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.

McArthur Told to Resign or Be Fired

“Police Constable Corey McArthur Badge Number #65, it is the decision of this Tribunal that you are REQUIRED TO RESIGN FROM THIS POLICE SERVICE WITHIN SEVEN (7) DAYS OR BE SUMMARILY DISMISSED,” read the decision from Deputy Chief Terence Kelly (Ret.) on the fate of McArthur.

McArthur had pled to and been found guilty of one count of discreditable conduct under the Police Code of Conduct after he struck a 17-year-old restrained to a hospital bed with his elbow in 2016. It was not McArthur’s first censure, he was also found guilty of assault in 2010 while arresting a person for public intoxication. McArthur has been suspended with pay since being suspended in 2016.

Man Dies in Accident at Construction Site

A 49-year-old Elora man was declared deceased by paramedics from the Guelph-Wellington Paramedic Service at a construction site in the area of Gordon and Clair on Monday morning. At 9 am, emergency services were called to the site after a small excavator had tipped over, ejecting the operator and trapping him under the machine. Guelph Fire was able to free the operator, but he was declared dead at the scene. The provincial Ministry of Labour is investigating.

Assault

Police are looking for a white male, approximately 20 years of age with a slim build wearing a long white shirt, dark pants, dark shoes and a dark hat. On Wednesday evening he allegedly sprayed another man with an unknown substance believed to be pepper spray after he asked the victim for his container of take out food and was refused. If you have any information, call Constable Emma Turney at 519-824-1212, ext. 7438, email her at eturney [at] guelphpolice.ca.

A 25-year-old Guelph woman was charged with assault with a weapon and assault throwing a box of candy at the store manager and punching her in the face and knocking a tooth loose at a business near Paisley and Elmira.

A 36-year-old Guelph man was charged with two counts each of assaulting police and possessing controlled substances as well as theft, possessing stolen property and failing to comply with an undertaking. Last Friday, police were called to a downtown apartment after a man was seen stealing a fire extinguisher, and he was found to be in possession of small amounts of suspected fentanyl and Dilaudid. At the police station, he became agitated and spat at two officers, hence the assault charges.

A 42-year-old Guelph man was charged with impaired driving, failing to provide a breath sample, two counts of assaulting police and uttering threat on Monday evening after police responded to a report about a vehicle in a ditch. When police arrived on the scene at Imperial and Woodlawn, the driver seemed obviously impaired and was standing next to his car. One officer was struck above the eye while putting the man in handcuffs, and then when he got to the police station he repeatedly refused to give a breath sample, challenged officers to a fight and threatened to kill the officers and their families.

Break-Ins

A 31-year-old Guelph man charged with break and enter after he went into a Woodlawn West business last Friday morning through an unlocked door while staff were practising fire drills. He refuse to leave and hid in the store until discovered by a police dog one hour later.

Drugs

A 53-year-old Guelph woman was charged with trafficking a controlled substance, possessing a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking and possessing a controlled substance. The suspect was arrested with small amounts of suspected cocaine, crack cocaine and meth, and she was allegedly using  a rideshare service to get the drugs from an address on Woolwich Street to other locations.

Fraud

Nothing to report this week.

Theft

A 52-year-old Guelph man was charged with two counts of theft, assault and escaping lawful custody. The suspect was trying to shoplift about $800 worth of stuff from a store on Woodlawn West when loss prevention staff attempted to detain him, but he pushed the shopping cart at an employee and escaped in waiting car. Staff identified the thief as the same man who stole $805 in goods back in August.

Two Guelph males, an 18-year-old and a 15-year-old, were jointly charged with robbery, carrying a concealed weapon and possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose after robbing two teems in the area of College and Scottsdale on Thursday afternoon. When police caught up with the suspects, one tried to get rid of a baton and was found with a small amount of fentanyl. The older suspect was also charged with assault with a weapon, while the younger one was charged with obstructing police and possessing a controlled substance.

A Guelph husband and wife had both their cars stolen on the same day. At 1:20 am on Tuesday, a man reported to police that his black 2012 Mercedes coupe had been stolen from the parking lot of his workplace on Massey Road. When he called his wife about picking him up, she found her white 2014 Infiniti missing from the driveway of their home near Farley and Clairfields. The key for the Infinit was inside the Mercedes. If you have any information, call Special Constable Amanda Chalmers at 519-824-1212, ext. 7516, or email her at achalmers [at] guelphpolice.ca.

Traffic

A 28-year-old Kitchener woman was charged with failing to yield after she turned a corner in her vehicle and struck a cyclist Wednesday afternoon at College and Edinburgh. The cyclist was transported to the hospital to treat a minor leg injury.

A 45-year-old Guelph man was charged with driving while prohibited after a traffic stop Wednesday afternoon in the area of Stevenson and Emma.

A 20-year-old Guelph woman was charged with stunt driving and speeding, and her driver’s licence was suspended for 30 days, after getting caught by police doing 100 kilometres per hour in a 50 zone in the area of Edinburgh and Wilsonview.

A 29-year-old Guelph man was charged with impaired driving and failing to stop after a collision after in a plaza on Speedvale where she allegedly hit another vehicle from behind. When tested by police, she had more than the legal amount of alcohol in her system.

A 68-year-old Guelph man was arrested Tuesday and charged with dangerous driving after an incident last week on Chesterton Lane. A school bus was stopped with its lights  flashing and an eight-foot arm was extended in front of the bus. After turning into a private driveway in front of the bus, the suspect struck and pushed through the arm and nearly struck children exiting the bus and parents waiting on the sidewalk. He also allegedly flipped them off.

Other Notes

A 39-year-old Kitchener man was arrested and charged with criminal harassment after following a woman on city transit on Wednesday October 19. The man reportedly parked his car, and then followed the woman as she travelled around the city on Guelph Transit. The suspect was arrested two days later, and it’s believe that he’s followed other woman on both Guelph Transit and Grand River Transit. If you’ve noticed that you were followed by someone described as white, six feet tall, heavy build with brown hair and brown eyes,  contact Detective Constable Syed Ali at 519-824-1212, ext. 7145, or via email at sali [at] guelphpolice.ca.

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.