Local News

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office has jailed a man for a felony-level sex crime. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies arrested 53-year-old Kieth James Benson on Thursday night in an unspecified location. No details about the incident that led to Benson's arrest were disclosed nor was there any entry in the latest Sheriff's log. He was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on allegations of Felony 1st-Degree Rape. Jail records indicate the offense may have occurred on Thursday. Benson was being held without bail pending his arraignment this afternoon.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for theft and trespassing crimes yesterday. The Police Department reports officers arrested 62-year-old James Thomas Holt in an unspecified location on Thursday afternoon. Holt was charged with misdemeanor crimes of Theft-by-Receiving and 1st-Degree Criminal Trespass, but no details about the incident were available because there was no entry in the Police log. The information came from jail bookings. Holt was lodged at the Josephine County Jail and he was being held without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a well-known offender for returning to a store from which he had already been banned. According to the Police Department, officers responded to a trespassing call at Fred Meyer on Wednesday. Police said 30-year-old Jacob Levi Reeder returned to Fred Meyer after being trespassed from the store last summer. He was observed in the store by loss prevention and contacted by officers while he was walking away. Reeder admitted to knowing that he was no longer allowed to be at the store, so he was placed into custody. Reeder was lodged in jail on a Grants Pass warrant for 2nd-Degree Criminal Trespass along with a new charge of 2nd-Degree Criminal Trespass. His trespass warning at Fred Meyer was updated.

 

The Oregon State Police arrested a Cave Junction man on an outstanding warrant during a patrol check at a Redwood Highway business in O'Brien yesterday. OSP reports troopers were conducting an area check at the O'Brien General Store on Thursday at 12:26 p.m. when they contacted 48-year-old Travers Johnson. Troopers identified Johnson as a "suspicious pedestrian" whom they recognized from prior arrests while he was loitering in the store parking lot. A routine records check showed that he had an active misdemeanor warrant for his arrest. Johnson was detained before being cited to appear in court and then released.

 

Two people were injured in a motor vehicle accident that occurred in Josephine County early this morning. An incomplete entry in the Oregon State Police daily log indicates the accident occurred at 12:49 a.m. today in an unspecified location. Troopers said a vehicle left the roadway and crashed into a tree. They said both the driver and passenger sustained non-life-threatening injuries, and they were taken by ambulance to Three Rivers Medical Center. The brief report did not identify them. According to OSP, the vehicle sustained heavy front-end damage and it was towed from the scene.

 

For the past two years, the Medford Area Drug and Gang Enforcement team (MADGE) has been investigating a local drug trafficking organization responsible for transporting significant quantities of narcotics into the Rogue Valley. Last March, Jackson County Circuit Court authorized MADGE to begin digital surveillance of this organization, enabling investigators to identify individuals and relationships suspected of involvement in drug trafficking and money laundering. The investigation revealed that the organization -- led by 40-year-old Carlos Diaz-Lourdes of Eagle Point -- operated as a family-run enterprise importing narcotics into Jackson County from outside the region. In November, MADGE obtained six wiretap orders to intercept communications among organization members. Using these wiretaps, investigators developed more leads and identified more suspects. Between January 16th and 22nd, MADGE and its partner agencies carried out tactical operations and executed 14 search warrants. During the investigation, MADGE seized approximately 10 pounds of narcotics including methamphetamine, cocaine, fentanyl pills, fentanyl powder and heroin. Other items seized included $210,000 in cash and approximately 50 firearms, many of which were short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns and ghost guns, which are firearms assembled without serial numbers. According to the Medford Police Department, the investigation is ongoing and additional arrests are anticipated.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a man on an outside felony warrant this week after he tried to elude them in the downtown area. The Police Department reports 38-year-old Joshua Scott McFadden was finally arrested in the backyard of a home in the 800-block of SE 8th Street on Wednesday afternoon. Police said they spotted McFadden acting suspicious with two other men in an alley at SE 6th and M streets. They said he was wanted on a Rogue River Police Department felony warrant for Probation Violation related to a 2021 arrest for 1st-Degree Burglary. When officers approached him, he walked and then ran away. According to GPPD, officers set up a perimeter to locate McFadden and two of them apprehended the suspect in a residential backyard when he fled from a dog house where he was hiding and attempted to jump a fence. After the warrant was confirmed, McFadden was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the warrant and he was being held on a no-bail detainer.

 

The Oregon State Police arrested a Josephine County man for his dangerous behavior in a Redwood Highway construction zone near Wilderville this week. OSP reports troopers responded to the incident involving 26-year-old Nick Dustin Farmer near milepost 11 of US Highway 199 on Wednesday afternoon. Troopers said Farmer was contacted for jumping in front of multiple vehicles, throwing rocks at vehicles and taking apart traffic control signs in an Oregon Department of Transportation construction zone. Fortunately, no one was hurt. According to OSP, Farmer was placed into custody as he was walking along the highway near the incident location. Farmer was transported to Grants Pass and lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Disorderly Conduct. He was being held without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for attempting to swindle Fred Meyer out of some money this week. According to the Police Department, officers responded to a theft complaint at the store located off the Grants Pass Parkway on Wednesday night. Police said 58-year-old Troy Allen Hornsby entered Fred Meyer and placed batteries valued at $20 in his back pocket before proceeding past all points of sale and exiting the store. They said the suspect then re-entered the store to return the batteries he had just stolen. An unsuspecting clerk provided him with a gift card. Hornsby was stopped by loss prevention and the gift card was recovered, but he left before the arrival of law enforcement. Officers searched the area and finally located him near the corner of 7th and M streets. He was questioned and then placed into custody. Hornsby was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for two counts of 3rd-Degree Theft. He was also trespassed from Fred Meyer.