There are 137,000 stories in the Royal City, and this is some of them. Looking at a week’s worth of media releases from the Guelph Police Service, there’s a lot gong on in our little city crime-wise speaking, so let’s run down some of the charges, issues, and requests for information from the Guelph Police Service over the last seven days.

***Please note that not all offenses and police calls are reported in the daily Guelph Police media release.

Last Three Impaired Driving Arrest for This Year’s RIDE

Over the New Year’s weekend, Guelph Police reported three arrests for impaired driving starting with a three-point turn to avoid a RIDE check on Gordon Street on Friday night. The 60-year-old Guelph man denied having anything to drink, but he failed a roadside screening and was charged with impaired driving and driving without a licence.

Earlier on Friday, police responded to reports of a car hitting a hydro poll on Hadati Road, and a 25-year-old Halifax man was charged with impaired operation and careless driving. His driver’s licence was also suspended for 90 days and his vehicle was impounded for 90 days.

Then, on Saturday night, a 33-year-old Burlington man was charged with impaired operation and failing to comply with a bail order. Police were called to a licenced establishment on Woodlawn Road after a caller reported that it looked like there was an intoxicated man behind the wheel of a running car. As police talked to him, they discovered that he was on a bail condition to not get into a car if he had any alcohol in his system. When tested, police confirmed that he had more than the legal limit in his system.

Book Bashing Led to Hospital Flood

A 17-year-old Guelph woman was arrested Tuesday and charged with mischief over $5,000 for causing the flood that shut down a section of the Guelph General Hospital’s emergency room last month. While in waiting to be seen by staff on December 4, the teen was given a book by security, which she then used to strike a overhead sprinkler. Twice. Water flooded the department for 40 minutes before hospital staff were able to shut it off.

Three Strikes and You’re Arrested

Last Sunday night, Guelph Police dealt with the same man in three different locations over the period of about two hours. After the 29-year-old man was asked to leave one business for refusing to wear a mask and throwing around merchandise with harassing staff, he was found sleeping in the stairwell of a nearby building and assaulted the resident who found him by throwing a chair. The resident didn’t want to press charges, so police asked the man to move on.

Things came to a head about 45 minutes later when police arrived at another nearby business to find the man again being belligerent and refusing to wear a mask. Police found him outside the business, and he tried to run, but we has taken into custody after giving a false name and then kicked one of the officers in the leg several times in the process. The man faces a number of charges including resisting arrest, obstructing police, mischief under $5,000, possessing stolen property and failing to comply with an undertaking.

Still Looking for Charles

Police are still looking for Charles Rudd, a 58-year-old man who’s been missing since December 15 when he was last seen downtown. His landlord entered Mr. Rudd’s apartment a couple of days later, and found that his cat had not been fed, while the neighbours reported that they hadn’t seen Charles in four days.

Charles Rudd is described as a white male, 5’10”, 150 pounds with unkempt grey hair, and yes, police do have concerns for his wellbeing. If you have any information, call Detective Constable Scott Biser at 519-824-1212, ext. 7131, or email him at sbiser [at] guelphpolice.ca. You can also call Detective Constable Brendan Campbell at ext. 7177 or send him an email at bcampbell [at] guelphpolice.ca.

Assault

A 38-year-old Guelph man was charged with assault after police were called to a residence in the area of Clair Road West and Gosling Gardens. Two roommates were arguing, when one of the roomies punched the other in the face and the throat, and then knocked him down and spit on him when the victim tried to get away.

A 52-year-old Guelph man was arrested for assaulting police. At 11 am on Wednesday, an officer approached a man loitering at Guelph Central Station, the man had a construction hammer tucked into his waistband, and then lunged at the officer.

Traffic

Police are looking for a red Ford F-150 crew cab pickup truck that almost hit two officers at a RIDE check on Gordon Street north of Water Street. It’s believed to be the same truck that fled from police on December 23 from a parking lot on Woodlawn Road West, reportedly stolen from Cambridge earlier that week. If you have any information, call Detective Sergeant Chris Probst at 519-824-1212, ext. 7342, or email him at cprobst [at] guelphpolice.ca

A 17-year-old driver from Guelph was charged with stunt driving after police spotted him doing donuts and driving slalom-style around light posts in the parking lot of Bishop Macdonell High School on Monday evening.

A 60-year-old Guelph man was charged with impaired operation after police were called to one of the plazas on Woodlawn Road near Silvercreek, where they found a heavily damaged van with it’s front wheel missing, and that it had struck another van in the parking lot. When speaking to the driver, the officers noticed the smell of marijuana, and that the driver was slurring his speech and his eyes were glassy.

A car collided with a pole and rolled into a ditch at the corner of Nicklin Road near Woodlawn Road West on Thursday afternoon. A 40-year-old Guelph man was charged with impaired operation, and his driver’s licence was immediately suspended for 90 days after breath tests showed that he had more than four times the legal limit of alcohol in his system.

During the snow storm on Wednesday, police responded to four collisions over the course of an hour. A vehicle had gone off the road and struck a tree on York Road near Wyndham, and then there were three collisions in the area of Edinburgh Road South and Terraview Crescent including a two vehicle crash that resulted in a minor thumb injury.

Theft/Break-Ins

At 4 am on Friday, the glass doors at the front of a Gordon Street and Clair Road East were smashed in so that a thief or thieves could steal… A large quantity of Dior and Chanel perfumes and colognes. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ If you have any information, call Constable Keith Kolodziejczak at 519-824-1212, ext. 7452, or email him at kkolodziejczak [at] guelphpolice.ca.

A 24-year-old Guelph man was charged with theft under $5,000, obstructing police, possessing a controlled substance and breach of probation. Police were called to a business on Silvercreek Parkway North near Speedvale after staff noticed that they had just been robbed.

Police are looking for $5,000 in tools that were stolen from a residence on Raymond Street over the holidays. The missing tools include a tube expander and an acetylene torch. If you have  any information call Constable Tyler Galea at 519-824-1212, ext. 7285, email him at tgalea [at] guelphpolice.ca.

Other Notes

A 35-year-old Guelph man was charged with possessing a controlled substance, breach of probation, failing to leave a premises when directed and failing to comply with the Reopening Ontario Act. Yes, he went into a business at Silvercreek and Willow, refused to wear a mask and then tried to block staff’s movements and blew them kisses. When police searched him, they found a small amount of suspected methamphetamine in his pocket.

Police arrested a 28-year-old Guelph man for carrying a concealed weapon and possessing a weapon contrary to a prohibition order, when they approached him Tuesday afternoon near City Hall. Officers believed that the man had outstanding warrants against him, and they were right. The suspect was wanted for two counts each of possessing stolen property over $5,000 and breach of probation.

The Tactics and Rescue Unit responded to a downtown business around 11 am on Wednesday afternoon after staff alerted police to a man seen on security video going into a bathroom and taking out what staff believed was a weapon from inside a newspaper. Police were not able to locate the man, but the investigation is ongoing. If you have any information call Constable Aaron Miller at 519-824-1212, ext. 7383, or email him at amiller [at] guelphpolice.ca.

Total calls for service last week: 1,213

If you have any information about the crimes or incidents mentioned above, you can also call Guelph Wellington Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or post online at csgw.tips.