Local News

Oregon State Police apprehended a suspect hitchhiking on Interstate 5 Sunday afternoon.

Troopers observed Zacharey Costa on the shoulder of I-5 at milepost 77. They knew he was wanted on a felony warrant, so they placed him into custody.

While conducting a search for weapons and means of escape, approximately three grams of methamphetamine were found on Costa's person. He was given a criminal citation for the drugs.

Troopers subsequently lodged Costa in the Josephine County Jail on his warrant for Third Degree Theft and Robbery, and Meth Possession.

 

The second-place finisher for a Grants Pass homeless site grant filed a protest Friday regarding two city councilors and the winning applicant's proposed property. The Daily Courier reports Bernie Woodard of the Roseburg based Elk Island Trading Group sent the protest to the city attorney and city recorder. He asked that Pathways to Stability, the top scoring applicant, be disqualified for not having a site and falsely claiming it was in active negotiations for the property at 1798 SE N Street. In his protest of the city's grant award process, Woodard said Grants Pass City Councilors Victoria Marshall and Erich Schloegl showed bias in favor of Pathways to Stability in social media posts and in their scoring of the nonprofit's application, as well as bias against his company.

 

Grants Pass Police were alerted to a potential knife threat Sunday evening.

Dispatch was notified at 5:14 p.m. that a man had threatened the caller with a knife, but the caller took it from him. The suspect then reportedly fled the scene on a bike toward Tom Pearce Park.

Officers arrived and contacted the suspect, Alejandro Camarena-Torres. After an investigation, the reported menacing was unfounded and no probable cause was developed for an arrest.

Camarena-Torres was, however, found to be wanted on two warrants, one out of the Medford Police Department. He had been charged with Third Degree Robbery and Theft, Unlawful Use of a Weapon, Menacing, and Unlawful Possession of Meth.

Camarena-Torres was taken into custody and lodged in the Josephine County Jail on his warrants.

 

Officers with the Grants Pass Police Department were alerted to a verbal dispute complaint Saturday afternoon.

An argument between a man and woman occurred in the 300 block of SW Bridge Street. Upon arrival, officers learned the man had already left and he and the woman were fighting over the phone.

She was yelling and breaking windows to her trailer in the backyard. Officers advised her of the complaint.

Early Sunday morning, at 12:52 a.m., the woman notified dispatch that the man had returned to the property. Officers arrived and contacted the man after he came out the front door with his hands up.

The suspect, Travis Gearlds, was found to be wanted on two separate warrants from the Medford Police Department and the Jackson County Sheriff's Office. His charges included Unauthorized Use of a Vehicle and two counts of Contempt of Court respectively.

Gearlds was taken into custody on his warrants and lodged in the Josephine County Jail. The woman was warned for Hindering.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office responded to a theft complaint Sunday morning.

At 11:29 a.m., deputies learned a woman had been robbed of a motorcycle. She said the main door into her garage was torn off by a man in order to get inside.

The victim was able to track down the suspect outside Sam's Market at 8530 Monument Drive. The suspect and a woman were next to a black Nissan Sentra with the windows smashed out.

A verbal dispute ensued, where the suspects stated they bought the motorcycle from someone walking down the road.

Deputies arrived and detained both suspects. While the woman was later released, the man, identified as Gregory Johnson, was charged with First Degree Criminal Mischief, Second Degree Burglary and Theft, and Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle.

Johnson was taken into custody and lodged in the Josephine County Jail.

 

Jackson County Sheriff’s Office detectives are investigating a homicide that occurred in White City Saturday night. The suspect fled the scene but was taken into custody after a nearly five-hour manhunt. There is no threat to the public. JCSO White City deputies responded to a 911 call at 9:37 p.m. for a stabbing at a mobile home park in the 3600 block of Avenue G. Deputies and Mercy Flights medics attempted life-saving measures, but the victim, Edward Dean Rowan, 72, of White City, was pronounced deceased around 10:12 p.m. Next of kin has been notified. The suspect initially fled the scene of the homicide but was identified as the son of the victim. Medford Police Department K9 and Drone Teams arrived to assist. A JCSO deputy located the suspect walking on Avenue C near the intersection of 28th Street. He was initially uncooperative before deputies arrested him without incident.

 

Jackson County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to multiple 911 calls this week linked to a nationwide viral TikTok prank involving Artificial Intelligence. In this trend, people use AI to generate realistic images of a disheveled “homeless man” appearing inside their own homes, then send the images to family or friends as a prank. Locally, several parents received these AI-generated photos from their teens and, believing an intruder was present, called 911. JCSO deputies responded, but all incidents were determined to be hoaxes. The teens involved were given warnings. However, such pranks may constitute initiating a false report, a Class A misdemeanor under Oregon law. Under the law, offenders may be required to repay response and investigation costs, and if a SWAT team is deployed, the charge carries a mandatory minimum jail term of 10 days. Parents are urged to talk with their children about how AI can create convincing fake content, the serious legal and emotional consequences of online pranks, and the dangers of misusing emergency services.

 

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) suspended the monthly employment and unemployment reports for the nation, states, and metropolitan areas as of Oct. 1, 2025.

According to the Oregon Employment Department, Oregon had an average of 29,000 federal government jobs covered by unemployment benefits during the first half of 2025. That accounted for about 1.5% of all jobs in the state.

Looking at annual average wages, jobs on federal government payrolls in Oregon paid nearly $98,500 in 2024. That was 38% higher than the average annual wage for all jobs in Oregon.

In 2024, there were 1,950 federal government jobs in Jackson County with an average annual wage of $87,866 and 304 in jobs in Josephine County with an average annual wage of $83,577.

Federal jobs represented about 2.1% of total payroll jobs and 3.2% of total wages in Jackson County in 2024. In Josephine County, federal government employment accounted for 1.0% of payroll jobs and 1.6% of total wages.

 

Officers with the Grants Pass Police department reported to Walmart for a shoplifting complaint Thursday evening.

The suspect, Jack Doak, was stopped by loss prevention staff at the 135 NE Terry Lane store after passing all points of sale with over $500 worth of items.

Doak admitted to not having any money to pay for the goods. When officers arrived, they took him into custody. His parole officer requested a detainer.

Officers transported Doak to the Josephine County Jail where he was lodged on the detainer, and a charge of Second Degree Theft.