There are 145,000 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.

Hold Up at South End Convenience Store

The convenience store at the corner of Edinburgh and College was held up on Monday morning. A man entered the store, approached the female clerk, removed a handgun from his clothing and demanded cash. Although the robber never pointed his gun at the clerk, he was given an undisclosed amount of money and he fled. Some of the cash was recovered nearby. In a subsequent release, police said that they believe he visited Stone Road Mall after the robbery.

The suspect is  described as white with an average build and height. He was wearing a royal blue hoodie, black track pants, a black balaclava, sunglasses and running shoes. Two surveillance video images of the person believed to be the suspect is below. If you have any information, call Constable Detective-Constable Jagdeep Atwal at 519-824-1212, ext. 7436, or email him at jatwal [at] guelphpolice.ca.

Police Find Lots of Cocaine and Jewellery in One Bust

A male suspect and a female companion were arrested downtown at noon on Wednesday, the culmination of an ongoing drug trafficking investigation that began last fall. After observing the male suspect meeting with several known drugs users, alone and with his companion, they were arrested by the Drug Unit. A search of the two recovered 18.9 grams of suspected cocaine as well as a digital scale and $400 in cash, and then a search of a nearby residence recovered more than $21,000 in cash and more than $30,000 in jewellery, all of which was seized as offence-related property.

A 37-year-old Guelph man and 42-year-old Guelph woman were jointly charged with possessing a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking. They will appear in a Guelph court in August.

Three Police Services Team Up for Effective Safety Campaign

The Guelph Police Service, Wellington County OPP and Waterloo Regional Police teamed up for a safety blitz of commercial vehicles last Thursday. According to Guelph Police, a total of 15 trucks were inspected, with 11 of them found to have serious enough defects that they needed to be corrected before the vehicle could continue on its way. One large truck who was taken off the road for three days for having alcohol in his system with other, less serious charges, included insecure load, failing to complete daily inspections, defective brakes and improper means of attachment. In all, 42 charges were laid. (See photo above.)

Assault

A 31-year-old Kitchener man was charged with resisting arrest, assault police, possession for the purpose of trafficking and possessing identity documents for an incident last Wednesday morning. Police spotted a man they knew was wanted in another jurisdiction, and when they tried to take him into custody, he attempted to swallow a golf ball-sized bag of unknown substances. In the process of trying to remove the bag, the suspect bit one of the officers three times, which resulted in the assault charge.

Police are looking for a man who assaulted a senior in his 70s in the area of Silvercreek and Greengate at around 3:45 am on Thursday. A man yelled at the senior and then followed him, grabbed his arms and pushed him. The victim struck his on the concrete, and later called for medical assistance after continually experiencing nausea and dizziness. The suspect is described as white male, 18 to 20 years, 5’9” with long blond hair and wearing a light-coloured shirt. There were reports of a similar person following a woman in the area of Guelph Street at 9:30 pm that same evening. If you have any information, call Constable James Perdicaris at 519-824-1212, ext. 7382, email him at jperdicaris [at] guelphpolice.ca.

Officers were dispatched to the area of York and Victoria last Saturday night after reports of a man being assaulted. One man ran a stop sign and collided with another car, and when the victim started to follow the other car, the driver got out of his vehicle, grabbed the victim by the wrist and punched him. The suspect is described as a white male, 5’8” with a medium build and possibly a speech impediment. He was driving a black older-style SUV, possibly a Honda CRV. If you have any information, call Constable Adam Shutsa at 519-827-6070, or email him at ashutsa [at] guelphpolice.ca.

Break-Ins

Police were called to the scene of a possible break-in at a home near June Avenue and Kathleen Street on Tuesday morning. A contractor found a board propped up against the side of the house  leading to a broken window. It does not appear that access was gained to the house and nothing appeared stolen, but it’s still under investigation. If you have an information, call Constable James Perdicaris at 519-824-1212, ext. 7382, or email him at jperdicaris [at] guelphpolice.ca.

A break-in at Silvercreek business near Willow was access after the suspect or suspects broke into a utility room attached to the business, disabled the hydro by turning off the breaker and then pulling out the hydro meter. This happen last Saturday morning, and after the hydro was knocked out, the door was pried open and a glass cabinet was smashed. The robbery netted approximately eight video game systems with a total value of $2,400, plus there was $1,500 in damage. If you have any information call Constable Scott Srigley at 519-824-1212, ext. 7298, email him at ssrigley [at] guelphpolice.ca.

Sometime over the weekend, someone smashed a rear window and tried to break into a business near the intersection of Speedvale and Dawson. It seems like no one broke in though but a backpack containing a blow torch, grinder and chisel was left behind. If you have any information, call Constable Mallory Woeller at 519-824-1212, ext. 7462, email her at mwoeller [at] guelphpolice.ca.

