Local News

Grants Pass Police arrested a woman for her boorish behavior at a local fast food restaurant over the weekend. According to the Police Department, officers responded to a report of disorderly conduct involving 41-year-old Dellani Amber Decker at the McDonald's on NE 6th Street on Saturday around 9:30 a.m.. Police said the McDonald's manager called 9-1-1 to report a female subject outside the business who was yelling at and being hostile to customers. Officers arrived on scene, identified the subject as Decker and discovered that she had been trespassed before from the restaurant. Decker was placed into custody and lodged in jail for 2nd-Degree Criminal Trespass. She was being held without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for multiple moving violations during a weekend traffic stop near the downtown area. According to the Police Department, officers pulled over a white minivan driven by 28-year-old Mason Jay Veilleux near the corner of NE 7th and A streets at 4:32 a.m. Saturday. Police said they stopped Veilleux for expired registration on his vehicle and they quickly found him to be driving with a suspended license, no insurance and without an ignition interlock device. They said he became uncooperative, started to curse and kick at the door of the patrol vehicle. He stopped after being warned. Veilleux was lodged in jail for Driving While Suspended. He was also cited for No Insurance and Failure to Install an Ignition Interlock Device. His minivan was impounded.

 

The Illinois Valley Fire District extinguished a large vehicle fire in the Selma area early yesterday. On Sunday at 8:09 a.m., IVFD crews were dispatched to a recreational vehicle fire near the intersection of Thompson Creek Road and Lakeshore Drive. IVFD officials said it appeared a motorhome had been intentionally set on fire and it had been burning for some time prior to their arrival. The fire was extinguished with no spread to surrounding vegetation and the burnt-out motorhome was flagged for future towing.

 

The Oregon State Police Bomb Squad secured multiple military training devices that were turned in to Grants Pass Fire & Rescue at the beginning of the weekend. OSP reports a bomb technician responded to the Parkway Public Safety Station on Friday afternoon after a citizen had turned in the unidentified military devices. According to the report, the devices were turned in by a 61-year-old Grants Pass man whose recently-deceased 65-year-old brother had them in his possession. According to OSP, the devices were secured and transported away from Grants Pass for future destruction.

 

Five people were able to escape with only minor injuries after their house caught fire in the Jerome Prairie area last night. On Sunday at 6:25 p.m., Rural Metro Fire Department, Grants Pass Fire & Rescue, Illinois Valley Fire District and American Medical Response were dispatched to the reported structure fire on Sleepy Hollow Loop. Rural Metro officials said arriving units found the home well-involved with fire, with everyone out and accounted for. Unfortunately, one pet dog did not survive. Officials said injuries were mostly from broken glass as family members escaped out a window. They were evaluated by AMR medics and released at the scene. According to Rural Metro, an investigation into the cause of the fire is continuing with assistance from the Oregon State Fire Marshal.

 

One person was injured yesterday when two vehicles collided in the Merlin area. Rural Metro Fire Department, American Medical Response and the Josephine County Sheriff's Office responded to the crash at the intersection of Merlin Road and Jaime Lane on Sunday around 1:45 p.m.. Rural Metro officials said it took firefighters about 15 minutes to remove the roof of an overturned pickup blocking the intersection so they could remove the driver. Once freed, the driver claimed not to be injured and turned down an ambulance trip to the hospital. However, the driver of the other vehicle that ended up in the ditch was transported to Three Rivers Medical Center with minor injuries. The Sheriff's Office was investigating the cause of the collision.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office jailed a man for assaulting his girlfriend in the Wilderville area late last week. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies responded to a domestic disturbance at a home in the 300-block of Fir Canyon Road on Friday morning. Deputies said they received a call from a woman who reported her 31-year-old boyfriend hit her in the face. The victim initially was not sure whether she needed an ambulance, but she later declined medical transport to the hospital. Sheriff's records show there had been one other domestic incident at that address. According to the report, the woman told dispatchers she was safe because her boyfriend was asleep in the other room. That's where he was placed into custody. The suspect was transported to Grants Pass and lodged at the Josephine County Jail for 4th-Degree Domestic Assault. He was being held without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a motorist for crashing into a fence along Interstate 5 and fleeing the scene late last week. The Police Department reports officers were alerted to the incident in the 2400-block of NW Vine Street on Friday afternoon. Police said a citizen called 9-1-1 to report a tan soft-top Jeep went onto the embankment between Vine Street and I-5, taking out two sections of ODOT fence and causing heavy damage. The caller followed the suspect vehicle and witnessed it turning into Legacy RV Park on Monument Drive. Officers obtained video surveillance from Cascade Self Storage and were able to identify the driver as "Peter Bishop." They contacted him at the RV park and he admitted to driving into the embankment. There were no signs of impairment. Bishop was cited to appear in court for Reckless Driving. Charges of Hit-and-Run Causing Property Damage and Criminal Mischief were referred to the District Attorney's Office for consideration. ODOT was notified of the property damage.

 

The Illinois Valley Fire District responded to at least two motor vehicle accidents over the weekend. On Friday at 3:50 p.m., IVFD and the Josephine County Sheriff's Office responded to a single-vehicle crash in the 3700-block of Holland Loop Road. Upon arrival, units discovered a vehicle had collided with a tree. The occupant was not injured and they told deputies they lost control of the vehicle while trying to avoid a dog in the roadway. Jerry's Towing removed the vehicle and hauled it to Cave Junction. On Saturday at 1:50 p.m., IVFD crews responded to a single-vehicle wreck at the intersection of Holland Loop Road and Hays Cutoff Road. IVFD officials said the vehicle went off the roadway and into a vineyard, causing minimal damage. The driver was not hurt and they arranged for their own towing.