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 going 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.

Attempted Murder Charge for Teen Suspect

A 17-year-old Guelph woman was charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault, possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose and assault. On July 24, police were called to a disturbance in the east end where they found an 18-year-old man with serious injuries. He was taken to the trauma centre where he had to under go emergency surgery. Both parties were known to each other and the investigation is ongoing.

Pair Busted for Grandparent Scam

A 20-year-old Guelph man and 16-year-old Guelph woman each face charges of fraud over $5,000 after defrauding Guelph seniors of nearly $40,000. In one case, an 80-year-old woman received call from someone claiming to her grandson and that he was arrested after being caught with $10,000 of marijuana. Someone posing as a member of law enforcement later picked up bail money at the victim’s home. In the second case, an elderly couple were also told that their grandson was in jail and needed bail money. They gave over $26,000 to the female suspect over three different trips.

Police are reminding residents to be cautious when talking to people over the telephone, even if they claim to be family. Never send or give money to people you are not sure you know, take the time to verify the story, never volunteer personal information to callers, and if the story involves a loved one, try to contact that person on your own or ask questions only they would be able to answer.

Gift Card Scams Still Out There

On Wednesday afternoon, a local woman in her 70s received a phone call from a man who claimed he was a fraud investigator. After he told her that her credit card was used at several businesses, he told her that she could help the investigation by buying gift cards from several locations, giving him the PIN numbers, and then she would be reimbursed. Instead, she lost $500.

If you have any information about this incident, or if this scam sounds familiar, call Constable Keith Kolodziejczak at 519-824-1212, ext. 7452, or email him at kkolodziejczak [at] guelphpolice.ca. Police are also warning members of the public again that no police officer or government official will ever instruct you to purchase and send gift cards or submit payment via Bitcoin.

Assault

A 26-year-old Guelph man was charged with assault with a weapon, possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose and failing to comply with probation after another man was attacked in a parking lot on Stone Road on July 9. A verbal altercation escalated when one man struck the other twice in the head with a flashlight causing a wound that required stitches. A suspect was identified and he turned himself in on Monday.

Break-Ins

Numerous items including two base electric guitars were stolen from a residence near Willow and Edinburgh sometime between 6 am and 4:15 pm on Thursday. If you have any information call Constable Margaret Pickard at 519-824-1212 ext. 7440, or email her at mpickard [at] guelphpolice.ca.

Clothing and tools were stolen from a business on Silvercreek North early last Sunday morning after smashing a glass door to gain access. The two male suspect arrived in a white GMC Savana van; one is described as dark-skinned with a thin build and wearing a white shirt over his face, a blue bandana, jeans, a white t-shirt, dark shoes with white soles and gloves, while the second was also dark-skinned with a thin build, wearing a black t-shirt, black jeans, dark shoes, a red bandana over his face, a grey hat and gloves. If you have any information call Constable Nick Borg at 519-824-1212, ext. 7172, or email him at nborg [at] guelphpolice.ca.

Theft

Last Friday afternoon, a man entered a business at York and Victoria and stole a small amount of cash after brandishing a knife at the only employee working there. The suspect is described as a white male, approximately six feet tall with short light brown or dirty blonde hair. He was wearing a long sleeve grey shirt with ‘Aero 1987’ on the front, dark blue jeans, black shoes and a black face mask. He was carrying a switchblade-style knife. If you have any information, call Constable Konrad Babol at 519-824-1212, ext. 7189, or email him at kbabol [at] guelphpolice.ca.

A 38-year-old Guelph male has been charged with theft under $5,000 and breach of probation after stealing two bottles of alcohol worth $32 each from a store on Clair and Gordon on Tuesday evening.

A 42-year-old Guelph woman was charged with possessing stolen property, possessing identity documents, possessing a stolen credit card, possessing break and enter tools and possessing a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking. Members of the Guelph Police Service Break Enter Auto Theft (BEAT) Unit recognized a motor-assisted bicycle as stolen property and stopped the woman riding it. This led to a search revealing several stolen credit cards, tools, some probable fentanyl, and more than $600 cash.

A storage trailer containing some personal items belonging to a man and his son moving to Guelph were stolen, including a vintage chrome bicycle. The break-in happened sometime before Wednesday morning in the area of Edinburgh and Speedvale. If you have any information about this incident, call Constable Bakir Medencevic at 519-824-1212, ext. 7235, or email him at bmedencevic [at] guelphpolice.ca.

A 21-year-old Guelph man has been charged with theft under $5,000 after stealing the keys from the ignition of a car parked outside a business at Elizabeth and York on Thursday morning. The suspect was identified through surveillance video and arrested last Sunday morning.

A 66-year-old Guelph man was charged with break and enter after he was identified as a suspect in the July 6 break-in of a business near Silvercreek and Woodlawn where $150 worth of watches was stolen.

A 37-year-old Cambridge man was charged with possessing stolen property over $5,000, theft under $5,000, occupying a stolen motor vehicle and driving while suspended. The charges go back to a June 2 incident where the suspect pumped $49 worth of gas in a stolen Kia SUV and only paid $7.28 from “several” prepaid credit cards in his possession. He told the clerk that he was going to get another credit card from his car, but took off instead.

Traffic

A 37-year-old Kitchener woman was charged with impaired operation by a drug, and her driver’s licence was suspended for 90 days after two women were found passed out while parked in a lot in the area of Imperial and Woodlawn.

Police gave out eight Provincial Offence Notices for speeding in a two-hour period on Thursday morning at the Woolwich/Woodlawn intersection.

The Friday media release said that there were six driving complaints and two motor vehicle collisions in Guelph in the previous 24 hours.

A 30-year-old Guelph man was facing several Highway Traffic Act charges and he had his licence suspended for three days after he was stopped by police in the area of Willow and Dawson Tuesday night after getting an alert on his breath sample.

A 36-year-old Guelph woman was charged with impaired driving and exposing a child to danger after a traffic stop last Thursday night. The vehicles was stopped in the middle of Fife Road, and it was found that the driver had twice the legal limit of alcohol while driving around with two kids under 10 in the back seat.

Other Notes

A 25-year-old Cambridge man is charged with two counts of criminal harassment after he called the same family hundreds of times at their home, and their place of business. In fact, on July 18 while police were at the business taking a statement, he called around 25 times.

An 18-year-old Guelph male is charged with making a false alarm of fire and mischief under $5,00 for a January 27 incident at Guelph General Hospital where they got into a verbal dispute with security before running through the halls then pulling the fire alarm.

A 50-year-old Guelph man was charged with failing to attend court and possessing stolen property on Tuesday after police spotted him downtown and knew that he was wanted for missing a court date on a couple of charges including carrying a weapon for a dangerous purpose. He was found with a driver’s licence on his person that was stolen in 2018.

A 35-year-old Guelph man who was arrested on an outstanding warrant was also charged with possessing a controlled substance, carrying a concealed weapon and three more counts of breaching a probation order after police found a small amount of suspected fentanyl on his person and a loaded SNR 357 revolver-style pellet gun in his backpack.

Total calls for service last week: 1,735

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.