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.

Police Announce Festive RIDE Program Results

Now that the holiday season is officially over (discounting those celebrating the orthodox Christmas), Guelph Police have announced the results of this year’s holiday Festive RIDE program. Police checked more than 2,100 vehicles and there were 62 instances where drivers were asked to provide breath samples, which resulted in seven arrests for Criminal Code offences including impaired driving and refusing to provide a breath sample.

Additionally, 11 drivers had their licences suspended for three days after registering a ‘warn’ on the roadside devices, indicating their blood-alcohol level was between 50 milligrams and 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. A number of Highway Traffic Act and Provincial Offences Act charges for offences including failing to wear seatbelts and novice drivers having a blood-alcohol level higher than zero were also laid.

Police remind you that just because the holidays are over, you still have to consume alcohol and controlled substances responsibly and ensure that you have a safe ride home if you plan to drink or use drugs.

Assault

Nothing to report this week.

Break-Ins

Police are investigating a break-in at a  business on Woodlawn East Wednesday after staff arrived for work and found footprints inside. Video surveillance showed a man entering the business at around 11:25 p.m on Tuesday night after prying open an exterior door. An undisclosed amount of cash and food from an employee fridge was taken.

A 43-year-old Guelph man was charged with break and enter after being caught in a backyard shed in the area of Wellington and Fife attempting to steal two mason jars containing a small amount of marijuana.

A glass door was smashed with sledgehammer and the cash drawer was missing from the register at a business near Dawson and Speedvale Thursday morning at around 7 am. The suspect is described as a  white male and wearing a light-coloured winter coat with the hood up, a black toque, light-coloured pants and dark gloves. If you have any information, call Constable Jennifer Probst at 519-824-1212, ext. 7296, email her at jprobst [at] guelpholice.ca.

Drugs

Nothing to report this week.

Fraud

On Friday evening the mother of a 15-year-old man contacted police about the attempted extortion of the teen. He had shared nude photos of himself via social media with someone he believed to be a female, and then the unknown recipient threatened to share the images with the victim’s  contacts if he did not pay, but no money was sent. Guelph Police is urging people to be cautious when sharing intimate images online.

A 65-year-old woman lost approximately $40,000 in a gift card scam in mid-December when someone claiming to represent her bank and called and asked her for help to catch individuals who had compromised the victim’s bank account. Following instructions, she purchased prepaid Visa cards and provided the serial numbers to “the bank”. Police remind everyone that no police officer, bank or government official will ever instruct you to purchase and send gift cards or submit payment via Bitcoin.

Theft

A 31-year-old Guelph man was charged with possessing stolen property over $5,000, possessing stolen property under $5,000 and several counts of driving while prohibited for allegedly driving a stolen pickup last month. The suspect was arrested in the area of Willow Road on Wednesday.

A number of pellet guns were stolen during a break and enter Friday at a shed in the backyard of a Dufferin Street residence shortly after 3 am. The pellet guns and other equipment stolen had a total value in excess of $900. The suspect is described as a white male, approximately 5’11” and wearing a dark jacket, grey sweatpants, dark boots, grey backpack and a hat. If you have any information, call Constable Dan Urbshas at 519-824-1212, ext. 7240, or email him at durbshas [at] guelphpolice.ca.

A Dodge Caravan was stolen from a driveway near Westwood and Imperial while it was warming up on Tuesday morning, and less than 30 minutes later, the police spotted it on Willow near Silvercreek. It sped away, and the police did not pursue in the interest of public safety but they did find it that night on Shelldale Crescent with the keys inside. If you have any information call Constable Ryan Horvat at 519-824-1212, ext. 7485, email him at rhorvat [at] guelphpolice.ca.

A 36-year-old Guelph woman was charged with possessing weapons for a dangerous purpose, carrying a concealed weapon, unauthorized possession of a weapon and two counts of possessing stolen property after being picked up on an outstanding warrant early Thursday morning. She was wanted on several counts related to stolen vehicles, and police found a can of pepper spray and a spring-loaded knife in her possession when she was taken into custody.

Traffic

A 27-year-old Guelph male was arrested Thursday and charged with dangerous driving, flight from police, endangering a child, two counts of driving while prohibited and four counts of breaching court orders in connected to an incident on July 31. While on patrol, police noted a car with two different license plates at the front and the back of the car, they tried to conduct a traffic stop but the car speed away down the Hanlon. The suspect was identified through police video.

A 32-year-old Guelph man was arrested for impaired driving after police received reports of a vehicle driving erratically on Woolwich Street at 9:45 am last Friday, a witness called to report a vehicle being driven erratically on Woolwich Street. Testing confirmed he had more than the legal amount of alcohol on his breath.

A 71-year-old Guelph man was charged with impaired driving and failing to remain at a collision last Saturday afternoon after hitting a car and leaving the area near Eastview and Mountford.

A 19-year-old Guelph woman was charged with impaired driving and several provincial traffic offences at 9 pm last Saturday night after an office observed a vehicle erratically and making repeated U-turns on Applewood Crescent.

A 31-year-old Waterloo woman was charged with impaired driving at a RIDE spot check on Wellington Street East early Sunday morning after failing a roadside breath test.

A 54-year-old Guelph man was charged with impaired driving and careless driving on Sunday evening after a collision on Gordon near Arkell where the allegedly impaired driver rear-ended another vehicle.

A 23-year-old Cambridge man was charged with impaired driving just before 5:30 am on Monday when police were called to the area of Edinburgh and Paisley for reports of a driver passed out in a running vehicle. Officers had a difficult time waking the man, who was showing obvious signs of impairment.

A 46-year-old Guelph male is charged with impaired driving after police were notified of a possible impaired driver in the area of Victoria and Brant late Monday afternoon.  The involved vehicle was located and stopped on Eramosa Road and the driver was found to be showing obvious signs of impairment.

An adult man sustained minor injuries when he was struck by a vehicle while riding his bicycle near Edinburgh and Speedvale Tuesday evening. The adult male sustained a minor leg injury but declined medical attention, and the driver was charged under the Highway Traffic Act with making an unsafe turn.

An 83-year-old Guelph woman was charged with failing to yield to a pedestrian under the Highway Traffic Act, and her driver’s licence was suspended for three days after two pedestrians were struck by a vehicle Friday evening. An adult man and woman were both struck, knocked to the ground, and were both transported to hospital for treatment of minor injuries. The woman driving the car was just 30 milligrams shy of the legal limit.

Other Notes

A 34-year-old Guelph man was charged with taking a motor vehicle without the owner’s consent after taking a vehicle from a business without the owner’s permission on December 23, and then having it towed back to the business with front end damage a few days later.

A 39-year-old Guelph man was charged with mischief under $5,000 after a verbal altercation with staff of the Woodlawn Road West business Wednesday evening that ended with a smashing a display case and a glass coffee pot, plus spilled coffee on the counter and floor.

Total calls for service last week: 1,496

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.