Assistance from public leads to arrest

A Guelph man faces more than a dozen charges after residents of an east-end neighbourhood shared security video of a man stealing from cars early Monday.

Several residents called police to report suspicious activity and thefts from vehicles in the area of Severn Drive and Henderson Drive. One resident shared video footage which allowed officers to identify the suspect.

On Monday evening a man was arrested as he unlocked a stolen SUV in the parking lot of an east-end townhouse complex. The SUV bore licence plates stolen a day earlier from a different Guelph address. A search of the man revealed property which had been stolen from vehicles earlier in the day.

A 30-year-old Guelph man is charged with trespassing near a residence, two counts of theft under $5,000, possessing stolen property over $5,000, possessing stolen property under $5,000 and 10 counts of driving while prohibited. He was held for a bail hearing Friday.

Police believe there may be additional victims who had their vehicles entered and property stolen. Anyone with additional information is asked to call Detective Sergeant Ian Smith of the Break Enter Auto Theft Unit at 519-824-1212, ext. 7125, or email ismith@guelphpolice.ca.

Investigators credit the resident who was willing to share security video for helping to identify the suspect quickly. Residents are encouraged to consider registering their security cameras with the Connect Guelph camera registry, which allows officers to quickly identify the location of cameras that might have captured important footage during a crime or emergency. Learn more about Connect Guelph here. (Occurrence number GU26060543)