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 40-year-old Guelph man was charged with assault police, resisting arrest, possessing a prohibited weapon, and breaching a weapons prohibition along with several counts of breaching probation. On Thursday, members of the OPP’s Repeat Offender Parole Enforcement (ROPE) unit were at a north-end hotel looking for a wanted man. While trying to escape, he grabbed an officer’s tactical vest and punched her in the face.
A 34-year-old Guelph man is charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault, assault to resist arrest, break and enter and mischief after a disturbance inside a home near Woodlawn and Inverness on Tuesday morning. Investigation revealed a man had damaged a fence to gain access to the backyard, then removed a shovel from a shed and smashed a patio door to get into the house. Once inside he used the shovel to repeatedly strike the homeowner in the face and head. The victim, a man in his 70s, sustained serious facial injuries and was transported to hospital for treatment, and although the two men lived on the same street, they had never met or had any prior involvement with each other.
A 27-year-old Guelph man was located Sunday evening and arrested for assault with a weapon and uttering threats after two men got in a verbal dispute outside in a plaza on Eramosa Road. During the altercation, one of the men brandished a knife and threatened to harm the other.
Break-Ins
At approximately 5:50 am, police were dispatched to a business near Woodlawn and Nicklin where a suspect gained entry by stacking items against an exterior wall then accessing the roof via an emergency ladder. A hole was cut in the ceiling and the suspect used a rope to lower himself down into the business to steal a quantity of cigarettes were stolen. The suspect was described as a white male, six feet with a heavy build, shaggy hair and glasses. He was wearing a puffy mid-length winter jacket, hoodie, pants with possibly ‘Deadpool’ written down the leg and Nike shoes. If you have any information, call Constable Caitlin Robinson at 519-824-1212, ext. 7604, or email crobinson [at] guelphpolice.ca.
A 53-year-old Guelph man was charged with break and enter, assault, possession of break-in instruments, unauthorized possession of a weapon and breaching an undertaking last Friday morning in the area of Greengage and Applewood. A homeowner arrived home to find someone stealing from them. A search of the man revealed a switchblade knife, box cutter and flashlight.
Drugs
A 32-year-old Brampton man is charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking and possessing proceeds of crime over $5,000 following a trafficking investigation that began earlier this year. Two packages of cocaine and a quantity of cash were located after the suspect was arrested leaving his car in Guelph’s south end, and a search warrant collected approximately $4,000 worth of cocaine, $16,000 in cash and an airsoft pistol.
Fraud
On Tuesday, a woman in her 60s attended the police station to report that she had lost over $300,000 to a crypto scam. She had listed a basement apartment for rent and was contacted by a man who claimed to be interested but ended up convincing her to invest in cryptocurrency instead. She downloaded an app and invested $200,000, and then she paid an additional $131,000, supposedly to cover fees. She eventually concluded it was a scam and contacted police.
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 25-year-old Guelph woman was charged with impaired operation, dangerous driving, stunt driving, speeding and possessing a controlled substance Thursday night after a patrol clocked a car travelling at 113 kilometres per hour in a 50 zone. A search of the vehicle revealed several open alcohol containers, cannabis, THC gummies and psilocybin, all within reach of the driver, who had more than twice the legal limit of alcohol in her system too.
A 19-year-old Guelph man was charged under the Highway Traffic Act with being a young driver having alcohol in his system early Sunday morning after the staff of a licensed establishment on Woodlawn Road West called about a man who had got into his car after drinking.
Theft
On March 4, a black 2008 Honda Accord was stolen from a driveway in the west end overnight and was recovered outside the city on March 7. Investigation revealed shortly after it was stolen the vehicle was driven through the McDonald’s drive-through on Woodlawn near Silvercreek. The driver was described as a white male with a slim build and wearing a black Calvin Klein hoodie with grey trim around the hood. If you have any information, call Constable Emily Richardson at 519 824-1212, ext. 7486, or email erichardson [at] guelphpolice.ca.
