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.
School Threats
A 64-year-old man and a 17-year-old girl from Wellington County have been each charged with five counts of uttering threats, while the man was also charged with knowledge of unauthorized possession of a firearm. The charges stem from threats received against John F. Ross Collegiate Vocational Institute, which resulted in the school being closed on Thursday as a precaution. Detectives were led to an address outside the city and the Tactics and Rescue Unit, assisted by the Ontario Provincial Police, executed two search warrants Thursday morning and a firearm was located during the searches. A 31-year-old Wellington County man was also arrested for unauthorized possession of a firearm, although he’s not alleged to have been involved in the threats.
Assault
A 27-year-old Guelph man was charged with pointing a firearm, robbery, assault with a weapon and possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose on Thursday after police were called to a business near Woolwich and Marilyn. A man entered with a black gun in his hand and pointed it at two people, who were afraid for their lives and tried to hide under tables. The man did not say anything and left the restaurant a short time later.
Last Friday morning, a man entered a bank in the north end and became upset with an employee after she would not grant him access to a safety deposit box. He removed a hunting-style knife from his bag, placed it on the counter in front of him and whispered a threatening comment. A supervisor asked the man to put the knife away and leave the branch and the incident was reported to police on Monday. A 38-year-old Guelph man was in custody on unrelated matters and brought to court to face new charges.
An 18-year-old St. Thomas man was arrested for assault causing bodily harm, mischief under $5,000 and making a false alarm of fire early Sunday for, in order, getting kicked out of a party at a condo near Gordon and Poppy after grabbing a woman by the neck, damaging a light fixture inside an elevator, and pulling the building’s fire alarm.
A 38-year-old Guelph man was charged with assault with a weapon, assault, uttering threats, mischief under $5,000 and possessing a controlled substance last Saturday morning after police were called to an apartment building near Woolwich and Speedvale. A resident said he was awakened by a friend grabbing his neck and threatening him with a large kitchen knife before using the knife to damage the victim’s bed. Following his arrest, officers located a baggie of suspected crystal meth.
Impaired Driving
A 29-year-old Guelph man was charged with impaired driving last Friday night after passersby told police about a vehicle that had become wedged on a snowbank near Woolwich and Baker. Tests revealed he had more than twice the legal limit of alcohol in his system.
Theft
On January 28, a man entered a business near Gordon and Clair. He went to the cosmetics section, picked up a gift pack, and placed four serums in his pocket. He paid for a gift set, but made no attempt to pay for the serums, which were valued at $1,058. He was described as white, 40-50 with a thin build and greying dark hair. He was wearing a dark puffy jacket, blue jeans, a white shirt and running shoes. If you have any information, call Constable Todd Van Iersel at 519-824-1212, ext. 7557, or email tvaniersel@guelphpolice.ca.
On Monday evening, a Rockwood man reported having debit and credit cards as well as cash stolen from his wallet, which was in a locked locker at a south-end gym. The cards were later used to make almost $5,200 in purchases and withdrawals. Then, on Tuesday, a Guelph woman reported she noticed cards and cash missing from her wallet the morning after attending a class at the same gym. She also reported her belongings were left in a locker and her cards were used to make approximately $900 in purchases before being blocked. It is not known if the thefts are related, but all cards were used at the same south-end businesses. If you have any information, call police at 519-824-1212.
At approximately 4:45 pm on February 1, a child was seen exiting a white Nissan Rogue and entering a business on Woodlawn Road East. He selected a pressure cooker and tried to exit the front of the store, but was not able. He eventually left the store through a fire exit and threw the cooker over a fence. He was then seen exiting the front of the store, retrieving the item and getting back into the Nissan. The child was described as 10 to 12 years of age and wearing a black jacket and grey sweatpants. If you have any information, call Constable Jonathan Schleen at 519-824-1212, ext. 7570, or email jschleen [at] guelphpolice.ca.
On Monday, a 26-year-old Waterloo man was arrested for robbery with a firearm and forcible confinement for a robbery of a man in the north end back in December. While waiting in an SUV for one of the men he was meeting with, another man entered the vehicle and began assaulting the victim. One of the suspects then pulled out a handgun and stole the victim’s valuables. When taken into custody, a search of the suspect revealed a number of small baggies of suspected cocaine and Percocet, and he was additionally charged with two counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking. The investigation is ongoing, so if you have any information call Detective Constable Jagdeep Atwal at 519-824-1212, ext. 7436, or email jatwal [at] guelphpolice.ca.
A 35-year-old Guelph man was charged with six counts of theft under $5,000 for allegedly stealing tools from the same Woodlawn Road West store six times in less than three months. The thefts had a total value of at least $3,200.
Theft (Auto)
On Thursday, a man reported that his white 2024 CR-V Hybrid had been stolen from his residence near Victoria and Clair sometime after midnight. The vehicle had real estate signs and other personal items inside. If you have any information, call Constable Jessica Belcastro at 519-824-1212, ext. 7287, or email jbelcastro [at] guelphpolice.ca.
A black 2024 Lexus TX350 SUV had been stolen from the parking lot of a workplace on Malcolm Road on Wednesday. The complainant reported he has both sets of keys and the vehicle’s GPS tracking system had been disabled. If you have any information, call Constable Jonathan Schleen at 519-824-1212, ext. 7570, or email jschleen [at] guelphpolice.ca.
On Sunday morning, a resident near Waterloo and reported his black 2013 Ford E350 had been stolen from outside his home. The van has tinted windows and had two car seats and two booster seats inside. If you have any information call Special Constable Amanda Chalmers at 519-824-1212, ext. 7516, or email achalmers [at] guelphpolice.ca.
Traffic
At approximately 4:40 pm on Monday, emergency services were called to Gordon and Stone after a man and his girlfriend, both 18, were crossing the street when a transport truck began turning. The man pushed his girlfriend out of the way before being struck by the front of the truck, which tried to stop to avoid the collision. The man was transported to a Hamilton hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries while the woman was not injured. The truck driver remained on scene and cooperated with police. If you have any information or dashcam footage call Constable Michael Braga of the Traffic Unit at 519-824-1212, ext. 7144, or via email at mbraga [at] guelphpolice.ca.
Other Notes
Just before 5:30 pm on Thursday, a teenaged girl reported she had been on a bus minutes earlier when two teenaged boys sat next to her and began talking to her. One of the boys opened his jacket to reveal part of a gun. The girl got scared and left the bus at the next stop. Officers stopped and contained the bus and ordered everyone off. The two boys were identified and detained at gunpoint, and the toy was recovered and seized. One of the males was apprehended under the Mental Health Act and transported to hospital for assessment, and no charges were laid.
A 53-year-old Puslinch man is charged with mischief under $5,000 for an incident last month with an Uber Eats driver at a downtown condo building. After the driver attempted several times to contact a customer using the touch-screen intercom system he punched the screen approximately five times, breaking it and rendering it inoperable. The screen cost more than $4,200 to repair. He turned himself in to police in on Wednesday.
A 36-year-old woman was arrested for obstructing police and failing to attend court last Friday after being were called to a Speedvale address on an unrelated matter. They asked the woman if she was wanted for missing a court date on a number of weapons and property charges, and she denied it and then refused to identify themselves.
Total calls for service last week: 1,621
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.tip.
Guelph Politico 