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.
Missing Person
Assault
Last Saturday evening, a man in his 60s witnessed another man apparently stealing an item from a store at Woolwich and Speedvale. When the witness confronted the man it led to a physical altercation, and then a second suspect came it and assaulted the witness before the two suspects fled together.
The first suspect was described as a black male in his 20s with a thin to medium build and slight facial hair. He was wearing a long black winter coat, baggy ripped black jeans, a bright red scarf, black hat, black face mask and black and grey backpack.he second suspect was a white male in his 20s with a thin build, shoulder-length brown hair, light facial hair and a small tattoo near his right eye. He was wearing a grey hoodie, dark pants, a black toque and white shoes with red and blue stripes.
Anyone with information is asked to call Constable Shayne Finoro at 519-824-1212, ext. 7378, email him at sfinoro [at] guelphpolice.ca.
Shortly before 2 pm on Tuesday, two people reported to police that they were on a Guelph Transit bus when, without provocation, a man spat at them, hitting one woman on the leg. When confronted by the other woman, the man spat at the friend, striking her arm which she had raised to block her face. He was kicked off the bus by the operator, and is described as a tall white male with short dark hair and brown eyes and wearing headphones. If you have any information call Constable Dylan Costello at 519-824-1212, ext. 7396, email him at dcostello [at] guelphpolice.ca.
Break-Ins
Last Saturday morning at around 4:30 am a business at Woodlawn and Silvercreek, they broke into two buildings where they discharged fire extinguishers both inside and outside one of the buildings. It is also believed that the men stole a gas generator. The suspects were described as white males. One had a thin build and the other was heavy-set, and both wore dark clothes and possibly balaclavas. They were possibly in a vehicle as headlights were caught on surveillance video. If you have any information, call Constable Firas El-Ayoubi at 519-824-1212, ext. 7129, or email him at felayoubi [at] guelphpolice.ca.
A 58-year-old Guelph man was charged with break and enter and breaching probation after he broke into a home near Speedvale and Metcalfe on Friday morning. The owner was awakened by the sound of a window being broken and an exterior door being removed. When the police arrived, the man was found hiding in the basement. About $400 in damage was done to the home.
A 28-year-old Toronto man was charged with break and enter and mischief under $5,000 on Thursday afternoon after trying to get into a home near Grange and Victoria. The police were initially called to remove a man acting erratically; the man was an acquaintance of the homeowner. Twenty minutes later police were called back to the house where they found a basement window smashed and a side door kicked in. The man was located inside and arrested. Damage was estimated at $1,300.
A 31-year-old Guelph woman was arrested and charged with break and enter with intent to commit an indictable offence in connection to a September break-in at an apartment building on Waterloo at Woodycrest. Two other people were previously charged, and the investigation is ongoing as police are looking for two more suspects.
Drugs
A 37-year-old Guelph man was charged with two counts of possessing controlled substances for the purpose of trafficking after a search warrant was executed on a Woodlawn Road West business Tuesday afternoon. During the search, officers located approximately $70,000 in cocaine, $755 worth of Oxycodone pills, $14,245 in cash, two functioning scales and drug packaging. (See photo of recovery drugs and money above.)
Fraud
Last Saturday, a Guelph woman in her 70s received a phone call from a man claiming to be from the CIBC fraud department. He said her credit card had been compromised and that another woman had taken her money so he advised her that in order to get her money back she would need to provide the number of her credit card and her debit card. The victim was told that her money would be transferred to another account and then transferred back, but on Monday she found that her chequing and savings accounts and her line of credit were all emptied resulting in a $30,000 loss.
Residents are encouraged to be wary of any telephone call, email or text which requires you to take immediate action and to never provide personal or banking information.
A new tuition scam has been reported by three different people who each heard through friends about someone who could get them a discount on their tuition. In one case, a student reported this unknown person paid $6,500 to cover their tuition, then the student forwarded the person $6,000. Weeks later, the student was informed by their school the payment had been made with a stolen credit card and reversed the payment, leaving the tuition amount still owing.
