Local News

An alleged weekend speeding incident at Riverside Park led to the arrest of a man for committing several crimes against the alleged offenders.

The Grants Pass Police Department reports officers detained two people after another person reported they were speeding through the city park near the boat ramp on Saturday around 3:30 a.m..

Police said the anonymous caller was identified as 37-year-old Tyler William Stewart. The detainees reported that they were parked at the top of NW Starlite Place eating when Stewart arrived in his vehicle and blocked them in. They said the suspect brandished a large rock while threatening to kill them and break a window. The rock was thrown at the side door of the pickup, causing damage and placing the pair in fear by his actions and behavior.

One of the detainees disclosed that she and Stewart had been involved in a fight and admitted to throwing a bag of coffee at his head. She said Stewart put her in chokehold by wrapping his arm around her throat, which hampered her breathing. She showed officers an injury she suffered while her children were present in the home, but she said they did not witness the incident.

Stewart was contacted at a residence on SW Central, interviewed and arrested for Unlawful Use of a Weapon, 4th-Degree Assault, Strangulation, Menacing and 2nd-Degree Criminal Mischief. He was lodged at the Josephine County Jail.