Cash was stolen from a safe at a business on Woolwich near Speedvale around 3:20 am on Friday morning. The suspect’s described as wearing a black hoodie with the hood up, blue jeans, white and grey shoes, black gloves and a black backpack. If you have any information about this incident, call Constable Mallory Woeller at 519-824-1212, ext. 7462, or email her at mwoeller [at] guelphpolice.ca.

There was a break-in and robbery at a business on Silvercreek near Willow at 4:45 am on Tuesday morning. Video surveillance revealed a man approaching the back of the business with a rock, and breaking off the door handle before entering and stealing a cash drawer with an unknown quantity of cast. He’s described as a white male with a thin build wearing a black hoodie with a white triangle-shaped logo on the rear right shoulder, black pants, a red baseball cap, black shoes with white soles and gloves. If you have an information, call Constable Scott Srigley at 519-824-1212, ext. 7298, email him at ssrigley [at] guelphpolice.ca.

Theft

Is this your stuff? It’s among the property seized after the arrest of three Guelph men – aged 33, 35 and 55 – who are all facing charges including possession for the purpose of trafficking, break and enter, possession of stolen property over $5,000, possessing break and enter tools and possessing identity documents. The arrest is the result of an ongoing investigation by the police’s Break Enter Auto Theft (BEAT) Unit, and the stolen property was discovered a search of the suspects’ vehicle, and a residence on Waterloo Avenue. Police also seized quantities of crack cocaine, methamphetamines and hydromorphone, as well as drug packaging and digital scales when two of the suspects were arrested.

A 26-year-old Guelph woman was charged with theft under $5,000, possessing stolen property under $5,000, breach of probation and entering a premises when prohibited. She stole $400 worth of cloths from a store in Stone Road Mall even though she was under a trespass order that barred her from the property.

A cash box, credit cards, car keys and several cartons of cigarettes were stolen from a business near Wyndham and Wellington at around 4:30 am on Monday morning. The suspect is described as a white male in his 30s wearing a blue t-shirt, black hoodie, grey or light brown shorts, a backwards baseball cap and gloves. If you have any information, call Constable Matt Simpson at 519-824-1212, ext. 7318, email him at msimpson [at] guelphpolice.ca.

A male suspect stole an expensive Marin bike described as blue with black and green writing, full suspension, disc brakes and black grips from a home at Arkell and Summerfield sometime last Tuesday. Two men were involved with the break-in, but the one who stole the bike is described as wearing a light-coloured hoodie, camouflage pants and a light-coloured backpack. The second man was wearing a light-coloured hoodie with dark sleeves, dark pants with a reflective strip near the knee and a square-shaped backpack. If you have any information, call Constable Mallory Woeller at 519-824-1212, ext. 7462, email her at mwoeller [at] guelphpolice.ca.

Traffic

A 26-year-old Guelph man was charged with stunt driving, and his driver’s licence was suspended for 30 days after using the shared left-turn lane to pass other cars at 92 kilometres per hour last Friday. Police followed the driver from Elmira Road South to a private driveway a short distance away and impounded the car.

Last Friday afternoon, police in an unmarked cruiser caught a car doing 94 kilometres per hour in a 50 zone along Victoria North. The driver appeared to be drunk and there was an open can of beer visible when police pulled the car over. A 22-year-old Cambridge man was charged with impaired operation, stunt driving, speeding and driving a vehicle with open alcohol, and his driver’s licence was suspended for 90 days.

A 49-year-old Guelph man was charged with impaired operation and refusing to provide a breath sample after police were alerted about a potentially impaired driver in the area of Victoria and Speedvale on Saturday night. When police pulled the driver over, loud music was playing, and when the officer asked him to turn the music down, he started turning the air conditioning knobs instead.

A 36-year-old Guelph man was charged with impaired operation, and his driver’s licence was suspended for 90 days early last Sunday morning. Loud music was coming from a parked car on Macdonell Street, and the driver had alcohol on his breathe and his eyes appeared “glassy.” He failed a roadside screening test.

A 55-year-old Guelph man was charged with flight from police, dangerous driving and driving while prohibited after being connected to a high-speed pursuit back in April.

A 39-year-old New York man was charged with speeding and stunt driving, and his driver’s licence was suspended for 30 days after he was clocked doing 121 kilometres per hour in a 60 zone in the area of Imperial and Wellington on Tuesday night.

Other Notes

A 34-year-old Guelph man was charged with three counts of failing to comply with probation, two counts of failing to comply with an undertaking and theft under $5,000 after police were called to an apartment near Bagot and Willow Monday evening. The suspect had stolen a woman’s keys and entered her apartment, but he was previously bound by an undertaking and probation terms with conditions not to contact the woman.

A 22-year-old Toronto man, a 22-year-old Mississauga man and a 17-year-old Mississauga man are all charged with possessing controlled substances for the purpose of trafficking after being stopped in a silver BMW very early on Thursday morning near Wellington and Wyndham. A search of the car revealed an open package of pot in the glovebox, 85 Percocet tablets in the console and more than $1,700 cash in a lunch bag.

Total calls for service last week: 1,929

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.