Local News

A man and woman were both trespassed in separate cases by Grants Pass Police over the weekend.

Saturday at 9:14 a.m., a woman was found sleeping under a blanket in the alley behind the 303 NE E Street building. Officers responded and contacted the suspect, Elizabeth Krol.

She was run through dispatch and found to have an active Downtown 30-Day Exclusion from the day before. Because she had no valid reason to be in the area, Krol was taken into custody. Officers lodged her in jail for Second Degree Criminal Trespass, and she was given a 90-Day Exclusion Order from the downtown area.

Then on Sunday, officers identified Jewel Andrews at Riverside Park around 2:18 p.m., despite him being issued a 30-Day Exclusion from the park in September. He was arrested for Criminal Trespass in the Second Degree, lodged in jail, and trespassed from the park for 90 days.

 

Grants Pass Police lodged a man with a dagger in open view on an Oregon Department of Transportation bike path for possession of both methamphetamine and the restricted weapon.

The suspect was located Saturday behind the Lucky Lizard on the path at 11:46 p.m. He was then identified as George Williams. A convicted felon, he had a dagger in open view, so he was taken into custody.

During a consent search, a clear zip bag containing a white crystalline substance was located. The substance field tested positive for the presumptive presence of meth, so an additional charge of Meth Possession was added.

Williams was transported to the Josephine County Adult Jail Facility and lodged for the meth charge and Felon in Possession of a Weapon. He was also issued a citation for Park Obedience. Due to a lack of resources at the jail, he was later released.

 

A man with a knife was located next to an active fire incident and contacted by Oregon State Police Sunday.

Troopers located Taven Smith behind the Pac Pride at 625 NE 7th Street around 9:01 p.m. He was by a fire three feet from the building that needed to be put out with a fire extinguisher.

Witnesses at the scene reported Smith had threatened them and stated he would fight them. None of the witnesses pursued charges, and Grants Pass Police soon arrived to take Smith into custody.

Due to there being probable cause for Second Degree Disorderly Conduct and Reckless Burning, officers arrested Smith and transported him to jail for lodging.

 

Police located and lodged a man trespassing at Fred Meyer for theft and mischief charges Sunday after he reportedly swallowed half a gram of fentanyl.

The suspect, Logan Diaz, was reported to dispatch as having just shoplifted at the 1101 Grants Pass Parkway store around 4:10 p.m. Loss prevention said Diaz had been previously trespassed from the location, and had taken a backpack and food items. He left the scene on foot towards the nearby Carl's Jr.

Grants Pass Police located Diaz, who claimed he had swallowed fentanyl. He was cleared at Three Rivers Medical Center, then transported to jail. Officers lodged Diaz for Second Degree charges of Theft, Criminal Mischief, and Trespass.

 

WinCo Loss Prevention reported a theft to dispatch, leading to the suspects arrest by Grants Pass Police.

Sunday at 6:33 p.m., the suspect was being viewed remotely actively shoplifting at the 231 NE Terry Lane grocer. He had concealed two large packets of meat and dawn dish soap before entering the self-checkout line.

The complainant requested law enforcement respond, and then proceeded to contact the suspect, who had passed all points of sale without paying for the approximately $25 worth of merchandise.

Officers arrived and contacted the suspect, Jacob Hamilton. He was arrested for Third Degree Theft and trespassed from the WinCo. Police transported Hamilton to the Josephine County Jail where he was lodged, then later released on his own recognizance.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man wanted out of the department for sex crimes Sunday afternoon.

Officers were attempting to locate the suspect, Terry Green, around 3:14 p.m. in the 1800 block of McCarter Lane. Additional units were requested, and a neighbor told police which home Green was in.

He was soon located inside his residence and taken into custody. Green was wanted on a warrant charging him with Second Degree Sex Abuse, Luring a Minor, and Encouraging Child Sex Abuse in the Second Degree.

The warrant was confirmed, and Green was transported to the Josephine County Jail for lodging.

 

Oregon is working to reduce wildfire risk, improve forest health, and protect communities by investing $10 million in projects that are part of the Oregon Department of Forestry’s landscape resiliency approach.

The current grant awards will fund joint projects in Douglas, Grant, Jackson, and Josephine counties. The projects will reduce hazardous fuels, restore fire-adapted landscapes, and improve landscape resilience across more than 6,400 acres.

The projects in Josephine and Jackson counties include $4.85 million being invested through the Hotshot Rx Connect project. This project will thin forest stands and use prescribed fire across almost 2,700 acres. The work will reduce hazardous fuels, restore forest health, and improve wildfire response access.

The ODF landscape resiliency effort is Oregon’s primary all-lands investment hub to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires before fires even start. This approach supports efforts across public, private, and Tribal lands. The goal is to coordinate and complete landscape-scale work that helps forests and protects communities.

ODF is focusing on larger forest resiliency by reducing tree density in some areas and planting better adapted trees in others.

 

Following an attempted truck theft, Josephine County Sheriff's deputies lodged a man for trespassing and methamphetamine possession.

Dispatch was alerted to the theft attempt around 2:41 p.m. Sunday in the 126,000 block of Water Gap Road. The 911 caller's truck was parked and running next to the road. Someone had just tried to get into the vehicle at the time of the call, then proceeded to walk down the road northbound.

Deputies were dispatched and located the suspect around 3:05 p.m. near Williams Highway. He was identified as Sean Gunn, then arrested for Criminal Trespass in the Second Degree, and Possession of Meth. Deputies proceeded to lodge Gunn in the Adult Jail Facility.

 

Medford Fire Department crews responded to a second-alarm structure fire Sunday at 9 p.m. reported at the Loring property.

Located at 2250 Biddle Road, the fire was knocked down, and crews conducted mop-up operations and evaluated the structure. One individual was transported to the hospital.

Medford Police and Jackson County Fire District also responded to the scene. Fire investigators were on scene working to determine the cause.