GP Police Collared Man on Local Felony Warrant after Suspicious Activity Call
Grants Pass Police arrested a man on a local felony warrant while investigating a weekend report of suspicious activity at Walmart.
The Police Department reports officers chased down and arrested 45-year-old Ely Benjamin Smith at the Abby's Pizza on NE Beacon Drive on Friday at 7:32 p.m..
Police said a citizen reported seeing Smith messing around with a Dodge Ram pickup in the Walmart parking lot. The caller said the suspect got into the bed of the truck, slid open the cab window and climbed inside.
Smith took off running when officers responded to the scene. He reportedly ran toward Fred Meyer and to Abby's where he was placed into custody at Taser point.
Officers discovered that Smith was wanted on a Grants Pass felony warrant for 1st-Degree Criminal Mischief and Attempted Escape. He was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the warrant plus a new charge of Attempted Escape. He was being held without bail.
Posted on 8/11/25 6:15AM by Sam Marsh
