OPP roundup: Seven-foot-long snake slithers into house
An occasional roundup of unusual OPP news releases:
It would be near the top of the list of unwanted house guests.
On Aug. 8 a homeowner in Fort Frances, in northwestern Ontario between Thunder Bay and Winnipeg, was startled to find a seven-foot-long snake inside the house.
OPP removed it and are looking for its owner. Police believe it is a boa constrictor. No word on how it slithered inside.
Make yourself at home
He broke in and decided to have a drink before leaving.
On July 30 at 7:30 a.m. homeowners in Seguin Township, near Parry Sound, returned home to find a man sitting in their garage drinking a beer.
The owners also noted that the person had been inside the residence as the interior was disturbed," OPP said.
A man, 34, of no fixed address was charged with break and enter, mischief and theft.
Bangers and meth
Bear bangers" and methamphetamine are a bad combination.
Bear bangers are fired from a hand-held cylinder, creating a loud noise designed to scare off an aggressive bear. There were no bears around on Aug. 4 at 8:40 a.m. when police responded to a noise complaint at a property in Wawa, 230 kilometres north of Sault Ste. Marie.
The accused person was igniting bear bangers and a couple of common household chemicals together," police said.
A Wawa man, 18, was charged with making or possessing explosives for an unlawful purpose and possession of meth.
$3,500 dog stolen
OPP hope to track down a dognapper.
An unknown male entered a barn beside a house on Line 71 near Listowel around 8 a.m. on Aug. 1 and stole a one-year-old female miniature bulldog. It is white with brown spots and is worth $3,500.
The suspect was driving a dark green pickup truck. Anyone with information can call police at 1-888-310-1122 or visit www.opp.ca/reporting.
Officer borrows bike for chase
On Aug. 10 at 8:15 p.m., police were called to a skate park in Bolton, 20 kilometres north of Brampton, after an intoxicated man began swearing at a woman and her children.
When an officer arrived, the suspect stole a bicycle and fled.
The officer borrowed a bicycle from someone at the skate park and the chase was on.
After a three-kilometre bicycle pursuit, the officer apprehended and arrested the suspect," OPP said.
A Caledon man, 30, was charged with theft and being intoxicated in a public place.
He was easy to find
Maybe don't leave your ID with your illegal drugs.
Last month a motorist found a bag in a parking lot beside Highway 11 in Cochrane, 400 kilometres north of Sudbury, and turned it over to police.
Inside the bag: morphine, hydromorphone, methamphetamine, marijuana, cash and identification.
Police used the ID to find the owner. A Kapuskasing man, 61, was charged with drug trafficking.
Thief gets $400 from ATM
A person made a transaction at an ATM at a bank in Simcoe on Aug. 12 and left without removing the bank card.
Instead of bringing the card to a bank teller, the next person in line used it to withdraw $400. Police are looking for the suspect.
Gordon Paul is a Waterloo Region-based reporter focusing on crime for The Record. Reach him via email: gpaul@therecord.com