the envelope containing the $30 security deposit and fled.

A woman told police she left a small bag of cereal in the oven at her residence located in the 1100 block of S. Plymouth March 28 at 11:55 p.m. A few hours later she noticed a lot of smoke coming from the oven. She tried to open the oven door, but could not, so she called 911. Responding firefighters determined that the oven door was locked because the oven was on self-cleaning mode. They forced the door open and took care of the incident. There was no damage to the unit, and police advised the woman to contact her property manager about the stove.

A woman was reading a book at a library located in the 400 block of S. State March 29 at 6:37 p.m. when a man approached. She turned to see the guy, and he maced her and snatched her cell phone. The victim refused medical attention. Police requested surveillance footage of the incident.

A tourist asked a stranger for directions in the 100 block of N. Michigan March 27 at 10:30 a.m. The man led the tourist down to a parking area below Michigan and not to the Metra station, as the tourist had requested. The man asked the tourist if he could help him out with a few dollars. The tourist gave the guy $7. The offender then grabbed the man’s bank envelope containing $85 and fled. Police toured the area, but could not find the offender.

A clerk was collecting carts for a grocery store located in the 1200 block of S. Wabash March 26 at 11:47 p.m. when three men approached him. Two of the men pulled out guns and said, “Hey homie, give me your watch.” The victim stepped back, raised his hands, grabbed the butt of one of the men’s weapons, and the gun’s magazine fell into his hand. The offenders fled towards the CTA Red line and jumped on a southbound train toward Cermak. The victim called 911, police toured the area and after a brief foot chase, collared one of the men at 18th and Wentworth. They apprehended another offender at Cermak and Clark. Both men were transported to the 1st District police station.

A woman entered a cab in the 100 block of S. Jefferson March 26 at 10:35 a.m., gave the driver her destination and asked the cabbie to take Congress. The driver got upset and told the woman he knew where he was going and that she should not tell him where to go. The victim told the cabbie to stop and let her out. As the car stopped, the victim tried to exit the taxi, but the driver pushed the victim back into the car and locked the doors. The victim asked to be let out and the driver called her a “black b—” and said she wasn’t going anywhere. The victim said she was calling police and would sue him. The driver let her out, said he did not want her money and drove away.

A man approached a teller at a bank located in the 100 block of S. Dearborn March 26 at 11:25 a.m. and produced a robbery note. Another employee walked up to the offender and he pulled out a small pistol and told everyone nearby to look at the ground. The offender gave a black handbag to the teller and told him to empty his drawer. The teller complied and also placed a small GPS device in with the money. The offender took the note and the bag and fled west on Dearborn and then got on the CTA Blue Line. Police could not track the GPS device while the offender was on the train. Police did not locate the offender.

This summary contains information taken from the arrest records from the 1st and 12th districts of the Chicago Police Department. Anyone named has only been charged with a crime. The cases have not yet been adjudicated.