Local News

Grants Pass Police arrested a local fugitive, cited several campers and evicted two of them during city park patrol checks on Thursday. It all started at 5:49 a.m. yesterday when officers contacted 53-year-old Robert Andre Fisher at Morrison Centennial Park and arrested him on a Grants Pass warrant for 2nd-Degree Theft. He was lodged at the Josephine County Jail. During an area check of Westholm Park a short time later, Dylan Duffy was cited for Illegal Camping and Alyssa Morlan was cited for Improper Utilization of Park Space. A total of 12 campsites were posted with a removal date of November 19th and an e-mail was sent to the United Community Action Network (UCAN). During a patrol check at Gilbert Creek Park, James Smith was cited for Buffer Zone Violation. Since it was Smith's second such citation at that park, he was trespassed from 30 days. During a patrol check at Fruitdale Park, Russell Thompson was cited for Scattering Rubbish. Upon returning to Morrison Centennial Park, officers cited Joseph Hislip, Dolores Nevin, John Espinosa and Marissa Winters for Illegal Camping. Winters was also cited for Scattering Rubbish and she was excluded from the park for 30 days.

 

A Grants Pass motorist was cited for causing a crash that sent another motorist to the hospital late yesterday. Grants Pass Police and emergency personnel responded to the two-vehicle wreck at the intersection of SW Booth and G streets on Thursday at about 5:30 p.m.. Police said the rear-end collision occurred between a pickup with a camper and a car. They said one person was transported by ambulance to Three Rivers Medical Center for treatment of what appeared to be minor injuries. No one else was hurt. Both the pickup and car were towed from the scene, but it was unclear in the report who was driving the vehicles. There was partial blockage of the roadway. Following an investigation, officers cited a male motorist identified only as "Peat" for Driving While Suspended and No Insurance.

 

No one was hurt in a two-vehicle crash that occurred at an intersection in Murphy early yesterday. The Oregon State Police reports troopers and emergency crews were dispatched to the collision at the intersection of Williams Highway and North Applegate Road on Thursday at 9:05 a.m.. Troopers said a preliminary investigation indicates 56-year-old Larry Noble of Grants Pass was driving a Kenworth truck on the highway and slowed to make a turn onto North Applegate. They said a Chevrolet Tahoe driven by 35-year-old Tawny Lints of Williams that was following the Kenworth veered to the right, struck the right rear portion of the truck and contacted the guardrail. According to OSP, no one was injured including an infant girl in Lint's vehicle. The damaged Tahoe was towed to Grants Pass and the Kenworth left under its own power. Following the investigation, Lints was either cited or warned for Following Too Closely.

 

The Oregon State Police arrested a Grants Pass man for impaired driving early today following a traffic stop on Rogue River Highway. According to OSP, troopers pulled over an Acura TL driven by 33-year-old Robert B. Young on Highway 99 near Florence Lane at 12:10 this morning. Troopers said they stopped Young for a traffic violation and he displayed signs of impairment. After refusing to participate in field sobriety tests, a search warrant was obtained and he was taken to Three Rivers Medical Center for a blood draw. Based on the results of the blood draw, Robert Young was transported to the Grants Pass Sobering Center where he was cited to appear in court for Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol and Reckless Driving. His car was parked and secured at the scene of the traffic stop.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office jailed a Grants Pass man for injuring two of his children during an argument with his wife at a Redwood area residence earlier this week. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies responded to a domestic disturbance at a home in the 2100-block of Hubbard Lane on Wednesday morning. Deputies said the 28-year-old wife of 31-year-old Dillon Anthony Lee called 9-1-1 to report that her husband hit her in the face and was throwing items around the house in front of their four children. The caller hung up and dispatchers called back, reaching the husband who reported that his wife threw a phone at him and hit him in the face. He declined medical attention and retreated to a motorhome. Upon arrival, deputies determined that Lee recklessly caused physical injury to two minor children by slapping them and throwing items during the argument. Physical injuries were observed on both children and there was no probable cause to believe that the husband and wife were victims of domestic violence. Dillon Lee was placed into custody and transported to the Josephine County Jail where he was booked for two counts Felony 4th-Degree Domestic Assault. He was being held without bail. The Oregon Department of Human Services was summoned to the scene in order to evaluate the situation after both parents admitted to recent drug use and ongoing domestic issues within the home. The injured children were taken to the hospital for treatment.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a woman on a local felony warrant for drug trafficking this week. The Police Department reports 29-year-old Amber Rose Rahlf was wanted on a Grants Pass felony warrant containing a secret indictment for Unlawful Delivery and Unlawful Possession of Fentanyl. Police said they first attempted to serve Rahlf at the Harbeck Village Apartments at 6:55 p.m., but she was not there. They said they returned at 9:25 p.m., spotted the suspect's vehicle parked outside the apartments and then placed her into custody. Amber Rahlf was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on $50,000 bail. It was unclear whether her arrest was related to the investigation that led to a massive drug bust in Grants Pass and Josephine County on Tuesday.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested one man on an outstanding warrant and cited several others for camping and other violations in the downtown area early yesterday. According to the Police Department, officers contacted 38-year-old Joshua Alexander Deivert and two other men sleeping on a sidewalk on SW I Street between 7th and 8th streets on Thursday around 5:40 a.m.. Deivert was cited for Scattering Rubbish and Illegal Camping as well as Unlawful Possession of Methamphetamine. He was also wanted on a Grants Pass warrant for failing to appear in court for Disorderly Conduct and lodged at the jail facility. The two other men -- identified only as Chapman and Misner -- were warned for Illegal Camping and ordered to move on. Meanwhile, Russ Davis was sleeping in the doorway of the US Bank on SW 6th Street. He was cited for Scattering Rubbish and Illegal Camping. A man identified only as "Stalford" was cited for sleeping in the alleyway behind Gates Furniture. Louis Briseno and Jason Whittenburg were found sleeping on the sidewalk in the Grasshopper Parking Lot. Both were cited for Illegal Camping while Whittenberg was also cited for Scattering Rubbish. Both collected their belongings and moved off the sidewalk.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for placing a truckload of trash on a city sidewalk in the downtown area and refusing to clean it up this week. According to the Police Department, officers were alerted to the ordinance violation at the corner of SE 8th and I streets on Wednesday morning. Police said citizens reported a man later identified as 59-year-old Brian Scott Chapman removed a large amount of trash from his parked minivan and placed it on the sidewalk. When asked to clean up his mess, he reportedly refused to do so and community service officers were brought in to haul away the rubbish. Chapman was placed into custody at the scene and found to be in possession of methamphetamine. He was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Offensive Littering and the narcotics violation. He and his female companion were warned. Two five gallon buckets of marijuana were located and seized for destruction. A bucket of feces and bottles of urine were also disposed of.

 

A quick-thinking teenage passenger potentially saved multiple lives this week at a busy intersection in Central Point. On Wednesday around 3:14 p.m., a grandmother was driving her grandson west on Biddle Road near Table Rock Road when she suffered a medical emergency. With the car accelerating and his grandmother unconscious, 16-year-old Tayen made the split-second decision to press his foot on the brake and steer the car away from oncoming traffic in the intersection. He then began performing CPR while waving down passing motorists who assisted and called 9-1-1. According to the Jackson County Sheriff's Office, Tayen's decision not only saved his grandmother and himself, but other motorists as well. The grandmother is in a local hospital in stable condition. The responding deputy presented Tayen with a challenge coin to commend his swift action under intense pressure. The Sheriff's Office called him "a life-saver and a true hero."