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.
Fake Gun, Real Police Visit
A week after Guelph Police warned about the increase of illegal firearms in the city, there was a case of mistaken identity after a fake gun prompted a call to police. On Tuesday afternoon, police were called to an apartment building on Speedvale East after a man saw what he believed to be a black handgun lying on the back seat of a car parked there.
The owner was found, and it was confirmed that the gun was a replica. No charges were laid, but police remind the public that when they’re responding to reports of possible firearms they will always assume that the device is real until proven otherwise. The photo below shows a real police-issued Glock firearm (pink background) versus a replica of the same firearm seized during an unrelated investigation.
Assault
A 13-year-old male and a 16-year-old male are both charged with assault causing bodily harm and were released with conditions including a 9 pm curfew on Wednesday evening. A 15-year-old Guelph male received a message from a 13-year-old male who asked to meet so that the younger teen could return property he had in his possession. The two, along with several other friends, met near a park on Edinburgh North, when a friend of the younger boy grabbed the victim in a headlock, choked him until he lost consciousness, and then, while the victim was on the ground, he was kicked several times by the 13-year-old.
That same 13-year-old was arrested again and charged with possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose, assault with a weapon, uttering threats and breaching his undertaking from the night before. On Thursday evening, a group of young people clashed downtown just before 10 pm on Thursday, and during the altercation, the youth pulled out a small knife and threatened to stab another teen before all involved parties fled the area.
A 26-year-old Guelph man was charged with assault and assaulting a police officer after a call on Wednesday night. Officers arrived at a south-end residence where a woman reported being slapped by her adult son who then aggressively pushed away the officer when he was approached.
A 39-year-old Guelph woman is charged with assault on Monday after a man in his 70s got into a verbal argument with a woman who lives in the same Speedvale East apartment building. The argument escalated until the woman struck him with both hands, causing minor injuries and breaking the male’s glasses. He was treated on scene by paramedics.
A 30-year-old Guelph man was charged with possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose, assault with a weapon and uttering threats after police were called to an apartment building near Neeve and Wellington last Friday afternoon. A witness reported two males arguing in a hallway and one had a large kitchen knife in his hand. During the argument one of the males held the knife in the air and repeatedly stabbed the wall next to the other’s head. The men were known to each other.
Break-Ins
Nothing to report here.
Drugs
Nothing to report here.
Fraud
A man was approached by two people in a Stone Road parking lot on Wednesday afternoon with an offer to buy a surround-sound system, projector and screen for $2,600. The men claimed that they worked for a technology company and had received extra stock, which they were selling at a discount. This was not true, and the equipment was not as it appeared – like new. Now police are looking for the two salesmen.
The first male was described as white, 30-40 years, 6’ tall with dark hair and a thin build. The second was white, late 20s with a thin build and thin beard. Both were wearing grey polo shirts with the name of an audio company on the front. They were driving a white Jeep Cherokee. If you have any information, call Constable Keith Kolodziejczak at 519-824-1212, ext. 7452, or email him at kolodziejczak [at] guelphpolice.ca.
If you think you might be a victim of any fraud, call the Guelph Police Non-Emergency line is 519-824-5154, or contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or online at their website.
Impaired Driving
A 29-year-old Cambridge man was charged with refusing to comply with a breath demand early Friday morning, and his licence was suspended for 90 days after police stopped the car for a report of an impaired driver leaving a downtown establishment. The car that the man was driving, which was not registered to him, was impounded for 14 days.
A 40-year-old Guelph man was charged with impaired driving and refusing to comply with a breath demand Sunday night after a man was found sleeping in his vehicle in his driveway.
A 50-year-old Guelph man was charged with impaired driving and failing to stop at a red light after police caught up with a car that had reportedly left an establishment in the south end with a possible impaired driver behind the wheel Sunday night. Officers located the vehicle driving on Edinburgh South and they saw it run a red light at Youngman Drive.
A 37-year-old Toronto man was charged with refusing to comply with a breath demand, driving while suspended and several other provincial charges early on Monday morning when police observed a vehicle driving erratically near Silvercreek and Waterloo. The vehicle was stopped and officers could see a marijuana cigarette in the console beside the driver. He also had a suspended driver’s license.
Theft
A Hino box truck found in a parking lot outside a business on Woodlawn Road West on Tuesday morning turned out to have been stolen from an address in Wellington County earlier this month. Police are investigating, so if you have any information, call Constable Emily Dietrich at 519-824-1212, ext. 7265, or email her at edietrich [at] guelphpolice.ca.
A Guelph man was on a popular buy and sell site looking to buy parts for a 2021 GMC van, and he ultimately agreed to purchase the vehicle outright for $5,000 cash. He picked the van up from the Toronto area and towed it back to Guelph only to realize that it might have been stolen. Guelph Police confirmed it. The investigation is ongoing, so if you have information, call Constable Dylan Costello at 519-824-1212, ext. 7396, or email him at dcostello [at] guelphpolice.ca.
A 30-year-old Kitchener man was arrested on Wednesday and charged with robbery, unauthorized possession of a weapon and three counts of possessing a weapon contrary to a court order in connection to a May 14 incident were he and other person already arrested brandished a handgun and knife and robbed two people of cash, jewelry and clothing in the area of Willow and Edinburgh. Police also recovered a semi-automatic assault rifle and a realistic-looking replica firearm.
A man was charged with obstructing police, in addition to the original charge for stealing a cash box from a fruit stand in the city’s south end on Tuesday. The man named the wrong woman as his accomplice, but police ended up arresting the real accomplice after they viewed the suspect caught on surveillance video.
Traffic
A 40-year-old Guelph woman was charged with driving while prohibited last Saturday afternoon when officers were patrolling in the area of Beaver Meadow and Haney Drive and they spotted a woman they knew to be a prohibited driver as a result of a Criminal Code conviction. She also had an open can of alcohol in the console and her breath smelled like alcohol.
Other Notes
A 42-year-old Guelph man was charged with causing a disturbance and two counts of breaching a probation order after a two hour stand-off with police on Wednesday. Officers were called to the area of Huron Street and Elizabeth Street after several reports of a man outside screaming obscenities at neighbours and passersby. Investigation revealed the man is on probation with a condition not to have contact with some of those same neighbours.
A 39-year-old Guelph man was charged with failing to comply with an undertaking on Tuesday morning after a report of two unwanted men outside a downtown business. One of the men was supposed to attend police headquarters for fingerprinting as a release condition.
A 49-year-old Guelph man is charged with mischief under $5,000 and two counts of failing to comply with a release order last Friday night after a resident report that a neighbour had yelled obscenities at him and his two small children while they were in their backyard and also damaged a fence between their properties. At the time, the accused was on a release order from an earlier altercation, including a condition not to have any contact with the neighbour, but during the police visit, the neighbour emerged to yell some more.
RIP Charger.
Charger, a 12-year-old German shepherd and retired canine member of the Guelph Police Service, passed away at home Monday. He served the community from 2011 until his retirement in September 2020 and handled more than 1,100 canine calls for service with his human partner Sergeant Andrew Crowe.
Charger was a General Service Dog, which means that he was certified in tracking, building searches, area searches, article searches, agility, obedience, as well as apprehension; he was certified in the detection of eight different narcotics, firearms, and Canadian and American currency. During his career, Charger located dozens of suspects and missing persons. He and Sergeant Crowe regularly participated in canine competitions across North America, winning many and generally finishing in the Top 10.
In other words, he was a good boy, and he will be missed.
Total calls for service last week: 1,546
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.
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