In each case, contact with the suspect was via email or an online app and communication ended once the student realized the tuition fees were still outstanding. Students are reminded to only use methods approved by their school’s registrar to pay for their tuition.
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre is also reporting that investment scams are on the rise. Typical investment frauds offer get-rich-quick opportunities and higher than normal returns. The majority of investment scams involve residents investing in cryptocurrency after seeing deceptive advertisements online. They often download an app for supposed trading platform that appears to show the investment growing except the victim is never able to withdraw funds. These sorts of scams have cost Canadians more than $300 million per year.
The CAFC is advising everyone to wary of people on social media or dating sites that try to convince you to invest. Do research before investing to ensure it’s a reputable and compliant service, and be aware that a cryptocurrency transaction can’t be reversed when completed. Verify if the investment company you’re dealing with is registered with the Provincial Securities Regulator or the National Registration Search Tool by visiting aretheyregistered.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 49-year-old Guelph man was charged with impaired driving and his licence was suspended for 90 days last Saturday afternoon after several complaints. A vehicle had hit a concrete barrier outside the LCBO store on Speedvale Avenue East before driving erratically and almost hitting other vehicles on the road. Police caught up to the driver at his residence outside downtown and when tested he had more than three times the legal limit of alcohol in his system.
Theft
Four Toyota Highlanders were stolen from the same east end neighbourhood in a single night. Three of the vehicles are still unaccounted for, but a 2022 Highlander taken from a residence on Summit Ridge Drive was recovered a short time later on Wednesday morning in the south end shortly after it was reported stolen.
An attempt was made to steal a fifth Highlander just down the street from one of the thefts where surveillance video caught a small black SUV and a small white SUV circling the neighbourhood, with a number of parties at times exiting the vehicles and approaching driveways. Two of the suspects were described as possibly females with brown skin. One was wearing a white hoodie, black facemask and grey sweatpants and had long light brown hair in a ponytail to her buttock area. The second was wearing a black hoodie with hood up, black pants and a black facemask. Anyone with information is being asked to call Guelph Police Service at 519-824-1212.
On Tuesday afternoon, a 2023 Audi Q5 reported stolen from Hamilton was tracked to Guelph via its on-board GPS system. At 5:10 pm, the vehicle was found parked and unoccupied in the area of York and Cityview. A dealer licence plate stolen from a Guelph business was attached to the car. If you have any information, call Constable Brandon Lohwinow at 519-824-1212, ext. 7204, or email him at blohwinow [at] guelphpolice.ca.
Two Toronto men, aged 27 and 24, were charged with fraud over $5,000, theft over $5,000 and possessing stolen property over $5,000 at Woodlawn West store. They were replacing Apple gift cards with ones that had been tampered with so that once activated the funds would be loaded onto a predetermined account, leaving the purchaser with worthless cards. The men are believed to have attended another Guelph business where they did the same thing.
Traffic
A 32-year-old London man and 49-year-old London woman are jointly charged with possession of stolen property over $5,000 and occupying a stolen vehicle for an incident last Saturday nigh. Two people in a Toyota 4Runner stolen from London tried to flee from two police cruisers in a parking lot on Woodlawn Road near Woolwich, and they rammed into the cruisers while attempting to flee. The man was also charged with dangerous driving and flight from police, and both face several counts of breaching court orders.
Other Notes
A 16-year-old was arrested breaching her release conditions on Thursday. On December 3, the ten was released on an undertaking after being arrested for breaking into a restaurant. One of the conditions was that she be in her residence daily between 10 pm and 6 am, but when police came calling just after 10 pm Wednesday night, the teen’s dad said she wasn’t at home.
A 39-year-old Guelph woman was charged with three counts of obstructing police and failing to attend court after police took her into custody while investigating an unrelated matter downtown on Monday morning. She had provided officers a fake name and a couple of different fake birthdays.
A 41-year-old Guelph woman was charged with disturbing a religious service, failing to comply with a release order and five counts of breaching probation last Sunday after interrupting a church services downtown. She yelled, played music on her phone and attempted to get undressed.
Total calls for service last week: 1,323
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.
Guelph Politico 