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 48-year-old Guelph man was charged with possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose, breaching a probation order and three counts of breaching a weapons prohibition on Thursday morning after a passerby said that they saw a man removing a gun from his backpack and showing it to another man on Wyndham Street North. A replica firearm was recovered, and investigation revealed the man is bound by a probation order and three lifetime weapons prohibitions.
A 25-year-old Guelph man was charged with assault causing bodily harm and breaching a probation order early Tuesday when an altercation between two men in a plaza parking lot on Stone Road West left one of them with a significant cut on his forehead. The two were not known to each other, and the victim was transported to hospital for treatment.
Break-Ins
A 36-year-old Guelph man was charged with break and enter, possessing stolen property and breaching a probation order on Tuesday morning after staff a local high school found someone sleeping on tables in the cafeteria. Security video showed the man breaking into the school at approximately 3:15 am and wandering around the school before falling asleep. A search revealed that he was in possession of identification and banking cards in other people’s names.
Drugs
A 38-year-old Guelph man was charged with five counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking, possessing proceeds of crime over $5,000, unauthorized possession of a weapon and driving while prohibited after he was spotted by police near Speedvale and Gladstone Thursday afternoon. The man was the subject of an ongoing trafficking investigation and a search revealed quantities of suspected crystal meth, fentanyl, cocaine and opioid tablets with a total estimated value in excess of $50,000, plus $5,600 in cash and a conducted energy weapon.
Fraud
Police are investigating after alert store staff halted a fraud attempt, saving the victim $1,000. The victim, in their 80s, was contacted by someone claiming to be from their bank. The caller claimed there had been unauthorized activity on the victim’s accounts and instructed them to obtain a temporary password for their online banking. The victim was also instructed to purchase two $500 Apple gift cards and to claim they were gifts if asked. When the victim attempted to purchases the cards staff recognized the scam and advised them to call police. The victim said they had provided banking information to the caller and $500 was withdrawn from his account.
Police were called Monday evening and were told by a Guelph resident that in February they began communicating with two individuals online. This led to the victim providing nearly $6,200 which they thought was to be invested in cryptocurrency. When they attempted to withdraw funds a week ago the victim was asked to pay a $5,000 processing fee but they called police instead.
Last Saturday, a 26-year-old Guelph man was arrested for two counts of fraud over $5,000 and seven counts of unauthorized use of a credit card. Last July, three Guelph residents in their 90s reported being contacted by people claiming to represent their banks and convinced them to hand over their debit and credit cards for destruction. A man attended the victims’ homes and collected the cards, which were later used to make thousands of dollars in withdrawals and purchases.
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 66-year-old Guelph man was charged with impaired driving and driving while disqualified on Wednesday night after police found a man trying to reverse his vehicle off the tracks near Duke and Arthur where it was stuck. He had more than twice the legal amount of alcohol in his system.
A 22-year-old Guelph man was charged with impaired driving on Sunday after officers were called to Vanier Drive after witnesses observed a van spinning its tires resulting in a lot of smoke. Officers arrived to find the van with the front axle damaged and airbags deployed while the driver had a strong odour of alcohol on his breath and was unsteady on his feet when exiting the vehicle. He had twice the legal amount of alcohol in his system.
A 69-year-old Guelph woman was arrested for impaired driving, driving without a licence and driving without insurance after officers responded to a driving complaint in the west end Saturday night
A 49-year-old Guelph man was arrested for impaired driving and breaching a probation order following a driving complaint in the west end Saturday night.
Theft
Last Friday morning police were called to an address near Glasow and Bristol where workers arrived on scene to discover the home was entered sometime late Thursday or early Friday. Propane heaters and tools were stolen. If you have any information, call Constable Karson Massey at 519-824-1212, ext. 7594, or email kmassey [at] guelphpolice.ca.
A 31-year-old man was charged with assault with a weapon, administering a noxious substance and theft under $5,000 for being one of four men who robbed more than $4,600 of liquor from the LCBO on Scottsdale last August. He was arrested by another police service and returned to Guelph. During the course of the robbery, a customer attempted to stop one of the men, but was sprayed in the face by another suspect.
A 48-year-old Kitchener woman and her 27-year-old daughter were each arrested for theft under $5,000 after being detained by security at Stone Road Mall. They were arrested and more than $1,000 in product was recovered.
Traffic
A 21-year-old Guelph man was arrested Thursday night for obstructing police, three counts of driving while suspended and other offences after getting pulled over on Gordon because his back lights weren’t on. He didn’t have his licence and identified himself as his brother because he was bound by three different licence suspensions.
A 28-year-old Guelph man was charged with driving while suspended and driving without insurance last Friday after an automated licence plate reader alerted the officer to a vehicle owned by a suspended driver.
Other Notes
A 15-year-old Guelph girl was arrested after it was determined she was breaching several release orders by associating with two men involved in a disturbance at a plaza near Gordon and Wellington. She was charged with two counts each of failing to comply with an undertaking and breaching a probation order after approximately 12 young people were involved in a verbal altercation that turned physical. A 22-year-old man was transported to hospital for treatment after he fell and injured his knee.
On Wednesday morning a 50-year-old Guelph woman attended the police station and was arrested for public mischief after calling police 15 times over the course of the last few weeks making false allegations. During these calls she has consistently berated police communicators attempting to assist her and later refused to speak to officers dispatched to investigate her allegations.
Total calls for service last week: 1,741
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.
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