Local News

The Josephine County Board of Commissioners this morning approved an order confirming a Sheriff's Property Sale that occurred on November 1st. The Board voted 2-0 to approve the order by accepting the Sheriff's Return of Sale and Sheriff's Certificate of Sale before authorizing the distribution of proceeds from the sale. Commissioner John West was absent. Property Management reported only one out of four properties that were for sale actually sold. The sale price for the unspecified property was $207,501, which -- minus a 10% administrative fee -- netted the county $186,750. The proceeds will go to the Property Management Fund. During Comments and Requests from Citizens, the Board heard from a Wolf Creek man regarding code enforcement and two people promoted Veterans Day events taking place on Saturday. A Veterans Day event is scheduled for 11 a.m. at Merlin Community Park and a Candlelight Vigil is set for 5 p.m. at the Josephine County Republican Party headquarters across from the Courthouse in Grants Pass. Commissioner Dan DeYoung concluded the 14-minute session with the reading of a Veterans Day poem.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for violating terms of his probation related to a domestic assault case and recovered a stolen vehicle at a residence near Riverside Park yesterday. The Police Department reports officers arrested 41-year-old Guy Caley McFarland at a home in the 1300-block of SE Vista Drive on Tuesday at 11:36 a.m.. Police said Josephine County Community Corrections contacted them for help in locating McFarland, who was wanted on a Grants Pass warrant for Probation Violation related to a recent arrest for 4th-Degree Domestic Assault. They said the suspect was found hiding in the attic of the garage after his wife consented entry. According to the report, a stolen vehicle with heavy front-end damage and a flat fire was located in the driveway of the residence. It was towed to a local impound yard after McFarland denied any association with the vehicle. Guy McFarland was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on a no-bail detainer.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a man on a local warrant and tacked on a charge of being out of compliance with his sex offender registration after a trespassing complaint at a laundromat last night. According to the Police Department, officers arrested 63-year-old William Ward Fleming, Jr., at EZ Wash Laundromat on SW G Street on Tuesday at 6:25 p.m.. Police said they responded to a call about a man smoking something out of a pipe while sitting under a table at the laundromat. They contacted Fleming and learned that he was wanted on a Grants Pass warrant for failing to appear in court for Furnishing False Information to Police. A methamphetamine pipe was seized. It was also discovered that Fleming was a convicted sex offender who had not registered locally since August 2022. William Fleming was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the warrant and for Failure to Register as a Sex Offender. He was being held without bail after being additionally cited for the narcotics violation.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man on an outside warrant while citing and excluding some other campers at Baker Park early yesterday. The Police Department reports officers were patrolling the city park when they spotted 57-year-old Donnie Wayne Snow, Jr., and discovered that he was wanted on a Coos Bay Police Department warrant for failing to appear in court for Theft. He was placed into custody and lodged at the Josephine County Jail. Snow was also one of four people who were trespassed from the park for 30 days due to ordinance violations. The others were identified as Kyle Palomino, Dean Smith and Ann Warfield. The violations included Scattering Rubbish, Buffer Zone, Misuse of Park Space and Conduct in a Parking Lot. Warfield was observed driving carelessly at a high rate of speed and running through the stop sign at the park entrance. She was pulled over on East Park Street near Tobin Court. Her driver's license was suspended and she had no insurance, with no emergent reason to be driving. She was cited for those two violations as well as for Careless Driving and her vehicle was impounded. Meanwhile, a large 10-man soiled and abandoned tent was found staked to the ground inside a park buffer zone. Open food containers, drug paraphernalia and feces were located inside the tent. The tent and other items were gathered up and taken to Southern Oregon Sanitation for disposal.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for refusing to leave Riverside Park after he was trespassed from the facility earlier this week. The Police Department reports officers contacted 39-year-old Vincent Vernon Manning on the west side of Caveman Bridge on Tuesday during the noon hour. Police said Manning had been trespassed from Riverside Park on Monday, but he was still there camping in his tent which was outside open space parameters and surrounded by trash. While placing Manning into custody, he reportedly tensed up, clinched his left fist and tried to strike an officer. However, he was forcefully taken to the ground and handcuffed. Vincent Manning was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Resisting Arrest and Criminal Trespass. He was being held without bail. His personal property was logged into evidence for safekeeping.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office arrested an Illinois Valley woman last night after she was caught trying to enter vehicles at a Selma supermarket. According to the Sheriff's Office, deputies responded to a trespassing complaint involving 50-year-old Shannon Leann Petersen at Ray's Food Place on Deer Creek Road around 6:15 p.m. Tuesday. Deputies said a store employee reported that Petersen was attempting to get into vehicles in the parking lot and that she had been previously trespassed from the business. She was contacted and placed into custody without incident. Shannon Peterson was transported to Grants Pass and lodged at the Josephine County Jail for 2nd-Degree Criminal Trespass.

 

The Oregon State Police is apparently investigating another homicide in Josephine County, but the local law enforcement agency has not released any information on the incident. Josephine County Jail records show two men -- 25-year-old Julian Cendejas and 23-year-old Isaac Simonian -- were lodged within a seven-minute period last Friday night. Cendejas and Simonian were both charged with 2nd-Degree Murder, Unlawful Use of a Weapon and Criminal Conspiracy. They were still being held without bail on Tuesday. OSP was listed in the booking history as the arresting agency, but no information has been released so far. A similar situation occurred last week when the agency provided no information about a homicide in Cave Junction. The Josephine County Sheriff's Office typically hands off homicide investigations to OSP due to a lack of resources.

 

An Eagle Point man is in custody for violating a restraining order and barricading himself inside a house when law enforcement arrived on scene. The Eagle Point Police Department reports officers responded to the incident involving 26-year-old Jacob Johnson in the 400-block of Merlee Circle on Monday afternoon. Police said Johnson was inside a residence armed with a knife and violating a restraining order. When they arrived on scene, he refused to answer the door. Officers tried to gain entry, but the suspect blocked the door and barricaded it. At that point, EPD called the Jackson County Sheriff's Office for assistance. Officers attempted to talk with Johnson and learned there was also a 16-year-old juvenile in the house who was secured in the bathroom. They continued to try to get Johnson to come out while also working to get the juvenile out safely. The teen eventually did exit the residence without incident and officers established contact with the suspect by phone. However, he refused to come out and made threats to harm officers through the use of weapons and a dog. Deputies and supervisors with the Sheriff's Office arrived and assisted with ensuring the safety of nearby residents and securing the area around the house. They also tried to negotiate with Johnson, but he continue to refuse to comply with efforts to resolve the situation peacefully. Deputies ultimately breached the door and placed the suspect into custody without incident.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a man for multiple crimes after catching him illegally entering an equipment yard this week. The Police Department reports officers eventually arrested 35-year-old Ian Seiwell Hogue for the incident at Grants Pass Equipment Rentals on Rogue River Highway on Monday night. Police said the business owner alerted them to an intruder after he was notified on his phone that someone was in the yard. They said he wanted to pursue charges if anyone was located inside the property. Responding officers contacted Hogue who they said "very clearly matched the silhouette seen on camera" at the equipment yard. They said the suspect lied about his identity and tried to leave the scene. After being advised he was under arrest, he fled on foot across the highway, impeding traffic. Ian Hogue was placed into custody and lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Resisting Arrest, Disorderly Conduct, Escape and Criminal Trespass. He was being held without bail. The name "Jimmy Sparilin" was entered as an alias for Hogue.