Local News

Grants Pass Police jailed a man for violating his post-prison supervision after investigating a suspicious activity report in the downtown area early yesterday. The Police Department reports officers arrested 47-year-old Jason Earl Oachs for the incident in the 300-block of SW Burgess Street on Wednesday at 4:57 a.m.. Police said a resident in that area reported that they believed Oachs had returned after he had been previously trespassed. The caller stated they did not see him, but they could hear boards being kicked around in the back of the property. Officers arrived on scene and contacted Oachs at the home. After detaining him, they contacted his corrections officer who requested their client be arrested. Oachs was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Felony Parole Violation and he was being held on a no-bail detainer. His belongings were logged into evidence for safekeeping.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for violating his probation yesterday after he was caught stealing skin care products from a local beauty salon. The Police Department reports officers responded to a theft complaint at SkinCare by Dawn on NW 6th Street around 3:25 p.m. Wednesday. Police said a salon worker reported a male subject -- identified as 34-year-old Zane Raynier Hatcher -- stole three boxes of skin care products valued at $187 from the front of the business. The incident was captured on video surveillance and officers were able to identify the suspect as Hatcher from prior law enforcement contacts. Hatcher was located a short time later with the skin products at NW 4th and B streets. He was placed into custody and the stolen merchandise was returned. Hatcher was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for 2nd-Degree Theft plus the resulting Probation Violation related to an arrest for Methamphetamine Possession. He was being held on a no-bail detainer.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office located and then arrested a juvenile runaway at Illinois River Forks State Park near Cave Junction yesterday. According to the Sheriff's Office, deputies placed the 15-year-old boy into custody at Taser point in the 26,700-block of Redwood Highway at 1:33 p.m. Wednesday. Deputies said they were alerted that the teen was breaking into house and he tried to escape by swimming across the Illinois River. He came ashore at the state park and continued to run from law enforcement until he was cornered and arrested. The boy -- who has been the subject of several runaway reports from the Sheriff's Office -- claimed he had a concussion and wanted medical treatment. American Medical Response checked him out and did not find any physical problems. The teenager was transported to Grants Pass and lodged at the Josephine County Juvenile Justice Center for Resisting Arrest, Attempted Escape and Criminal Trespass. He had last been reported as a runaway on August 12th.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man on two outstanding warrants during a patrol check at a city park early yesterday. The Police Department reports officers contacted 45-year-old Robert Clarence Beard near the lower gazebo at Riverside Park on Wednesday at 4:06 a.m.. Police said they contacted Beard and two other people at the park and warned them for being there after-hours. That's when they discovered that Beard was wanted on a Josephine County felony warrant for failing to appear in court for Failure to Register as a Sex Offender as well as a Jackson County warrant for failing to appear in court for Furnishing False Information to Police. Beard was placed into custody and lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the warrants. He was being held on $30,000 bail.

 

The Grants Pass Police Department has been busy reminding homeless people they are no longer allowed to camp overnight in city parks. It's been a steep learning curve for those accustomed to "resting" in parks over the past few years. Late Tuesday night, officers contacted Lori Signs at Baker Park and cited her for Illegal Camping and Scattering Rubbish. She was excluded from the park for 30 days and given a few hours to vacate the premises. Officers also contacted Caleb Rossiter and Celia Arizmendi on the Texas Property next to Baker Park. They were warned about the no camping ordinance violation and told to leave the property. Earlier in the day, officers contacted Eugene Hill who was camping on the west side of Riverside Park. He was cited for Illegal Camping and ordered to move on.

 

There are now 43 confirmed lightning-caused fires on the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. The US Forest Service reported this morning that firefighters are engaged in full suppression efforts on all active fires, with 30 of them now in contained, controlled or out status. Crews were working to locate additional smoke reports from lightning strikes this week in the High Cascades and Siskiyou Mountains Ranger Districts. On the High Cascades District, the newest incidents were the Halifax Fire burning 1.3 miles west of the Pacific Crest Trail near Halifax Creek and the Sunshine Fire located a half-mile west of Abbot Creek Campground near Sunshine Creek. On the Siskiyou Mountains District, the newest incident was the Tolman Fire located three miles southwest of Wagner Butte Trailhead. Hand crews, smokejumpers, rappellers, engines, heavy equipment, water tenders, falling modules and a variety of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft are working toward full suppression on all active incidents. Air and ground reconnaissance for new starts is ongoing.

 

The Medford Police Department has made an arrest in connection with drive-by shooting incidents that occurred late last month in the northeast part of the city. MPD reports detectives arrested 31-year-old Joel Matthew Caswell on Wednesday in relation to the July 26th and 27th shootings on Carnelian Street at Owen Drive. Detectives said Caswell was identified as a "person of interest" early in the investigation due to his relationship with one of the victims. Through the use of video technology and outstanding investigative work, they were able to associate the suspect with a blue Dodge pickup previously shared with the public and they recovered multiple pieces of evidence linking him to the shootings. According to MPD, no one was injured during these shooting incidents. Caswell was lodged at the Jackson County Jail for two counts each of Unlawful Use of a Weapon, 1st-Degree Criminal Mischief and Reckless Endangering. He is currently on Federal Supervised Pre-Trial Release after being arrested by the FBI on multiple fraud-related charges in April. MPD appreciates the community's assistance in providing information that helped further this investigation.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a woman on a statewide felony warrant this week after she caused a disturbance with her boyfriend in a southeast city neighborhood. The Police Department reports officers arrested 42-year-old Chastity Rose Pinedo for the incident near the corner of SE Grandview Avenue and Yorktown Drive on Tuesday around noon. Police said a neighbor called 9-1-1 to report female and male subjects engaged in an argument in a Chevrolet Silverado pickup parked near their home. The caller told dispatchers that the woman grabbed a machete and swung it at the man, who was cowering in the driver's seat of the truck. No injuries were reported. Officers arrived on scene, contacted Pinedo and seized the machete as evidence. A routine records check showed that she was wanted on an Oregon State warrant for Parole Violation stemming from a 2023 conviction for a felony weapons offense. Pinedo complained of physical pain, so she was taken to Three Rivers Medical Center for an evaluation. After being cleared at the hospital, she was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on a no-bail detainer.

 

The Oregon State Police arrested a Grants Pass motorist for impaired driving this week after a traffic stop in the southeast part of the city. OSP reports troopers pulled over a Land Rover driven by 52-year-old Lori Lynn Osborne near the corner of Cloverlawn Drive and SE Grandview Avenue late Tuesday night. Troopers said they stopped Osborne for observed traffic violations and she showed signs of impairment. They said she performed poorly in field sobriety tests before providing a breath sample that exceeded the legal driving limit. Osborne was charged with Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants. She was cited to appear in court and released, but her vehicle was impounded.