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.

Five Arrested After Drugs Found in Stolen Van

The Guelph Police Break Enter Auto Theft (BEAT) unit made several arrests after starting an investigation of a residence in the area of Willow and Bagot. A search warrant was executed on Thursday after police observed a stolen Dodge Caravan at the house, which lead them to discover 13.7 grams of suspected cocaine, 11.4 grams of suspected fentanyl and five grams of suspected crack cocaine with a total value of $4,750.

Three Guelph females and two Guelph males, ranging in age from 23 to 53, face charges including possessing controlled substances for the purpose of trafficking, possessing stolen property over $5,000, occupying a stolen motor vehicle and breaching court orders. Three of the accused were held for bail court on Friday, and two will have to appear in court in July.

Burlington Man Charged in Child Porn Case

A 26-year-old Burlington man was charged with possessing child pornography, accessing child pornography and distributing child pornography. The investigation began late last year when the Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) got a tip about someone uploading unsavoury materials to a social media site. A search warrant was executed on an address near College and Janefield, and several devices were seized. The accused turned himself in to police this week.

Another $58,000 Lost in Another Bitcoin Scam

A Guelph woman lost $58,000 to a Bitcoin scam, including $20,000 from her line of credit. Someone called her claiming to be from the “Department of Justice”, and told her that she had to deposit as much money as she could into Bitcoins machines in Guelph and Brampton if she wanted to avoid getting arrested. It was members of the victim’s family that got her to report the scam after she went to them for more money.

Guelph Police remind you again that no police officer or government official will ever phone you and demand payment, especially in the form of Bitcoins of gift cards. If you think you’re being scammed, you probably are, and if that’s the case, you should call Guelph Police Service at 519-824-1212 and tell them about it.

Assault

A 46-year-old Guelph man was charged with assault and assault with a weapon after he and another man were involved in a dispute that turned physical. An argument started at a business near Laird and Clair, when the suspect walked to his transport truck in the parking lot he drove towards the victim slowly and struck him. The victim went to the hospital with a leg injury.

A 26-year-old Guelph woman was charged with robbery and breach of probation, after another woman was held a sword point at the victim’s downtown residence. On Wednesday May 25, a woman known to the victim came to her place, drew a “Samurai-style sword”, held it to the victim’s throat and demanded cash.

Break-Ins

A 28-year-old Guelph male is charged with break and enter and mischief after breaking into two different businesses at College and Gordon.

Theft

A backhoe was stolen from a work site in the area of Woodlawn and Edinburgh sometime on Tuesday night, but it was abandoned a kilometre away. About $1,500-$2,000 in damage was done to the work site in the process. If you have any information call Constable Shayne Finoro at 519-824-1212, ext. 7378, or email him at sfinoro [at] guelphpolice.ca.

A 2010 Toyota 4Runner was stolen from in front of a residence near Delhi and Marlborough on Thursday. If you have an information, call Constable Greg Mitchell at 519-824-1212, ext. 7170, email him at gmitchell [at] guelphpolice.ca.

A 28-year-old Guelph man was charged with possessing stolen property under $5,000 and breach of probation when he was found in the driver’s seat of a black Nissan Versa stolen from somewhere in Wellington County in January.

A 55-year-old Guelph man was charged with possessing stolen property under $5,000 after the owner of an expensive Jamis bike that was stolen earlier in May noticed that it was posted on a buy and sell site.

Traffic

A 39-year-old Guelph man was charged with speeding and stunt driving, and his driver’s licence was suspended for 30 days after he was stopped near Stone and Watson on Thursday evening for doing 102 kilometres per hour in a 60 zone. The driver’s truck was towed away to be impounded for 15 days. (See above.)

A 33-year-old Guelph male is charged with impaired driving and dangerous driving, and his driver’s licence was suspended for 90 days after he accidentally struck a cruiser when he put his car in reverse. Police pulled the driver over after he was observed driving in the area around Quebec or Baker with no muffler, and he also had open beer cans inside the car.

A 36-year-old Fergus man was charged with driving while prohibited after he was seen driving a pickup in the area of Willow and Imperial on Monday afternoon. The man had his licence suspended in 2010.

A 24-year-old Burlington man was charged with impaired driving and several Highway Traffic Act offences after he was seen driving erratically in the area of Woodlawn and Hanlon on Friday afternoon. He had more than the legal limit of alcohol in his system.

A 59-year-old Guelph woman was charged with impaired operation, and her driver’s licence was suspended for 90 days after police were called to a plaza on Speedvale East last Saturday morning. An area business owner reported that the driver was showing signs of impairment, and when tested she had twice the legal limit of alcohol in her system.

A 22-year-old Guelph man had his driver’s licence suspended for 30 days after getting caught doing 108 kilometres per hour in a posted 60 zone on Gordon near Maltby last Friday evening.

A 45-year-old Guelph man was charged with operation while prohibited and failing to stop at a collision causing bodily harm on Sunday evening after a hit-and-run in the area of Norfolk and Green. The victim was sent to an out-of-area trauma centre for further evaluation, and it was discovered that the driver had been previously prohibited from driving due to a drunk driving conviction.

Police are looking for a dark-coloured full-size Chevrolet or GMC with an ATV in the bed that failed to yield to a pedestrian who was struck by the driver’s side mirror but was not seriously injured. This happened around 10 pm on Wednesday night at Stevenson and Elizabeth, and the driver is described as having long grey hair and a baseball cap while his passenger was wearing a red shirt. If you have any information, call Sergeant Ray Gordon of the Guelph Police Service Traffic Unit at 519-824-1212, ext. 7225.

Other Notes

.A 27-year-old Guelph woman was charged with possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose, causing a false fire alarm and mischief after using a lighter and aerosol spray to cause a large fireball in the hallway of a downtown apartment building.

A 18-year-old man was arrested for mischief under $5,000 after causing $2,000 in damage to a Waterloo Avenue business by kicking in a large glass door.

A 29-year-old Guelph woman and 35-year-old Guelph woman were jointly charged with possessing a controlled substance, possessing identity documents and possessing a stolen credit card after a traffic stop on Thursday morning. The search of the vehicle revealed a small amount of fentanyl as well as a driver’s licence and credit card in other people’s names. The officer recognized the driver, who they knew had a suspended licence. The 29-year-old was also charged with breach of recognizance and driving while suspended, and the other woman was charged with two counts of breaching probation and failing to comply with a release order.

Total calls for service last week: 1,599

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.