Local News

Grants Pass Police jailed an out-of-compliance sex offender following a weekend patrol check at a city park. The Police Department reports officers arrested a 58-year-old male subject at Morrison Centennial Park on Rogue River Highway on Sunday afternoon. Police said they responded to reports of suspicious activity at the park. One caller reported a man actively selling drugs out of a Nissan minivan. Another caller said people were using the park restrooms to use the drugs they purchased from the van. Upon arrival, officers contacted the man in the minivan and found no narcotics, but they did find him with a half-full can of beer. Further investigation revealed the man was a convicted sex offender who had not reported for well over one year. He was immediately placed into custody. The suspect was charged with Felony Failure to Register as a Sex Offender. He was being held without bail. He was also cited for Open Container of Alcohol.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a young man wanted on three local warrants at one of the city's designated campsites yesterday. According to the Police Department, officers contacted the 19-year-old male subject at the SE J Street campground on Monday around 4:15 p.m.. Police said the subject was wanted on three Grants Pass warrants for failing to appear in court for Larceny, 3rd-Degree Theft and 2nd-Degree Criminal Trespass. They said they received a tip that he could be found at the campsite. Officers located the man they identified as "Justis Ivan Cory," confirmed the warrants and then placed him into custody. He was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on $22,500 bail.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a repeat impaired driver after she crashed a vehicle at a north-city bakery and fled the scene last night. The Police Department reports officers were dispatched to the hit-and-run motor vehicle accident at Babe's Bakery on NE 6th Street on Monday at 6:13 p.m.. Police said an investigation determined that 26-year-old Samantha Lee Smith crashed her Toyota Tacoma onto the bakery property, damaging a fence and a flowerbed. Officers later located the suspect vehicle which had its license plates removed since the crash and was parked among other vehicles at a retirement center in the 1,000-block of NE 10th Street. Witnesses described the driver. Smith returned with her boyfriend a short time later and tried to leave the center, but she was detained and placed into custody. She showed signs of impairment, but refused to cooperate with the investigation -- so a search warrant was obtained for a legal blood draw performed at Three Rivers Medical Center. Based on the results of the blood draw, Smith was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants, Hit-and-Run Causing Property Damage and Tampering with Evidence. She was also cited for No Operator's License and Failure to Install an Ignition Interlock Device on her vehicle. She lost her license and was ordered to install the device due to previous DUII convictions.

 

The Oregon State Police likely prevented a suicide attempt on Williams Highway between Grants Pass and Murphy last night. OSP reports troopers responded to a report of a suicidal male subject in the 4,000-block of Highway 238 on Monday at 8:30 p.m.. Troopers said it was reported that the 24-year-old man had cut himself with a knife and was threatening to kill himself by jumping in front of passing vehicles. Upon contact, the man resisted detainment and had to be Tased before he was subdued. According to OSP, evidence of suicidal intention was found on the man and he later admitted to being suicidal. The subject was transported to Three Rivers Medical Center where he was admitted on a Peace Officer's Mental Hold.

 

Multiple agencies battled a small wildfire next to Interstate 5 in the Sunny Valley area late yesterday. On Monday at 3:47 p.m., the Oregon Department of Forestry, Rural Metro Fire Department, Grants Pass Fire & Rescue and the Wolf Creek Rural Fire Protection District all responded to the blaze on the northbound side of I-5 near milepost 72. Firefighters engaged in an aggressive initial attack and began lining the fire. By 4:25 p.m., crews had stopped forward progress of the blaze and were working to construct line around it, but they were challenged by windy conditions as a Red Flag Warning was in effect. The aggressive attack continued. In a 4:50 p.m. update, ODF reported a Type 2 helicopter was assisting with water bucket drops on the inland side of the fire. Firefighters on the ground continued to line the perimeter and extinguish hot spots. Tall, dry grass and brush mixed with windy conditions contributed to the initial growth of the fire. The main body was caught at an estimated half-acre and a small spot fire to the south was caught at an estimated 1/10th of an acre. One lane of I-5 was closed by the Oregon Department of Transportation during the firefight. The cause of the fire was under investigation.

 

The Oregon Department of Forestry and Jackson County Fire District #3 knocked down a vegetation fire in the Sams Valley area yesterday. Crews from ODF and the local fire district responded to a grass fire near the intersection of Highway 234 and Agate Road early Monday afternoon. Firefighters mounted an aggressive initial attack and had the majority of the fire extinguished and lined in short order. The blaze was located inside a previously created bulldozer line at the solar panel site, which aided efforts. By 2:30 p.m., ODF reported the fire was 100% wet-lined and crews had stopped any further growth. Crews were successful at holding the fire at two to three acres. Resources remained on scene to continue to dig line to create a more solid barrier as mop-up operations were started. The cause of the fire was under investigation. ODF officials caution local residents to be aware that fires can still start and spread easily in these warm, dry conditions. For that reason, high fire danger is still in effect throughout Jackson and Josephine counties. For more information on current fire restrictions, please visit "swofire.com."

 

Grants Pass Police apprehended a fugitive wanted on a statewide felony warrant following a weekend dispute over ownership of a speaker. The Police Department reports officers arrested 33-year-old Shelby Anthony Acosta while he was walking along SE 7th Street on Sunday at 7:46 p.m.. Police said Acosta was accused to stealing a portable JBL speaker from a woman and the dispute turned into a wrestling match at SE J and Mill streets. Acosta told officers the speaker belonged to him and the woman was holding it for him while he was incarcerated in the Josephine County Jail. According to the report, the woman did not have any proof of ownership rights to the speaker and it was a civil issue since Acosta had possession of it. Further investigation revealed that Acosta was wanted on an Oregon State warrant for Parole Violation stemming from an assault conviction. He was lodged in jail on a no-bail detainer. The speaker was placed in safekeeping since Acosta was arrested on the warrant. The woman was advised of the situation and provided with options.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man on a local felony warrant following a weekend trespassing complaint at Walmart. According to the Police Department, officers were alerted to a suspicious male subject in the store on NE Terry Lane on Sunday around 4:15 p.m.. Police said they contacted 34-year-old Brandon Michael Ginger after Walmart staff requested that he be trespassed. A routine records check showed he was wanted on a Josephine County felony warrant for Parole Violation stemming from a previous conviction for drug possession. He was placed into custody. During a consent search, Ginger was found to have several drug-related items in his backpack. One of the items was tested with a field swab and it came back positive for methamphetamine. All the items were seized for destruction. Ginger was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the warrant plus a new charge of Meth Possession. He was also trespassed from Walmart.

 

The Oregon State Police arrested a Grants Pass woman for felony drug possession following a weekend traffic stop on Interstate 5 in the North Valley area. OSP reports troopers pulled over a Dodge Neon driven by a 30-year-old female subject in the southbound lanes of I-5 near milepost 63 on Sunday at 11:18 p.m.. Troopers said they conducted the stop after observing multiple traffic violations. Upon contact with the driver, they said drug paraphernalia was observed in the center console and she admitted that she had methamphetamine in the car. A search of the vehicle uncovered more than 10 grams of meth, which is a felony-level amount, plus a much smaller amount of fentanyl. The suspect was transported to Grants Pass and booked into the Josephine County Jail for Felony Possession of Methamphetamine. Her car was impounded and the drugs were seized for destruction.