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.
Assault
A 38-year-old Guelph man is charged with assault, uttering death threats and breaching probation on Tuesday afternoon. The victim was walking near Gordon and Waterloo carrying a tray with several coffees. A man walking the other way struck the tray with his hand, tossing the coffees into the air and on the victim’s face. The man also uttered a death threat before walking away. The victim was not injured.
A 17-year-old Puslinch male turned himself in to police on Monday and was charged with assault. Last Wednesday, a 16-year-old boy was walking to class when he was met by a 17-year-old, who repeatedly punched and kicked him in the head without provocation. The assault stopped when a staff member arrived and the victim attended hospital for treatment of a possible concussion. Prior to the incident the two boys had been exchanging threatening messages via social media over a mutual female friend.
A 42-year-old Guelph woman was charged with assault causing bodily harm last Friday after an employee at a downtown business asked a patron to turn off the loud music she was playing on her cellphone. Instead, the woman grabbed the employee by her shirt and struck her in the forehead with the phone after when she was asked to leave. The victim had a large laceration that required stitches.
Break-Ins
At 3:15 am on Thursday morning, police on patrol near Fair and Arrow Roads observed a white GMC cargo van running and backed up to the front doors of a business. When the police rolled up, the van sped off with the rear doors still open and fishtailing on the snow-covered roads. The van, which was stolen from Toronto, was last seen running a red light at Woodlawn and Hanlon. If you have any information, call Constable Mark O’Connell at 519-824-1212, ext. 7126, or email him at mmoconnell [at] guelphpolice.ca.
Police are looking for the two people who broke into an apartment building near Paisley and Imperial last Saturday morning, they were caught on camera breaking into a storage room shortly before 6 am. Nothing appeared stolen from the storage room but the men did pull a fire safety box off the wall of the lobby and took it with them. The first man was described as black, 25-35 with a medium build and short black beard. He was wearing a black leather coat with oversized hood, black baseball cap, grey pants and black and grey running shoes. The second was described as Asian, 25-35 years old with a medium build. He was wearing a grey winter coat with fur hood, olive green pants, a black toque and mask and blue running shoes. They arrived in a white Infiniti SUV. If you have any information call Constable Sam Johnston at 519-824-1212, ext. 7214, email him at sjohnston [at] guelphpolice.ca.
A 41-year-old Guelph man was charged with break and enter and breaching a probation order after a business was alert to a break-and-enter in progress at a Speedvale West business. A security company was monitoring live video, which showed the suspect cutting a lock off a storage container.
Drugs
A 36-year-old Guelph woman was charged with two counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking, possessing stolen property and four counts of breaching a probation order after a wellbeing check Wednesday morning. A search revealed suspected cocaine and Hydromorphone pills, two digital scales, four cellphones, drug packaging, five knives, cash and a wallet containing identification not in her name.
Fraud
Last Friday, a 26-year-old Brampton man turned himself in to Guelph Police and he was charged with more than 80 counts of fraud and uttering forged documents. Between May and July 2022, a man and woman attended TD Canada Trust branches around Southern Ontario, usually with one or more small children in attendance. They opened bank accounts in false names and presented forged cheques from a well-known employer, claiming they needed cash urgently to feed their children and often causing the teller to waive the hold period. They stole more than $55,000 from the scheme.
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 42-year-old Kitchener man is charged with impaired driving, and his licence was suspended for 90 days after a traffic stop early Friday morning when a police patrol noticed a car weaving in and out of its lane near Wellington and Imperial.
A 52-year-old Waterloo man was charged with impaired driving after a witness saw a driver hit the curb and then come to a stop on Gordon near Arkell. He had more than three times the legal limit of alcohol in his system.
A 40-year-old Guelph man was charged with refusing to provide a breath sample after a motorist reported a vehicle being driven erratically near Wellington and Waterloo. Officers located the driver at his address and immediately noted signs of impairment. He was arrested and transported to the police station, where he refused to provide a breath sample.
Theft
At approximately 5:30 am on Thursday morning, a resident of Westwood Road called police to report his white 2021 Ram Warlock was missing. The truck has aftermarket towing mirrors and LED lighting in the grille and hood. If you have any information, call Special Constable Drew Neil at 519-824-1212, ext. 7581, email him at dneil [at] guelphpolice.ca.
A white 2012 Ford F-450 cube van with blue Rossman’s Furniture decals all over it was found missing from a business at Woodlawn and Silvercreek Monday morning. It was last seen Friday afternoon. Surveillance video revealed a similar white cube van parked next to it approximately 6:45 pm Sunday before both are started and driven away southbound on Silvercreek North. If you have any information, call Special Constable Drew Neil at 519-824-1212, ext. 7581, or email him at dneil [at] guelphpolice.ca.
A 38-year-old Guelph man was further charged with theft under $5,000 and three counts of failing to appear in court after police spotted him while on patrol Thursday morning. He was wanted on 12 outstanding warrants related to property crimes and failing to attend court.
A 61-year-old Erin woman was charged with occupying a stolen motor vehicle in connection to the April 1, 2021 discovery of a stolen Toyota Matrix found just outside of Guelph.
Traffic
Police are investigating a incident Tuesday afternoon were a member of the Traffic Unit got a hit off the automated licence plate reader about a prohibited driver. When the car was stopped at Wellington and Gordon, officers were speaking to the driver she suddenly climbed into the rear seat. The other female locked the doors, moved into the driver’s seat and began driving, almost hitting one of the officers. The car was last seen speeding westbound on Wellington, and police are in the process of trying to find it.
Other Notes
Police are looking for a black male, 18-25 years old, 6’2”, 180 pounds with an athletic build. He was wearing a dark windbreaker over dark clothing and a black wool hat with a pompom and white writing on the brim. On Thursday around 10 pm at a townhouse on Gordon near Harts Lane, a man reported that he entered his girlfriend’s bedroom while she was changing and noticed the patio door slightly ajar. He pulled back a curtain and encountered a male who was standing in the open doorway. The complainant yelled at the male who ran away. If you have have any information call Constable Sherry Pettapiece at 519-824-1212, ext. 7479, or email her at spettapiece [at] guelphpolice.ca.
A Guelph teen who falsely posted on Twitter that she was being abused – prompting an investigation involving police in two provinces – was warned she could face criminal charges. Officers attended an address in the west end to check everyone’s wellbeing after getting a tip from police in Quebec. They spoke to a 15-year-old female who initially lied before admitting she made up the abuse story for ‘clout’ and had since deleted the Twitter account where it was posted. The girl was warned in the presence of her parents such behaviour could result in a criminal charge of public mischief.
Police Board Meeting this Week
The monthly Guelph Police Services Board is this Thursday, December 14, at 2:30 pm. You can see the agenda here, and then tune in to the meeting on the Guelph Police YouTube page.
Total calls for service last week: 1,322
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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