Local News

The Oregon State Police was looking for a Selma man who is responsible for causing a multi-vehicle crash at the Interstate 5 Merlin Interchange yesterday. According to OSP, troopers, Rural Metro Fire Department and American Medical Response were dispatched to the four-vehicle collision at the Exit 61 northbound off-ramp on Monday at 2:09 p.m.. Troopers said 27-year-old Naythen Garrett Franks was driving a Chrysler 200 at a high rate of speed when he collided with four vehicles that were stopped at a red light at the intersection with Merlin Road. Three of the vehicles sustained severe damage, but none of the occupants were injured. The driver of the Chrysler fled the scene and the driver was identified as Franks from a picture taken at the scene by one of the victims. Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Naythen Franks is encouraged to dial *OSP.

 

The Medford Police Department arrested an armed male subject following a lengthy standoff yesterday. On Monday at 11:18 a.m., MPD officers responded to a report of a disorderly subject vandalizing property of a neighbor near a residence in the 400-block of King Street. Officers learned from the caller that the suspect -- 43-year-old Timothy Tracey Russell -- was armed with a semi-automatic rifle that had a drum magazine. Upon arrival, officers made contact with Russell as he was walking back to his residence. Russell refused to drop the rifle and fled into his home while telling officers that he wanted them to shoot him. The house was surrounded and elements of MPD's SWAT team, detectives and negotiators responded to assist. After several hours of negotiations, Russell eventually exited the residence when officers deployed gas into the house and he was taken into custody. He resisted heavily and was hit with a less-than-lethal 40-millimeter round. A K-9 was also deployed. Once Russell is medically cleared, MPD Lieutenant Geoff Kirkpatrick said he will be lodged at the Jackson County Jail.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office jailed a man wanted for violating his probation in Georgia for beating up a man and his wife in the Merlin area last weekend. The Sheriff's Office reports the Medford Police Department transferred 40-year-old Joshua Joseph Johnson to Josephine County deputies at Exit 33 in Central Point on Sunday at 6:06 a.m.. Deputies said they were alerted to a disturbance in the 200-block of Gary Lane on Sunday at 12:55 a.m.. They said a woman called 9-1-1 to report a male subject crashed his vehicle outside their residence, came to their house, attacked her husband and punched her in the face. The caller said her husband was knocked out and bleeding badly from a laceration near his eye. She was bleeding from her nose and mouth. The suspect then fled the scene in a Chevrolet S-10 pickup. The victims identified the suspect as Johnson and said he lives in a nearby trailer. He crashed his vehicle into a ditch and was injured badly enough that he was taken by ambulance to Rogue Regional Medical Center in Medford. He was reported to be highly intoxicated and slurring his words prior to being taken to the hospital. After treatment at the hospital and transfer to local deputies, Joshua Johnson was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for one count of 1st-Degree Burglary, two counts of 4th-Degree Assault and two counts of Attempted 4th-Degree Assault. He was also found to be wanted on a Bartow County, Georgia, warrant for Probation Violation, Obstructing Police and Possession of Contraband Articles.

 

A Grants Pass man was jailed for harassing his wife and her friend before he tried to injure a police officer last weekend. The Grants Pass Police Department reports officers arrested 74-year-old Mike Blaine Ford for the incident in the 900-block of NE Wesley Lane on Sunday at 1:17 p.m.. Police said Ford attempted to harass and assault his wife and her friend. Officers responded, immediately placed him into custody and transported him to Three Rivers Medical Center for a mental health evaluation. While at the hospital, Ford reportedly tried to injure an officer and resisted being arrested. Mike Ford was subsequently lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Attempted Assault on a Peace Officer, Resisting Arrest and Harassment. He was being held without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for drugged driving and an outstanding warrant while investigating a weekend motor vehicle accident in the Redwood area. The Police Department reports officers and emergency crews responded to the two-vehicle crash on Medart Lane near Kellenbeck Avenue on Sunday shortly after 5 p.m.. Police said 36-year-old Revis Walter Hultquist was driving a Saturn SUV when he had a drug-related seizure and wrecked into an unoccupied vehicle. They said he was slumped over in his SUV and drug paraphernalia was observed in the vehicle. A routine records check revealed that Hultquist was wanted on a Jackson County warrant for Hit-and-Run Causing Property Damage, Reckless Driving and Driving While Suspended. The check also showed his driving privileges were still revoked. Hultquist admitted to fentanyl use to paramedics while he was being transported to Three Rivers Medical Center. After he was cleared at the hospital, he was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Driving Under the Influence of Controlled Substances and Driving While Suspended. He was being held without bail and his damaged vehicle was impounded.

