Local News

Grants Pass Police jailed a man for violating his post-prison supervision early yesterday after he caused a disturbance at the Chamber of Commerce/Visitor Center. The Police Department reports officers arrested 29-year-old Dustin Michael Fontana at the facility on NW Vine Street on Monday at 7:54 a.m.. Police said a Chamber of Commerce employee arrived at work to find Fontana drinking from a bottle of Fireball whiskey and lighting a newspaper on fire on the front porch of the center. The caller said he was acting hostile and started walking toward her as she was sitting in her vehicle in the parking lot. Upon arrival, officers contacted Fontana and learned that he was on parole after recent convictions for Harassment, Unlawful Entry into a Motor Vehicle, Disorderly Conduct and Furnishing False Information to Police. After contacting Fontana's corrections officer, he was placed into custody and lodged at the Josephine County Jail on a no-bail detainer.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed another man for violating his post-prison supervision after he was caught going through mailboxes in the Redwood area yesterday. The Police Department reports officers arrested 44-year-old Danial Bryan Cook at 11:25 a.m. Monday after a call regarding suspicious activity on Annabelle Lane. Police said a resident spotted a male subject later identified as Cook acting strange while eating an apple and drinking a beer. The caller said he was wandering around looking in ditches and they spotted him looking inside mailboxes while taking mail and a newspaper from a home in the 1200-block of Annabelle. Officers responded to the scene and contacted Cook, finding him to be out of compliance with his sex offender registration. They contacted his corrections officer who requested he be placed on a detainer due to the violation of his parole for convictions including Disorderly Conduct and Offensive Littering. Danial Cook was lodged without bail at the Josephine County Jail for Felony Parole Violation, Failure to Report as a Sex Offender and 3rd-Degree Theft.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a woman for taking unlawful liberties at a Rogue River Highway convenience store and then physically harassing employees who tried to stop her. According to the Police Department, officers responded to a disturbance involving 34-year-old Marissa Elizabeth Winters at the Market & Deli in the 1,000-block of Highway 99 on Sunday around 3:15 p.m.. Police said Winters felt compelled to enter the store and help herself to samples of slushies available for sale. When workers advised her that she had to leave if she wasn't going to purchase anything, she became upset and began yelling and cursing at them. As she was being ushered out of the store, she spat saliva on employees and struck one of them in the face. She caused public alarm, but no one was hurt. Winters fled the store before the arrival of officers, but she was located a short time later at Morrison Centennial Park and placed into custody. During a consent search, she was found to be in possession of drug paraphernalia that was seized. Marissa Winters was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Disorderly Conduct and the narcotics violation.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man on an outstanding warrant after he was caught dumpster diving with a female companion at Riverside Park. According to the Police Department, officers responded to an ordinance violation at the city park on Monday at about 12:30 p.m.. Police said a Parks Department employee alerted them to 29-year-old Jonathan Daniel Mahoney and an unidentified woman prying open a dumpster, climbing in and going through bags while leaving a large mess. Turns out Mahoney has a history of dumpster diving. Upon arrival, officers contacted Mahoney and discovered that he was wanted on a Grants Pass warrant for failing to appear in court for Criminal Mischief. He was placed into custody and lodged at the adult jail facility. He and his female friend were each issued a trespass warning.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a woman for leaving garbage in front of a downtown florist shop from which she had been repeatedly warned for trespassing. According to the Police Department, officers were alerted to the incident involving 41-year-old Gayle Lee Hooper at Grants Pass Florist & Gifts on SW 6th Street on Monday around 8:15 a.m.. Police said Hooper had been warned multiple times to leave the incident location and pick up garbage she had strewn about, but she refused officer orders and was placed into custody. Gayle Hooper was lodged in jail for Offensive Littering and Criminal Trespass.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a motorist for impaired driving after she crashed into two parked vehicles near the downtown area. According to the Police Department, officers and emergency crews responded to the three-vehicle wreck in the 300-block of NW A Street on Sunday at 3:15 a.m.. Police said 27-year-old Tasha Marusa Hill was driving a Kia when she lost control and crashed into two parked vehicles. They said she displayed multiple indicators of impairment, performed poorly in field sobriety tests and was transported to the Josephine County Jail where she provided a positive breath sample. Tasha Hill was booked into jail for Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol and Reckless Driving. Her vehicle sustained heavy front-end damage and was towed to the local impound yard. Based on the damage to Hill's vehicle, officers were on the lookout for additional crash victims. The suspect told them she was coming from NW Evelyn Avenue and was heading to the Merlin area.

 

The Oregon State Police cited a Grants Pass motorist for causing a weekend crash on Rogue River Highway in the southeast part of the city. According to OSP, troopers and emergency crews responded to the two-vehicle collision near milepost 2 of Highway 99 on Sunday at 1:25 p.m.. State troopers said evidence at the scene and witness statements indicated a Kia Sorrento driven by 28-year-old Trenton William Pruitt was following a Mitsubishi Eclipse too closely when the Mitsubishi slowed down to turn into a parking lot and the Kia rear-ended the Mitsubishi. No one was seriously hurt, but both vehicles were damaged and had to be towed. Following an investigation, Pruitt was cited for Following Too Closely.

 

The Jackson County Sheriff's Office has released more information about the death of a domestic violence shooting suspect near Ashland. Detectives said the deceased suspect is 31-year-old Juan Jose Castro of Ashland. His next of kin has been notified. The unidentified victim suffered a gunshot wound during an altercation in the 8,000-block of Dead Indian Memorial Road early Sunday morning. The victim also suffered injuries in the head-on crash with a Jackson County Fire District #5 truck that claimed the life of Castro. During the altercation, the victim attempted to leave the scene in a vehicle when Castro shot them at close range. Castro then attempted to drive the victim to the hospital when he collided with the responding fire truck on Dead Indian Memorial Road. Firefighters extricated the victim immediately, but Castro died while crews were trying to extricate him from the car. The Serious Traffic Accident Reconstruction (STAR) team responded to the scene of the crash to investigate. The team estimated the suspect's car was traveling well in excess of the 55 mile-per-hour speed limit in the 1992 Subaru Legacy. The car was moving fast enough to create sufficient energy to move the 35,000-pound truck with 400 gallons of water on impact and tear the front axle off the frame. Jackson County detectives are continuing the investigation and there is no further information available for release at this time.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed two men for stealing a vehicle and flatbed trailer valued at nearly $80,000 from the Spalding Industrial Park last weekend. The Police Department reports officers arrested 45-year-old Richard Dale Chalker, Jr, and 58-year-old Stephen Paul Kiyak in the 900-block of SE N Street at about 7:32 a.m. Saturday, shortly after the crime was reported. Police said a male caller to 9-1-1 reported that a Land Rover Explorer and a flatbed trailer were stolen from the 2200-block of NE Spalding Avenue. They said the Land Rover with British plates was on the trailer. The vehicles had been barricaded on the property, but the suspects removed the rocks in front of them in order to commit the heist. Responding officers pulled over a Ford F-250 that was towing the stolen trailer and Land Rover on SE N Street. Chalker was placed into custody without incident, but Kiyak fled into the backyard of a nearby home where he was eventually arrested with assistance from the Oregon State Police. The stolen vehicle and trailer were recovered, and the suspect vehicle was towed. Damage to the trailer axle was reported, which will cost around $2,000 to repair. Richard Chalker and Stephen Kiyak were both lodged at the Josephine County Jail on a total of seven charges including two counts each of Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle and Possession of a Stolen Vehicle, plus single counts of Felony Aggravated Theft, 2nd-Degree Criminal Mischief and Criminal Conspiracy.