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.

Dog Busts Man

A 30-year-old Cambridge man faces several charges, including three counts of break and enter, possessing stolen property over $5,000, two counts of possessing stolen property under $5,000, possessing a controlled substance, possessing break-in instruments and driving while disqualified. He was taken into custody by Titan, one of the dogs employed by the Guelph Police.

Officers responded to a break and enter at 6:40 am last Sunday at a plaza on Kortright Road West, and when the suspect refused to follow police orders to stop, the canine unit released the hound (so to speak). The glass doors of three businesses in the area were smashed, and a vehicle found at the scene was determined to have been stolen and had stolen licence plates. Crowbars, power tools, a wallet and small amounts of suspected cocaine and crack cocaine were found in the car.

Three Arrested on Drug Charges in a Stolen Pickup

Last Saturday, police were notified about a stolen Dodge Ram parked at a commercial building on Speedvale West, a woman was in the driver’s seat and she was showing signs of being impaired. A search of the truck revealed a bag of suspected cocaine and paraphernalia consistent with trafficking. Two other people were in the car, but they fled before police arrived, and they were arrested a short time later.

A 32-year-old Guelph woman was charged with impaired operation, possessing controlled substances for the purpose of trafficking, possessing stolen property over $5,000 and occupying a stolen motor vehicle. Two other people, a 29-year-old Guelph man and 22-year-old Guelph woman were later charged with possessing controlled substances for the purpose of trafficking, possessing stolen property over $5,000 and occupying a stolen motor vehicle.

Beware of Distraction Crimes

Guelph Police are warning residents to be aware of so-called “distraction thefts” in the community. There have been five incidents so far occurring in and around grocery and department stores, all victims were female and all but one were in their 70s or 80s. In one incident there were five suspects working together, and presently the police aren’t sure if any of the incidents are related.

What do you look out for? In two of the incidents, purses were removed from a cart while the people had their backs turned. In two of the other cases, the victims were approached while in their vehicles and told that a nail or pin was in their tire, and when they inspected the alleged damage their wallet was stolen. In the final case, a woman noticed her wallet was missing after a man came up to her in the parking lot asking for directions.

Assault

Three teens are facing assault charges after a 24-year-old had his nose broke when he went to a Guelph high school to confront his younger sister’s bullies. One 16-year-old and two 15-year-olds have been charged with assault causing bodily harm.

Break-Ins

A 35-year-old Guelph man was charged with break, enter and theft after a fingerprint match tied them to the August 2020 break-in of a residence on Edinburgh Road South.

A 47-year-old Guelph man was located downtown Monday morning and charged with break and enter, possessing break-in instruments and failing to comply with an undertaking. The arrest was made in connection to break-in at a Neeve Street apartment building earlier this month where numerous items, including the charging cables from two electric scooters, were stolen from the underground garage. Police are also looking for a female that assisted with the break-in.

Theft

A 25-year-old Chatham woman was charged with occupying a stolen motor vehicle and possessing stolen property over $5,000 after police spotted a stolen Ford F-150 in a parking lot on the corner of Woodlawn and Woolwich. The driver of the stolen truck was there to pick up the woman who was taken into custody. Police continue to investigate.

A 38-year-old Guelph woman was charged with break and enter, theft over $5,000 and breaching probation after being connected to a commercial break in at a downtown business in February 2021 through DNA.

A 24-year-old Guelph man was charged with theft under $5,000, possessing stolen property and breaching probation after police witness him leave a business at Wellington and Gordon putting a stolen item in his coat.

A 33-year-old Guelph man was further charged with possessing stolen property under $5,000, possessing a controlled substance and possessing break-in instruments after he was caught riding a stolen moped in the area of Grange and Victoria. Police stopped him after identifying the man from an outstanding warrant for driving while prohibited and possessing stolen property.

Traffic

Guelph stopped 400 vehicles were stopped last Friday in the post-St. Patrick’s Day RIDE check. There were 50 drivers who were asked to provide breath samples, and while there was one three-day suspension, no arrests were made.

There was a rollover collision last Saturday on Stone Road near Gordon at around 9:38 am, a 56-year-old man and 78-year-old woman, both from Guelph, were taken to Guelph General Hospital for their injuries. If you were a witness to the crash or have dashcam footage, call Constable Derren Gould at 519-824-1212, ext. 7056, or email him at dgould [at] guelphpolice.ca.

A 27-year-old Guelph man was charged with impaired operation, and his driver’s licence was immediately suspended for 90 days after running two stop signs in the area of the University of Guelph.

A 19-year-old Guelph man was charged with stunt driving and speeding, and his driver’s licence was suspended 30 days after being caught doing almost twice the legal speed limit in the area of Wellington and Imperial.

A 29-year-old Guelph man was charged with impaired driving and his driver’s licence was suspended for 90 days after police received a report of a vehicle driving erratically in the area of Stevenson and Elizabeth. The driver had more than twice the legal amount of alcohol in his system.

A 35-year-old Guelph man faces charges including three counts of driving while prohibited, four counts of driving while suspended, four counts of possessing stolen property and three counts of failing to comply with a bail order. Police saw the man driving in the area around Imperial Road North and followed him downtown where they took him into custody.

Other Notes

A 38-year-old Guelph man was arrested earlier this month and has been charged with four counts of fraud over $5,000 after taking $34,000 in payments for renovation work that was never completed. More than $6,000 was also fraudulently charged to the company credit card.

Total calls for service last week: 1,417

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.