Local News

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office arrested a man wanted on a warrant, and lodged him for additional weapon and stolen vehicle charges.

A call to 911 reported suspicious vehicles parked at a neighbor's residence in the 100 block of Crooks Creek Road. The caller wasn't sure if the truck and two sedans belonged there, or who owned them.

Deputies arrived and took one suspect into custody. The truck, a Chevy Silverado was found to be out of Jackson County, and the suspect, Matthew Granger, was wanted on a Josephine County Sheriff's Office Felony warrant for Methamphetamine Possession, First Degree Criminal Trespass, and Criminal Forfeiture.

Additional charges against Granger included two counts of Felon in Possession of a Weapon, Possession of a Stolen Vehicle, and Carrying a Concealed Weapon. He was lodged in jail, and a small bag of meth was disposed of.

 

A Klamath Falls, Oregon, man pleaded guilty Monday for illegally distributing explosive devices, announced U.S. Attorney Scott E. Bradford for the District of Oregon. Jason Edward Lowery, 52, pleaded guilty to distribution of explosives by a non-licensee. According to court documents, in June 2025, Lowery sold multiple illegal M-type explosive devices at his residence and at his place of business in Klamath Falls. Pursuant to a search warrant for Lowery’s residence, business, and vehicle, investigators seized over 200 homemade explosive devices and materials for constructing more explosives. Police seized a destructive device that had a large amount of explosive powder and nails strapped to it. At Lowery’s residence, police also seized firearms and methamphetamine. Lowery’s phone revealed texts showing he was selling devices to multiple individuals. On July 17th, 2025, a federal grand jury in Medford returned a two-count indictment charging Lowery with distribution of explosives by a non-licensee and manufacture of explosives by a non-licensee. Lowery faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release. He will be sentenced on October 8th, 2026, before a U.S. district court judge.

 

The Josephine County Veterans Service Office and Clerk’s Office are launching a program July 1st aiming to help connect veterans with Josephine County’s local businesses.

According to a release, the Veterans Recognition Program will help create easy access to veteran's discounts at businesses in Josephine County by promoting partner businesses and creating easy-to-use veterans ID’s for participants.

The ID’s will help businesses verify veterans quickly, and Josephine County will provide promotional stickers to participating businesses and list them as partner businesses in promotional publications.

Veterans residing in Josephine County must provide a copy of their DD-214 to the Josephine County Clerk’s Office in order to participate in the program. After the Josephine County Veterans Service Office verifies an honorable discharge status, participants will receive a Veterans Recognition Program ID Card, which they can use at participating businesses for discounts.

The Veterans Service Office will be printing ID cards all day on Wednesday, July 1st, and every Monday after from 9 a.m. until 12 p.m. These ID’s are not valid outside of Josephine County.

Businesses that wish to participate may contact the Josephine County Veterans Service Office. County staff plan to begin publishing a list of participating businesses in September and make that list available to veterans.

The Veterans Service Office and Clerk’s Office are located in the Josephine County Courthouse at 500 NW 6th St. in Grants Pass. For more information about the program, veterans and businesses may visit www.josephinecounty.gov.

 

Grants Pass Police contacted a group of people reportedly smoking methamphetamine in Debo Park Tuesday afternoon, leading to the arrest of one man.

A call to 911 said about six individuals were passing a pipe around and smoking in the 510 SW G Street park around 3:17 p.m. The caller had video of the incident, and requested a welfare check on one person passed out near the group that reportedly hadn't moved in 40 minutes.

Officers made contact with the suspect. He refused to identify himself, and complained of being dehydrated. According to the police report, there was a meth pipe in his possession, and he was taken into custody.

The suspect was identified as Isaac Whaley, and was issued a 30 day exclusion order from the park. Officers transported and lodged him in the Adult Jail Facility for a Meth Possession charge, but later released him on his own recognizance.

 

A man arrested Monday for two theft charges from Fred Meyer was again taken into custody by Grants Pass Police after a trespassing complaint.

Connor Snodgrass had recently been released from custody, and was reportedly coming and going from the ARCO station at 190 NE Terry Lane. A call to dispatch Tuesday at 2:09 p.m. said employees had trespassed him multiple times, and were requesting a response from law enforcement.

Snodgrass continued towards the O'Reilly Auto Parts and GameStop, then returned to the ARCO before walking towards Taco Bell. Officers were soon able to detain him near the Walmart.

During a consent search of his person, foil and a tooter were located that tested positive for the presence of Methamphetamine. Officers lodged Snodgrass in the Josephine County Adult Jail Facility for Criminal Trespass in the Second Degree, and Possession of Meth.

 

Officers with the Grants Pass Police Department were dispatched to Josephine County Community Corrections regarding a man wanted on two warrants.

The suspect was reported at the 510 NW 4th Street location, after having arrived in a white Nissan Pathfinder. It was originally believed the suspect's driver also had a warrant, but that was later determined to be incorrect. Officers were requested to report to the scene.

Law enforcement arrived and took the suspect, Dean Calkins, into constructive custody. He had two active warrants confirmed out of the Josephine and Jackson County Sheriff's Offices for Unauthorized Use of a Vehicle, and Driving Under the Influence.

Calkins was promptly taken to the Josephine County Jail where he was lodged on his two warrants.

 

A man found nodding off in his vehicle was arrested by Josephine County Sheriff's deputies for driving while suspended.

The suspect was located in his running SUV in the Rural Metro Fire Department parking lot Tuesday at 1:14 a.m. He was identified as Scott McCollum, and deputies found his driving privileges were suspended.

The van was towed from the scene, and McCollum was arrested for misdemeanor Driving While Suspended. Jail logs show he was also lodged for an out-of-county hold warrant.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a woman for stealing an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) from Asante Three Rivers Medical Center.

A nursing supervisor at the 500 SW Ramsey Avenue hospital reported an AED was stolen from the Emergency department around 6:42 a.m. The suspect was identified as Crystal Krol, who had red hair, was wearing a white dress with blue flowers, had a hospital blanket over her, and was carrying a black purse.

She reportedly fled on foot towards the Urgent Care building, and law enforcement was dispatched to the scene. Officers soon located Krol on E Park Street thanks to the provided description, and she was detained.

She was taken into custody on a charge of First Degree Theft for the AED valued at $2,500, and was subsequently lodged in jail. She was later released on her own recognizance.

 

The Illinois Valley Fire District announced that it has again been awarded the Oregon State Fire Marshal's Wildland Fire Season Staffing Grant in the amount of $35,000.

According to a release, this marks the 4th consecutive year that IVFD has received this funding, allowing additional staffing at Station 2 during the 2026 wildfire season. Established in 2022, the Wildland Fire Season Staffing Grant helps local fire agencies increase firefighter staffing during the most critical months of the year.

The goal is to keep wildfires small and away from communities. By providing additional personnel, agencies can respond quickly to emerging fires before they become larger, more costly incidents.

Beyond wildfire response, these staffing resources help ensure firefighters are available to respond to medical emergencies, traffic accidents, structure fires, and other emergencies throughout the district, helping save lives and protect property.