Local News

Grants Pass Police apprehended a man wanted on a statewide felony warrant after he checked in with his parole officer yesterday. The Police Department reports officers arrested 53-year-old Shjon Mikel Johnson at the Josephine County Community Corrections Office on NW 4th Street at 3:40 p.m. Thursday. Police said an employee of the local corrections office called 9-1-1 to report that Johnson was there and he was wanted on an Oregon State warrant for Felony Parole Violation. The caller said the suspect was waiting in the lobby and he was unaware he was about to be arrested. Responding officers placed Johnson into custody without incident. He told police he did not why there was an active warrant for his arrest. He was told that he had violated terms of his post-prison supervision. Shjon Johnson was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on a no-bail detainer.

 

A Josephine County Community Corrections client was arrested yesterday for trying to cheat on his mandatory drug testing. Grants Pass Police were alerted to the incident involving 40-year-old Kenneth Fuqua on Thursday at 4:45 p.m.. Police said Fuqua is assigned to a work crew as part of his probation status. After he was observed acting in a strange manner, he was requested by supervisors to report to the Corrections Office to provide a urine sample. According to the report, Fuqua was acting suspiciously during the test and he requested privacy as he could not "go" with someone present. A short time later, he was observed throwing away a liquid that was identified as fake urine that he used to cheat on the test. Fuqua admitted to using heroin the night before and to using the fake urine because he did not want to go to jail. He was charged with Falsifying Drug Test Results and lodged at the adult jail facility without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a well-known couple for warrant and moving violations during a traffic stop on Rogue River Highway late yesterday. According to the Police Department, officers pulled over a vehicle driven by 51-year-old Joelle Kathleen Dewitt and occupied by 58-year-old Gregory Albert Metzger in the 900-block of Highway 99 on Thursday around 5:40 p.m.. Police said they observed Dewitt driving and knew her license had been suspended at the criminal level. After stopping the vehicle, they were aware that Metzger was wanted on two Grants Pass warrants for failing to appear in court for Menacing and 2nd-Degree Theft. Both were placed into custody at the scene of the stop. Gregory Metzger and Joelle Dewitt were lodged at the Josephine County Jail. A friend picked up the vehicle with their pet cat inside.

 

The Oregon State Police arrested two Cave Junction residents during a traffic stop on Redwood Highway near Wilderville last night. OSP reports troopers pulled over a Chevrolet sedan driven by 44-year-old Crystal Anna Partain at milepost 8 of US Highway 199 on Thursday at 9:52 p.m.. Police said they stopped Partain for a traffic violation and discovered that her passenger -- 43-year-old Daren Alan McCollum -- had an outstanding warrant for his arrest. According to OSP, Partain was cited for the unspecified traffic violation and McCollum was cited on the warrant. Both were released from custody.

 

Grants Pass Police evicted two campers for ordinance violations and removed a large amount of trash from Riverside Park during a patrol check early yesterday. The Police Department reports Mark Lyon and Ann Warfield were cited for Illegal Camping after they failed to remove their previously posted campsites. Clint Palomino was cited for Misuse of Park Open Space and Scattering Rubbish. Lyon and Palomino were trespassed from Riverside Park for 30 days. Officers said they posted a total of 28 campsites for Illegal Camping in the park on the west side of Caveman Bridge. They said six truckloads of garbage, soiled tents and drug paraphernalia were removed from the park and disposed of at Southern Oregon Sanitation.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a man for multiple felony-level crimes after he allegedly entered a woman's house, struck her in the face and stole her vehicle this week. The Police Department reports officers responded to a reported motor vehicle theft at a home in the 1,000-block of Darneille Lane on Wednesday morning. Police said 25-year-old Jordan Taylor Huggins broke into a house and hit a woman in the face before stealing her Mazda CX5. Responding officers located the suspect and attempted a traffic stop, but he refused to yield and tried to elude them. The law enforcement pursuit continued out to the Beaver Creek Trailer Park near Merlin and then back into Grants Pass on Interstate 5, with the Oregon State Police and Josephine County Sheriff's Office assisting. The chase ended on NW 6th Street near Manzanita Avenue after police flattened the vehicle's tires with spike strips. Jordan Huggins was placed into custody and lodged at the Josephine County Jail for 1st-Degree Burglary, Physical Harassment, Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle and Felony Attempt to Elude Police. He was being held without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police incarcerated a woman this week for her disorderly behavior at a downtown convenience store and then biting a deputy at the Josephine County Jail. According to the Police Department, officers were alerted to the incident involving 34-year-old Marissa Elizabeth Winters at the 7-Eleven store on SW 6th Street on Wednesday night. Police said Winters was called in for yelling, cursing and threatening customers at the store. They said she refused to obey lawful commands and walked away from officers, throwing a Slurpee on the ground and exploding the contents on the street. She also walked into traffic and was nearly hit by a truck. Winters reportedly walked nearly two blocks before she was eventually placed into custody. During intake at the jail, she bit a deputy's leg but did not cause an injury. Marissa Winters was lodged in jail for Felony Assault on a Public Safety Officer, Disorderly Conduct, Escape and Offensive Littering. She was being held without bail.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office jailed a man this week for attacking a deputy. The Sheriff's Office reports 48-year-old Michael Lawrence Williams was arrested on Wednesday in an unspecified location. The Sheriff's Log included no entries about the incident, but Josephine County Jail records show Williams was booked on charges including Felony Assault on a Public Safety Officer, Felony Unlawful Use of a Weapon, Harassment, Menacing and Resisting Arrest. Michael Williams was still being held without bail on Thursday.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a man for failing to maintain his mandatory sex offender registration after a patrol check at a city park this week. According to the Police Department, officers contacted 31-year-old Justin Matthew Webber at Riverside Park on Wednesday morning. Police said they spotted Webber pushing a stolen shopping cart in the park, so they detained him and discovered that he was wanted on Grants Pass and Josephine County warrants for Failure to Register as a Sex Offender. He was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the outstanding warrants. Two additional charges of Failure to Register as a Sex Offender against Webber were referred to the District Attorney's Office because he failed to register in the past year and he failed to submit his residence, which apparently is Riverside Park. Webber's personal belongings were logged into evidence for safekeeping and the stolen shopping cart was returned to Walmart.