Local News

Firefighters battled an early morning structure fire today in the southeast part of Grants Pass. At approximately 4 this morning, multiple units from Grants Pass Fire & Rescue and Rural Metro Fire Department were dispatched to the reported fire in the 600-block of Sunset Way. Grants Pass officials said Engine 7308 arrived first and found a fully-involved detached garage on fire at the rear of the residence. They said crews acted quickly, preventing the fire from spreading to nearby homes and successfully containing it to the original structure. Officials said the cause of the fire is currently under investigation, adding that it was the second fire at the same address in the last two weeks.

 

The Grants Pass Police Department assisted Rogue Area Drug Enforcement (RADE) with the arrest of a suspect for felony drug trafficking at a north-city motel early yesterday. GPPD officers and RADE detectives arrested 40-year-old Matthew Ryan Barton at the Red Lion Inn & Suites on NW 6th Street on Tuesday at 8:53 a.m.. RADE has not yet released any details of the investigation that led to Barton's arrest, but he was in possession of large quantities of both methamphetamine and fentanyl when he was placed into custody. The drugs were seized as evidence and for eventual destruction. Barton was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on suspicion of felony crimes of Manufacture, Possession and Delivery of Meth as well as Manufacture, Possession and Delivery of Fentanyl. He was being held without bail pending his arraignment in Circuit Court this afternoon.

 

A Josephine County Community Corrections client apparently forgot to check his personal belongings before visiting his probation officer yesterday. Grants Pass Police arrested 33-year-old Jeffrey Allen McPeake at the Community Corrections Office on NW 4th Street on Tuesday at 11:10 a.m.. Police said McPeake's corrections officer conducted a consent search of his client's belongings and found two restricted knives, two sets of brass knuckles and assorted drug paraphernalia with methamphetamine residue. He is a convicted felon and he was detained until officers arrived on scene to place him into custody. McPeake was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for four counts of Felon in Possession of a Weapon, Meth Possession and the resulting Probation Violation related to previous arrests for Delivery of Meth and 2nd-Degree Theft. He was being held without bail and the rest of his property was logged into safekeeping.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a woman for violating her post-prison supervision by once again obstructing traffic yesterday -- this time on the Parkway near the Debbs Potts Memorial Bridge. According to the Police Department, officers responded to the incident involving 37-year-old Jessica Shawnae Ryan Knowlton on Tuesday shortly before 11 a.m. and contacted her on the Grants Pass Parkway near SE M Street. Police said multiple callers reported a female subject running in and out of traffic on the Parkway. When they contacted the woman, she was walking in the bike lane and not on the highway. She had been arrested on Sunday for obstructing traffic on Foothill Boulevard near Pearce Park Road. Knowlton's corrections officer was contacted and she advised that her client has been refusing to check in, which is a violation of her parole. Knowlton was placed into custody and lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Felony Parole Violation. She was being held on a no-bail detainer.

 

A man who was wanted on a local felony warrant turned himself in at the Grants Pass Police Department early yesterday. GPPD reported that 46-year-old Jesse Andrew Greer surrendered to officers at the agency's headquarters on NE 7th Street on Tuesday at 8:29 a.m.. Police said Greer was wanted on a Josephine County felony warrant for Probation Violation related to a previous arrest for Intimidation. No details about the alleged crime were disclosed. Greer was placed into custody and booked into the Josephine County Jail on a no-bail detainer.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office arrested a man on five outstanding warrants while investigating a trespassing complaint in Cave Junction late yesterday. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies contacted 41-year-old Robert Edward Blase, Jr, in the 200-block of South Kerby Avenue and placed him into custody at 4:32 p.m. Tuesday. Deputies said they were alerted two tents that had been on the private property for four days. The caller complained the male and female occupants start fires and walk around at night and there was trash everywhere. Blase was contacted at the illegal campsite and found to be wanted on a total of five Josephine County warrants listing multiple charges of Resisting Arrest and Criminal Trespass. He was transported to Grants Pass and lodged in jail in lieu of posting $40,000 bail. Blase's female companion -- who was identified only as "Venus" -- was told to gather her belongings and leave. She was warned that is she was found sleeping or hanging out there, she would be arrested for Criminal Trespass.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for stealing a vehicle out of California early today, but there was no room for him at the Josephine County Jail. The Police Department reports officers contacted 49-year-old John Robert Leblanc near the Garden Grove Apartments on Fruitdale Drive shortly before midnight and arrested him about 10 minutes later. Police said Leblanc was driving a vehicle that had been reported stolen by the Novato, California, Police Department on May 9th. They said the suspect failed to return the vehicle to a rental company which had sent him demand letters and text messages to which he did not respond. According to GPPD, the stolen vehicle was recovered and the rental company was notified. Leblanc was charged with Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle and Possession of a Stolen Vehicle. He was cited to appear in court and released because the jail -- for unspecified reasons -- was not accepting new intakes.

 

The Grants Pass Police Department partnered with local law enforcement agencies to crack down on retail theft last weekend. GPPD, the Josephine County Sheriff's Office, Josephine County Community Corrections, Walmart Loss Prevention and WinCo Foods Loss Prevention targeted thieves stealing from both Walmart and WinCo on Saturday. Six thieves were apprehended during the single-evening operation and four of them were lodged at the Josephine County Jail. They included 23-year-old Dylan Andrew Thatcher, 30-year-old Thomas Murphy Grady O'Hara, 37-year-old Kendra Marie Anderson, 26-year-old Nick Dustin Farmer, 36-year-old Chauntelle Nadine Stulce and a 15-year-old male juvenile. Anderson was also arrested for Methamphetamine Possession. Stulce was released with a citation due to her young children being with her. The male juvenile was also released with a citation. In a Tuesday Facebook post, GPPD said it plans to continue these operations and pursue all retail theft with "zero-tolerance."

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for "amplifying" his role in an ongoing neighbor dispute in the southeast part of the city. The Police Department reports officers responded to a vandalism complaint in the 2,000-block of Doris Ann Lane during the noon hour on Monday. Police said a man called 9-1-1 to report that his neighbor had damaged a fence, broken a window and threatened to shoot his dogs over the past three weeks. The caller claimed he had sustained total damages of $15,000. He also said he had taken photos of the damage and his neighbor's blood was still on the window. The man -- identified as 57-year-old James William Russell -- stated he would deliberately use a large amplifier to cause annoyance to his neighbor. Even though he was warned against it, Russell wheeled the amp up to the fence-line and played music so loud it was impossible to hear a conversation. The suspect continued to play the extremely loud music for an extended time until he was placed into custody. Russell was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Disorderly Conduct. He was being held without bail.