Members of the LaSalle Police Service, working from Monday October 19th to Sunday October 25th, were kept busy responding to 496 calls for service and activities including:

14 – Emergency 911 Calls
5 – Alarms
2 – Assault Complaints
1 – Assist Ambulance
1 – Assist Fire Dept
2 – Assist Other Police Service
1 – Bail Violation
9 – By-Law Complaints
157 – Directed Patrols
5 – Domestic Dispute
7 – Driving Complaints
3 – Frauds
1 – Impaired Driving Complaints
1 – Mischief Complaints
8 – Motor Vehicle Collisions
122 – Property Checks
13 – Suspicious Activity
3 – Thefts
1 – Threats Complaint
85 – Traffic Stops & Vehicle Checks
2 – COVID-19 related call

November 2nd
Fraud
On this day the LaSalle Police Service received three reports of fraud that stemmed from the reporting persons personal computers.

In the first instance, the reporting person was using their computer when the following message popped up on the screen: “Your computer has been compromised, you need to call 1-888-356-9416 immediately” the message continued that they should not turn off their computer. The reporting person dialed the number and spoke to a male who identified himself as a “Microsoft Support Worker”. The male provided instructions to the complainant and advised that he would need to access their computer remotely to fix the errors. They followed the instructions and the male was granted remote access. The complainant became suspicious of the male’s behaviour and called their bank from her land line, away from the computer. It was at that time that they discovered that $2500 had been fraudulently transferred out of their bank account. They were advised to contact any other financial institutions and credit card companies immediately to report the intrusion and fraud.

In the second incident, a resident advised that at the beginning of October they had received a similar message to the above instance on their laptop. The message stated that in order for their laptop to be fixed she would need to pay $798 CDN and that the laptop could be fixed remotely. The reporting person sent payment in the form of a cheque. A couple of weeks later they received a call from a male who identified himself as Mr Wilson who stated that there was an open investigation on the company that they had paid to fix their computer and that they would get her money refunded. He claimed that $15,000 was deposited into her account accidentally and that the reporting person was required to pay the money back using cash only. The complainant went to the bank to comply with the request which was flagged by the bank as a possible fraud. The bank advised the resident to contact LaSalle Police Service to file a report.

The third incident occurred when a resident had their Apple account compromised. An individual had gained access to their icloud storage, which included their bank information. The reporting person contacted Apple who removed access for the other individual and advised them to contact the police and her bank.

While we become ever more connected to our computers and portable devices we must always be careful and vigilant of what information we are putting on them. Sophisticated thieves can quickly steal your information and life’s savings in a few keystrokes. It is always a good idea to do some research on how to protect your identity an information on-line.

November 5th
Abandoned Vehicle
During general patrol, an officer located a white GMC Envoy parked on the southwest corner of Huron Church Line Road and Howard Avenue. Both front windows were rolled down, the hood was popped, there were no rear license plates and the angle it was parked was impeding traffic. The registered owner was contacted and it was learned that they recently sold the vehicle but did not have the buyers information. The unplated vehicle was towed from the roadway as the current owner is unknown.
November 6th
Drone Use in LaSalle
LaSalle Police Service received a phone call from a resident on Gilbert questioning drone use in the Town of LaSalle. A male was spotted in the neighbourhood with a drone that was flying over houses and he stated that he was from the City of Windsor doing work for them. The City of Windsor and the Town of LaSalle were both contacted to see if their drones were in use, neither of which were. When the rightful owner of the drone was contacted, he stated his son was using it for a proposal video to send into the City of Windsor. The operator had received the residents’ permission to use the drone around their house. No law was broken due to this information. A Town of LaSalle By –law states that if you have permission from the homeowner, the drone is allowed to be operated near their house. Here is a good resource for the rules and regulations as it pertains to the operation of drones in Ontario: https://tc.canada.ca/en/aviation/drone-safety/new-rules-drones-canada

November 7th

Stolen Items from Essex Golf and Country Club
Essex Golf and Country Club reported that 22 metal tee blocks were stolen from the golf course. The estimated value of stolen items is $1300. The investigation continuing.

Alcohol related driver’s licence suspension
At approximately 4:00 AM, an officer on general patrol stopped a silver Chrysler 300 on Laurier Drive for a traffic related offence. During interaction with the driver of the vehicle the officer made sensory observations that led him to suspect that the driver had consumed alcohol. The driver provided a breath sample to the officer into a roadside screening device which indicated that the driver had more than 50 mgs of alcohol per 100 mls of blood. Their driver’s licence was suspended for a period of three days. The vehicle and driver was driven from the scene by a sober, licenced driver. After the three day suspension concludes the driver must pay a $281.00 reinstatement fee to the Ministry of Transportation. Don’t drink and Drive and Don’t Drive Impaired.

Anyone with information about any of these occurrences or any criminal offence is encouraged to contact the LaSalle Police Service immediately at 519 969-5210 or anonymous tips can be made at Crime Stoppers at 519 258-8477 or www.catchcrooks.comhttps://www.catchcrooks.com/