Local News

Grants Pass Police jailed a man for causing a weekend disturbance at a downtown watering hole while under the influence of "magic mushrooms." The Police Department reports officers arrested the 49-year-old male subject for the incident at River City Grill on SE K Street on Saturday around 9:50 p.m.. Police said a female caller reported the man was at the bar causing a disturbance after he consumed psilocybin mushrooms. The caller said he was clearly unable to care for himself as he was arguing with customers and threatening to fight them for no reason. He was also hallucinating and unable to hold a conversation with police. The suspect was advised he was under arrest, but he refused to comply with lawful orders and made threats toward officers while posturing aggressively. He was eventually subdued and placed into custody without injuries. The suspect -- who was identified as a worker at the business -- was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on charges of Menacing and Resisting Arrest. He was being held without bail.

 

Police arrested a man for causing public alarm while wielding a baseball bat near the Grants Pass Growers Market. Grants Pass Police responded to the incident at the corner of NW 4th and F streets on Saturday at about 8:45 a.m.. Police said the 47-year-old male subject was causing public alarm by swinging a baseball bat and hitting food trucks in the area of the growers market. One caller advised the man was yelling at anyone who looked at him while hitting trees and the ground with the bat. Fortunately, there were no injuries reported. Damage to the food trucks was not disclosed. Officers placed the man into custody and discovered that he was wanted on a GPPD warrant for Failure to Report as a Convicted Sex Offender. The suspect was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the warrant and for Disorderly Conduct. He was being held without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for stealing merchandise from Walmart over the weekend. According to the Police Department, officers responded to a shoplifting complaint at the store on NE Terry Lane on Saturday at 3:15 p.m.. Police said the 36-year-old male subject entered Walmart and concealed more than $109 worth of items in his backpack. They said he was detained by loss prevention officers, but was uncooperative and left the scene in a white Dodge pickup. The suspect vehicle was located a short time later at the Grants Pass Shopping Center. The manager at Famous Footwear called in and advised that the theft suspect had just exited that store and left a change of clothes inside. The man was found hiding in a restroom at Rite Aid. He refused to identify himself, but admitted the clothes in Famous Footwear were his, so he was placed into custody. The suspect was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for 2nd-Degree Theft and he was being held without bail.

 

A Grants Pass teenager was arrested for felony assault and impaired driving after he crashed into another vehicle on Williams Highway near Murphy. The Oregon State Police reports troopers and emergency personnel responded to the two-vehicle collision at milepost 5 of Highway 238 near Glenwood Street on Saturday at 2:14 p.m.. Troopers said witness statements and evidence at the scene indicated the 18-year-old boy was driving a Dodge Dakota when he rear-ended a Ford Ranger driven by a 68-year-old Murphy man who was slowing to turn into a driveway. According to OSP, the driver of the Ford was immediately transported to Three Rivers Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries. The driver of the Dodge showed indicators of impairment and performed poorly in field sobriety tests, so he was placed into custody and taken to the hospital for a legal blood draw. Following the investigation, the young motorist was cited to appear in court for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants and 3rd-Degree Assault. He sustained minor injuries in the crash and was released to the care of hospital staff. Both vehicles sustained heavy damage from the collision and were towed away.

 

The Oregon State Police arrested three other motorist for impaired driving in Josephine County over the weekend. According to OSP, state troopers pulled over a Ford F-250 driven by a 35-year-old Grants Pass man near the intersection of Allen Creek and West Harbeck roads on Friday at 9:37 p.m.. Troopers said they stopped the pickup for a traffic violation and the driver appeared to be impaired. After performing poorly in sobriety tests, he was taken to the Grants Pass Sobering Center where he provided a breath sample exceeding the legal driving limit. The second incident occurred on Sunday at 12:23 a.m. when troopers pulled over a Dodge Durango driven by a 44-year-old Cave Junction woman on Caves Highway near Laurel Road. Troopers said they stopped the pickup for a traffic violation and the driver displayed signs of impairment. She performed poorly in sobriety tests and was taken to the Sobering Center where she provided a breath sample that was more than twice the legal driving limit. The third incident happened on Sunday at 12:11 p.m. when troopers pulled over a GMC Sierra driven by a 59-year-old woman in the southbound lanes of Interstate 5 near milepost 64. Troopers said they received multiple driving complaints on the suspect vehicle, which they located on the shoulder of the freeway. The woman -- who showed signs of impairment -- said she ran out of gas. She performed poorly in sobriety tests and was taken to the Sobering Center where she provided a breath sample that was more than twice the legal limit.

 

The Oregon State Police cited a motorist who crashed his vehicle on Williams Highway in the northern Applegate Valley. OSP reports troopers and emergency crews responded to a single-vehicle accident on Highway 238 near Water Gap Road on Saturday around 8:30 a.m.. Troopers said the 25-year-old driver of a Dodge Durango was driving too fast for the conditions and wrecked his vehicle with a trailer in tow. No one was injured. According to OSP, the driver was issued several traffic citations after the wreck. Bulldog Towing responded to pull the pickup and trailer out of the mud. Neither was towed and state property damage was reported to the Oregon Department of Transportation.

 

Search and rescue teams from Jackson and Klamath counties were looking for a Ruch man who went missing while hunting for mushrooms near Lake of the Woods. In a Saturday afternoon press release, the Jackson County Sheriff's Office said it was searching for 56-year-old Gerald Severson who was last seen Thursday night near the lake in western Klamath County. Severson is described as a white male, 5-feet-4-inches tall and 140 pounds, with gray hair and blue eyes. He was staying in a cabin on the east side of Lake of the Woods and left to search for mushrooms at about 7 p.m. Thursday. Search and rescue teams started searching for the man on Friday afternoon. Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Gerald Severson is encouraged to call 9-1-1 immediately. The area where he was last seen is populated and has multiple roadways. It's possible he could have been picked up. Authorities were very concerned for the safety of Severson and the searchers as weather in the area over the weekend was very poor.

 

A motorist was seriously injured at the beginning of the weekend when they drove a vintage vehicle over an embankment in the Hugo area. Rural Metro Fire Department and American Medical Response were dispatched to the single-vehicle accident on private property in the 1400-block of Three Pines Road on Friday at 5:54 p.m.. Rural Metro officials said arriving units found a 1948 Austin A40 pickup around 50 feet down an embankment and against a tree. Preliminary information indicates someone drove the vehicle out of a garage on the property before losing control. Officials said the unidentified driver sustained serious injuries and was extricated from the vintage truck, which was heavily damaged. The patient was transported to Three Rivers Medical Center. The Josephine County Sheriff's Office was investigating the cause of the mishap.

 

Two motorists were hurt when their vehicles collided on Williams Highway near Murphy. Rural Metro Fire Department, American Medical Response and the Oregon State Police were dispatched to the two-vehicle crash on Highway 238 at Glenwood Street on Saturday at 2:09 p.m.. Rural Metro officials did not provide any details about the accident, but they said both drivers were transported to Three Rivers Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries. Williams Highway traffic was detoured around side streets while the scene was active. OSP was investigating the cause of the crash that occurred on a stretch of road that is common for crashes.