 

A four-vehicle collision snarled traffic at the Merlin Interchange off Interstate 5 yesterday. On Monday at 2:05 p.m., Rural Metro Fire Department and American Medical Response were dispatched to the multi-vehicle crash at the I-5 Exit 61 northbound off-ramp. Out of the vehicle occupants who remained on scene, all denied any injuries. The investigation was being handled by law enforcement. Rural Metro officials said the intersection is unique in design, having a number of different traffic signals managing the multiple directions of travel. First responders who found themselves competing with the lights and resulting driver behaviors would like to thank all the pass-through motorists for their patience. Officials said traffic was managed in a way to provide safety to those on scene as well as to give priority to backed-up traffic extending onto I-5. The potential for a secondary crash increases exponentially when traffic slows on the freeway.

 

Last week's themes for the Grants Pass Parks Division were trail maintenance and graffiti removal. Parks crews worked to clear many trails and adjacent landscaped areas of blackberries and tall grass. Graffiti was also removed at many locations including the most heavily impacted parks -- Riverside and Baker. Parks officials said many hours were spent removing and painting over the graffiti.

 

Rural Metro Fire Department was involved in two rescues on Sunday afternoon in the "unprotected area" of Josephine County. Fortunately, neither incident resulted in serious outcomes. Shortly before 3 p.m. Sunday, the 9-1-1 Dispatch Center received a text message from someone reporting a dirt bike crash in a remote location up Taylor Creek Road. The text indicated a rider had slid off the Taylor Creek Trail and the biker's legs were pinned under the motorcycle. Rural Metro crews and medics from American Medical Response hiked in a half-mile to extract the rider and a friend out to the trailhead. Along the way, rescuers encountered a rattlesnake that had to be euthanized in order to safely reach the patient. After a medical evaluation, the rider denied any injuries that would have required transport to the hospital. On Sunday at 3:40 p.m., residents living along the Rogue River observed an overturned orange Tahiti raft, oar and backpack floating downstream in the 2600-block of Rogue River Highway. Calls to 9-1-1 mobilized multiple units from Rural Metro, Grants Pass Fire & Rescue and AMR that rushed to both sides of the river in search of a possible person in distress. Even though a call of a human in distress was never received, the need to follow through with searching all surrounding areas was imperative. Bank-based searchers -- along with a rescue boat launched from the Parkway Station at Baker Park -- were unable to locate anyone and the search was called off.

 

Another day of sunny weather meant good working conditions for the US Forest Service Type 3 team's final operational shift on Smith River Complex North. Management of the incident was turned over to local Type 4 incident commanders Gavin Mitchell and Monty Edwards on Monday morning. At last report, the Smith River Complex was 94,606 acres, containment was 87% and total staffing was 612. This was the final update on the incident posted to Facebook. The west side of the wildfire complex is anticipated to complete suppression repair work including biomass processing and debris removal by the end of today's shift. Two pieces of heavy equipment were to be demobilized this morning. On the east side, similar repair work efforts have progressed north and northeast. Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) assessment of road systems and severely burned areas to determine emergency stabilization are ongoing. Meanwhile, the Anvil Fire burning near Port Orford was reported to be 22,173 acres with 43% containment and total personnel of 1,207. The Flat Fire burning near Agness was holding at 34,242 acres with 88% containment and 48 personnel.