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.

Report of Weapon Leads to School Lockdown

Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute went into lockdown at around 2 pm on Tuesday after police received a report of a several male youths walking towards the school and one of them was believed to be carrying a firearm. The Tactical Response Unit went to GCVI and searched the school, eventually locating a male youth who had a black revolver-style cap gun. The youth was reportedly “extremely remorseful”, and he was referred to the John Howard Society in lieu of filing charges. The lockdown was lifted just before 3:30 pm.

Shoplifting Leads to Drug Bust

A 37-year-old Guelph man and 39-year-old Guelph woman are facing several charges including possessing controlled substances for the purpose of trafficking, theft under $5,000, possessing stolen property under $5,000 and breaching court orders. Police witnessed a man going into a Stone Road business with a seemingly empty backpack and he left with a backpack that looked full of various stolen items. He got into a vehicle driven by the female suspect, and they were both pulled over a short distance away from the store. When they were searched, police found, along with the stolen property, fentanyl and hydromorphone and items consistent with trafficking, including digital scales with suspected drug residue and several cellphones.

New Member of the Police Board Announced

The Guelph Police Services Board this week announced the appointment of Jane Armstrong to the board as an appointee of the Solicitor General. Armstrong practiced corporate and commercial law in Guelph from 1982 to 2018 when she retired, and she’s also currently a member of Alectra’s Board of Directors and is a member of the executive of the Southwestern Chapter of the Institute of Corporate Directors.

“We welcome Ms. Armstrong to the Board,” said Robert Carter, chair of the board in a statement. “Ms. Armstrong’s experience in corporate and commercial law and her involvement in many aspects of our community will be a strong asset in the continuation of good governance for our exceptional police service.”

Assault

Nothing to report here this week.

Break-Ins

Someone entered a home in the area of Hands Drive and Lorna Drive sometime during the day on Monday. While the contents of the bedroom were strewn about, it was not immediately clear that something is missing. The matter is under investigation, and if you have any information call Constable Brett Nymeyer at 519-824-1212, ext. 7227, or email him at bnymeyer [at] guelphpolice.ca.

Police are looking for a man who broke into an apartment building at Edinburgh and Wellington at around 3:10 am on Tuesday. He entered the parking garage to take a wallet some other items from at least one of the vehicles. The suspect is described as a white male, thin build, grey winter jacket with black fur around the hood, orange shirt, grey or blue jeans, black shoes and black gloves. If you have any information, call Constable Carson Skipper at 519-824-1212, ext. 7283, or email him at cskipper [at] guelphpolice.ca.

Theft

A north end car dealership noticed that 13 catalytic converters were stolen from their vehicles sometime last weekend, representing a $13,000 loss. If you have any information about theft call Sergeant Kendall Brown of the Break Enter Auto Theft (BEAT) Unit at 519-824-1212, ext. 7110, or email him at kbrown [at] guelphpolice.ca.

Twenty copper rods that are each 10-feet long were stolen from a construction site at Gordon and Lowes Road sometime before Thursday morning. The copper is worth about $1,000. If you have any information call Constable Firas El-Ayoubi at 519-824-1212, ext. 7129, email him at felayoubi [at] guelphpolice.ca.

A 41-year-old Hagersville man and a 22-year-old Brantford man face several charges including attempted motor vehicle theft, assault with a weapon, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, possessing break-in instruments and breaching court orders. Last Sunday morning, they tried – unsuccessfully – to steal a car parked outside a business at Wellington and Gordon, and they tried to steal another car from a woman sitting in line at a nearby drive-thru.

Police are investigating the attempted theft of a car in the area of Waterloo and Woodycrest on Monday afternoon, the car’s owner found their vehicle with the driver’s door lock punched in and that the ignition had been damaged. If you have any information, call Constable Carson Skipper at 519-824-1212 ext. 7283, or email him at cskipper [at] guelphpolice.ca.

A 22-year-old Guelph man was charged with fraud under $5,000, possessing a stolen credit card and failing to comply with an undertaking after the suspect tried to use a credit card stolen from a car in the south end last month on Monday night at a downtown business.

Traffic

A 28-year-old Puslinch man was charged with impaired operation and driving while suspended after police observed him leaving a licensed establishment on Woodlawn Road just after midnight last Friday.

Also last Friday, but at 8:40 in the morning, a 41-year-old Guelph man was charged with impaired operation and operation while prohibited after police were notified about a possible impaired driver on Westwood Road.

A 24-year-old Guelph man was charged with impaired operation, and his driver’s licence was immediately suspended for 90 days after a police officer pulled over the driver after 2 am on Friday morning for driving fast and turning without a signal. When asked for his documents, the driver gave the office his debit card. Slurred speech and bloodshot eyes were the other signs of impairment.

A 24-year-old Kitchener man was charged with impaired operation at 3 am last Sunday when police were alerted to someone driving erratically downtown. He had run a red light and narrowly missed hitting several pedestrians.

A 69-year-old Guelph woman was charged with impaired operation, and her driver’s licence was immediately suspended for 90 days after a business in the area of Eramosa Road on Thursday afternoon reported concern about an impaired driver.

A 29-year-old Etobicoke man was charged with dangerous driving and stunt driving after he took his Mercedes, left the Manor and head southbound on the Hanlon at 110 kilometres per hour.

Other Notes

A 39-year-old Guelph woman was charged with public mischief and breach of probation for an April 3 incident where she called 9-1-1 to report a shooting in the area of Waterloo and Wellington when no one had been shot.

A Guelph senior was defrauded of $8,000 after he was called by a scammer who claimed to be a representative of the victim’s bank looking for help to stop a fraud. The senior was directed to buy prepaid Visa cards in $500 increments at two different businesses on Eramosa Road, and when he went to a third business, the clerk told him he was being scammed and refused to sell the senior any more cards. The Guelph Police remind you that no one from the government or the bank will ever direct to buy gift cards for any reason.

Total calls for service last week: 1,687

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.