Just before 9 am on Wednesday, police were called to an address near Gibbs and Doyle where a resident started her 2018 Toyota RAV4, then went inside to put away her garbage bins and collect her belongings for work. When she went back outside the SUV was gone. Video from a neighbour showed a black pickup – possibly a Ram – driving past the victim’s home approximately 8:36 am and then doing a u-turn and stopping. One minute later both vehicles are seen driving away on Doyle Drive. If you have any information, call Constable Matt Simpson at 519-824-1212, ext. 7318, or email msimpson [at] guelphpolice.ca.
At approximately 8:30 am, a resident near Watson Parkway and Fleming reported that his white 2016 Ram RT had been stolen from the driveway. The truck has oversized tires, black rims, tinter windows and a loud exhaust. As well the grille has been cut out and replaced with a light bar and there are ‘snake eyes’ on the hood that shoot water. If you have any information, call Constable Frazer McCrindle at 519-824-1212, ext. 7327, or email fmccrindle [at] guelphpolice.ca.
Early Saturday morning, a resident near Paisley and Stephanie reported that her white 2016 Ram had been stolen from the parking lot of her townhouse complex sometime overnight. If you have any information call Special Constable Amanda Chalmers at 519-824-1212, ext. 7516, or email achalmers [at] guelphpolice.ca.
At approximately 10:10 am on Wednesday police were called for a possible domestic disturbance involving a man and a woman outside a truck near Exhibition Park. When officers tried pull it over to check the occupants’ wellbeing the driver accelerated, driving over grass and a curb and forcing another motorist to swerve onto a curb to avoid contact. It was found abandoned a short time later in a parking lot near Paisley and Guelph and investigation revealed it had been stolen from a rental business.
The involved man was described as white, 5’8” with a slim build and wearing a dark top, camouflage pants, grey shoes, a high-visibility vest and a hat or hood; the woman was described as white, 30-40 years of age, 5’8” with a medium build and wearing a dark winter coat and a scarf. They were last seen on video walking along Rosewood Avenue. If you have any information, call Constable Mallory Woeller at 519-824-1212, ext. 7462, email mwoeller [at] guelphpolice.ca.
Traffic
A 33-year-old Guelph man was charged with dangerous driving, driving while suspended and failing to attend court after a rented blue Mitsubishi was travelling at a high rate of speed and swerving around other traffic in the area of Speedvale and the Hanlon. Police tracked the car to an address near Speedvale and Woolwich where the suspect was hiding under the kitchen sink behind a false wall.
An 18-year-old Cambridge man was charged with speeding and stunt driving, and his licence was suspended for 30 days after police clocked a vehicle doing 102 kilometres per hour in a 60 zone near Wellington and Imperial. His parents’ car was impounded for 14 days.
A 33-year-old Guelph man was arrested Monday and charged with five counts of mischief under $5,000, five counts of theft under $5,000, possessing stolen property under $5,000 and breach of probation for a January 15 spree of smash and grabs in cars parked downtown. The total damage was estimated at $2,700 and the reported theft was well in excess of $6,000.
Other Notes
Guelph Police are looking for the owner of some recently-recovered tools. This bag of tools was recovered during a recent investigation, and there are identifying marks inside the bag to assist with confirmation of ownership. Anyone who recognizes the bag is asked to call Constable Aaron Miller at 519-824-1212, ext. 7383 or email amiller [at] guelphpolice.ca.
Police are currently conducting an investigation into injuries sustained by a resident in Royal City Park on Wednesday March 26. If you were in the park between 7:45 and 9 am please contact Major Case Unit investigators at mcu [at] guelphpolice.ca.
Police are investigating after several heavy vehicles at a construction site near Woodlawn and Nickin had their windows smashed by rocks. The damage is estimated at more than $15,000. If you have any information call Constable Jonathan Schleen at 519-824-1212, ext. 7570, or email jschleen [at] guelphpolice.ca.
A 21-year-old man and a 20-year-old man were each charged with possessing and accessing child pornography. An investigation began last October when the US-based National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children told Guelph Police about child pornography being uploaded to social media from a Guelph address. A search warrant executed in February recovered nine electronic devices for further examination, and two brothers were arrested last Friday. The younger brother is also charged with making child pornography available.
Total calls for service last week: 1,464
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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