Local News

Grants Pass Police jailed a convicted felon for a weapons crime and more early yesterday after he tried to steal merchandise from Walmart. The Police Department reports officers arrested 43-year-old Donn Reeves Fincher for the incident at the store on NE Terry Lane on Monday shortly after 11 a.m.. Police said Fincher entered Walmart, selected over $300 in camping gear and left the store without paying. They said he was located a short time later at the nearby Arco AM/PM store and placed into custody. Fincher was found to be in possession of a spring-assisted folding knife, which is prohibited because he is a convicted felon. It was seized as evidence and the stolen camping gear was returned to Walmart. Donn Fincher was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Felon in Possession of a Restricted Weapon, 2nd-Degree Theft and 2nd-Degree Criminal Trespass. He was being held without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police apprehended a man wanted on a statewide felony warrant while investigating a trespassing call early yesterday. According to the Police Department, officers responded to a trespassing complaint involving 40-year-old Philip Raymond Nerpel at Mill Street Car Wash on NE E Street on Monday around 10:15 a.m.. Police said the car wash manager called 9-1-1 and reported a male subject was laying down behind a dumpster and it appeared he had been there all night because he had a shopping cart and chair set up next to him. He was covered with a blanket. Officers arrived on scene, contacted Nerpel and discovered that he was wanted on an Oregon State warrant for Parole Violation stemming from a previous burglary conviction. He was placed into custody without incident. Philip Nerpel was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the warrant and he was being held on a no-bail detainer. His personal items were logged into evidence for safe-keeping. He was trespassed from the car wash.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a Josephine County Community Corrections client on a local felony warrant yesterday. The Police Department said officers were contacted to serve an arrest warrant on 39-year-old Amy Elizabeth Baker at the Corrections Office on NW 4th Street on Monday at about 2:30 p.m.. Police said Baker had checked in with her probation officer who discovered she was wanted on a Josephine County felony warrant for Parole Violation stemming from a conviction for Methamphetamine Possession. They said she was aware of the warrant and placed into custody without incident. Amy Baker was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on a no-bail detainer.

 

A man who had been trespassed from Home Depot due to a past fraud attempt last summer was arrested yesterday for returning to the store. Grants Pass Police responded to a trespassing complaint involving 34-year-old Brandon Enrique Montemayor at the store on NE Mill Street at 3:41 p.m. Monday. Police said a Home Depot employee called 9-1-1 to report Montemayor was inside the store after he had been trespassed from the business last summer. They said he was arrested for attempting to fraudulently return a store item. Responding officers contacted Montemayor in the Home Depot parking lot and placed him into custody. He told police he forgot he had been trespassed from the store. Store managers did not forget and they wanted him prosecuted. Brandon Montemayor was charged with 2nd-Degree Criminal Trespass and lodged without bail at the Josephine County Jail.

 

The Oregon State Police arrested a Grants Pass man for impaired driving last night following a traffic stop on Rogue River Highway. OSP reports troopers pulled over a Toyota FJC driven by 65-year-old Gregory Allen Johnson near milepost 2 of Highway 99 on Monday at 7:20 p.m.. Troopers said they stopped Johnson for traffic violations and he displayed signs of impairment. They said he performed poorly in field sobriety tests and was then transported to the Grants Pass Sobering Center where he provided a breath sample that exceeded the legal driving limit. Gregory Johnson was charged with Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol and Reckless Driving. After being cited to appear in court, he was lodged at the Sobering Center. His vehicle was released to a family member or friend.

 

The Oregon State Police arrested two men for multiple crimes after catching them in a stolen vehicle last weekend. OSP reports troopers pulled over a Ford Escape driven by 61-year-old Joseph Patrick Ohotto of Grants Pass and occupied by 46-year-old Jeffrey Earl Benz of Deming, Washington, on the Grants Pass Parkway near NE Agness Avenue on Saturday shortly after midnight. Troopers said they stopped Ohotto because the car had been reported stolen from a 70-year-old Grants Pass man. They said Benz fled the scene on foot, but he was apprehended a short time later. A large amount of marijuana was found inside the vehicle and both men were placed into custody. Joseph Ohotto was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle, Possession of a Stolen Vehicle and a local bench warrant. The stolen vehicle was recovered and the registered owner was notified. During the jail intake process, Jeffrey Benz was found to be in possession of a large amount of fentanyl and a misdemeanor amount of methamphetamine. He was lodged in jail for Felony Possession of Fentanyl, Misdemeanor Possession of Meth, and outstanding warrants for Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol and failing to appear in court.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested three people for stealing merchandise from Walmart last weekend -- two of them for working together in a planned heist. The Police Department reports officers responded to a shoplifting complaint at the store on NE Terry Lane on Sunday shortly after 11 a.m.. Police said 38-year-old Steven Elijah Robison and 30-year-old RubyRose Markey worked together to select and conceal $176.77 worth of merchandise in bags. Both subjects fled in a vehicle with the stolen items when confronted by loss prevention. They were tracked down by officers and stopped at 7th Street and Evelyn Avenue before being placed into custody. All the stolen items were returned to Walmart. Robison and Markey were both lodged at the Josephine County Jail for 2nd-Degree Theft and Criminal Conspiracy. They were being held without bail. A third person in the group -- 44-year-old Jake Eli Nickell -- was also found to be in possession of items stolen from Walmart. The loss was just over $90 and he was lodged in jail for 3rd-Degree Theft. He was also being held without bail. A total of five people were detained, but two of them were released.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for disrupting traffic in the middle of a busy intersection in the southeast part of the city last weekend. According to the Police Department, officers were alerted to a man kneeling and standing on Rogue River Highway at Parkdale Drive on Sunday at 10:38 a.m.. Police said an employee at the Grants Pass Bottle Drop Center called 9-1-1 about the incident involving 53-year-old Shon Morley Asbury. The caller said Asbury was kneeling in the roadway screaming, drivers were honking at him and the worker was concerned the man would be run over by a vehicle. A short time later, Asbury reportedly stood up and wandered on the highway causing traffic to back up. The caller advised he seemed to be "out of it." Responding officers located Asbury and placed him into custody. He was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Disorderly Conduct and was being held without bail.

 

Following Monday's workshop, the Grants Pass City Council convened a Special Meeting to take care of some routine items since all the regular meetings this month were canceled. The first regular meeting of the year is set for February 7th. Two items were pulled from a lengthy Consent Agenda for separate votes. They were a resolution adopting the City Manager's annual evaluation and a resolution adjusting the salary schedule for Year 3 of the Grants Pass Police Association's collective bargaining agreement. Following discussion, the City Council voted 6-2 to approve City Manager Aaron Cubic's evaluation which gives him a $4,249 increase in his base salary. Cubic's total salary and deferred compensation is now $219,493. The current cost of his Social Security, health insurance, wellness benefits and Worker's Compensation plus other benefits increases from $89,422 annually to $93,174. With little discussion, the Council voted unanimously to adjust the salary schedule in a one-year opener of the Grants Pass Police Association's collective bargaining agreement. Effective January 1st, wages will be increased by 6% for all workers represented by the union at a total cost of $579,813.