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 21-year-old Guelph man was charged with two counts of assault on Tuesday night after three people were waiting for a bus on Macdonell Street when a man not known to them approached and punched one man in the face, causing a nose bleed, and then punched another man before walking away.
A 21-year-old Guelph man was arrested for assault early Sunday after two men got into a fight and a bouncer intervened. One of the men grabbed the bouncer and threw him to the ground, where he struck his head and briefly lost consciousness.
Medhani Yohans, who was deemed to be a high-risk offender and released on March 1 after serving a custodial sentence, was arrested again on March 8 after allegedly breaching a probation order by not reporting to authorities following his release. Then, on March 10, he was re-arrested for allegedly breaching a court order by being close to an address he has been ordered to stay away from. Yohans has a history of violence, that includes two stranger sexual assaults.
Break-Ins
Last Friday morning, employees of a business near Quebec and Baker arrived to find a glass front door smashed, however it did not appear entry was gained. Staff covered the broken window with boards and continued business for the day, but sometime between when all employees had left at around 6:30 p.m and 8:30 pm when the owner returned to drop something off, the business had been broken into. A laptop, coffee maker and a large number of personal care items had been stolen. The suspect also stole a laundry hamper, which was likely used to carry the other items. The stolen items are valued at approximately $3,000. If you have any information call Constable Jay Hall at 519-824-1212, ext. 7136, email jthall [at] guelphpolice.ca.
Drugs
Nothing to report.
Fraud
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 51-year-old Breslau man was charged with impaired driving and his licence was suspended for 90 days on Wednesday afternoon near Woodlawn and Elmira. An officer on patrol observed a man driving a pick-up while using a cellphone and when he stopped the driver he noticed the strong odour of menthol candy, and alcohol.
Just after 9 pm on Monday, police received several calls about a possible impaired driver coming into Guelph. Officers located the vehicle, pulled it over and noted an odour of alcohol on the driver’s breath. Tests confirmed he had more than the legal amount of alcohol in his system, and the 38-year-old Guelph man was charged with impaired driving.
A 52-year-old Guelph man was charged with impaired operation and mischief under $5,000 on Monday night after police located a man in a running vehicle near York and Stevenson. Police found open alcohol inside the vehicle, and when tested he had nearly three times the legal amount of alcohol in his system.
Theft
At 6 am Monday, a City employee arrived at Eastview Community Park and found a Kia SUV in the parking lot fully engulfed in flames. Investigation revealed that the SUV had been stolen overnight from a driveway near Grange and Starwood. A witness reported two vehicles pulled into the lot, then the second one was observed leaving after the fire began. If you have any information, call Constable Brent Estabrooks at 519-824-1212, ext. 7259, or email bestabrooks [at] guelphpolice.ca.
Around 4:30 am on Monday, a resident near Fleming and Severn reported a dark orange 2004 Chevrolet Avalanche was stolen from the driveway. Also, a business near Imperial and Woodlawn reported that sometime over the weekend, someone entered the gated yard and stole a red 2002 Chevrolet Silverado pickup with a plow on the front. If you have any information about either of these thefts call Sergeant Chris Probst at 519-824-1212, ext. 7342, or email cprobst [at] guelphpolice.ca.
Police are investigating after a woman stole more than $1,500 in Estee Lauder make-up from a Stone Road Mall business. She was described as 5’4” with dark hair and wearing a black jacket, white top and black pants and carrying a black cross-body bag. If you have any information call Constable Todd Van Iersel at 519-824-1212, ext. 7557, email tvaniersel [at] guelphpolice.ca.
On Sunday morning, police were called to a business near York and Watson where a hole had been cut in a fence to gain access to the yard. A lock on a storage container was cut off, and between $3,000 and $5,000 worth of tools were stolen. If you have any information, call Constable Anna-Maria DePaepe at 519-824-1212, ext. 7195, or email adepaepe [at] guelphpolice.ca.
A 24-year-old Guelph man was charged Thursday morning with two counts of theft under $5,000 and breach probation after two incidents at the end of February where the same suspect walked into two different businesses and stole two bottles of alcohol.
A 24-year-old Guelph man was arrested last Friday for robbery and breaching a bail order for a May 2024 theft of more than $1,600 worth of alcohol at the LCBO near Gordon and Wellington.
The five men from Toronto and Brampton, aged 24 to 37, face dozens of charges including break and enter, possession of break-in instruments, disguise with intent, possession of stolen property over $5,000 and failure to comply with court-imposed orders. The case dates back to December when the Break Enter and Auto Theft (BEAT) Unit began an investigation into commercial break and enters involving nine convenience stores and one auto repair shop in Guelph, and with the help of other police services, they connected the group to 10 break and enters in Waterloo Region and two in London. Police recovered approximately 6,500 packs of cigarettes valued at $100,000 and more than 800 OLG lottery scratch tickets, plus approximately $10,000 cash.
Traffic
A 20-year-old Guelph woman was charged with stunt driving for doing 134 kilometres per hour in a 50 zone on Wednesday night near Woodlawn and Golfview.
A 59-year-old Cambridge man and 19-year-old Georgetown man were both charged with stunt driving for travelling at least 90 kilometres per hour in a 50 zone in a speed enforcement on Clair Road West on Wednesday afternoon.
A 27-year-old Guelph man was charged with driving while suspended, driving without insurance and driving a vehicle without a valid permit, and he had his Tesla seized indefinitely Tuesday evening. The car will be impounded until the charges are concluded or the owner is able to convince a court to release it.
Other Notes
At approximately 5:25 am last Saturday, a resident of an apartment building on Speedvale Avenue East reported hearing someone smash his neighbour’s window and then smelling smoke. A resident of a ground-floor unit said that someone was at her door yelling, then a short time later she heard a window breaking and an item on fire was thrown into the unit. The tenant was able to quickly douse the flames. If you have any information, call Ashton Pilkey at 519-824-1212, ext. 7597, or email apilkey [at] guelphpolice.ca.
A 37-year-old Guelph man was charged with mischief under $5,000, utter threat to cause death/bodily harm, three counts of unauthorized possession of a prohibited weapon, possession of weapons for a dangerous purpose, and two counts of possession of a Schedule I Substance. It started when someone witnessed a man drawing graffiti on a garbage bin downtown Thursday, and then the witness was threatened. When police arrested the suspect, they found a stun gun, brass knuckles, various knives, and a collapsible baton plus meth and fentanyl.
On February 12, a 22-year-old Toronto man was arrested for two counts each of luring, sexual assault, sexual interference and invitation to sexual touching, and after an examination of his phone he’s also been charged with two counts each of making and possessing child pornography.
A 31-year-old Guelph man was charged with obstructing police, resisting arrest, unauthorized possession of a weapon, possessing break-in tools, possessing stolen property and several counts of breaching court orders on Tuesday evening. He was spotted by police near Norfolk and Paisley and was known to be wanted of break and enter charges and he was found with a slingshot on his despite a condition not to possess weapons.
Total calls for service last week: 1,780
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 