Local News

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office arrested a man for violating a court order and struggling with deputies after a weekend disturbance in the Jerome Prairie area. According to the Sheriff's Office, deputies responded to the incident in the 3,000-block of Jerome Prairie Road on Saturday around 7:15 p.m.. Deputies said the property owner reported that 80-year-old Donald Eugene Park was outside their home pounding on the front door, despite the fact that she had a valid stalking order against him. The caller said the elderly man lives on the same property and he had been watching her family. Park reportedly threatened to shoot the family and said he was going to shut their power off. He cornered the complainant's 16-year-old son in the family's truck, but the son locked the door and was not hurt. Upon arrival, deputies placed Park into custody with some difficulty as he struggled with them. He was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Contempt of Court-Stalking Order Violation and Attempted Assault on a Peace Officer. He was being held without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a man for old and new crimes after he caused a weekend disturbance at a local towing company. The Police Department reports officers responded to the incident at Caveman Towing on NW Vine Street on Saturday at 2:40 p.m.. Police said company workers reported that 24-year-old Calvin Mathew Bertik arrived and requested to have his vehicle returned after it was seized as evidence in a recent criminal investigation. Officers contacted the subject and determined that there was probable cause for his arrest for 2nd-Degree Burglary, 2nd-Degree Criminal Mischief and 3rd-Degree Theft, so they placed him into custody. During a consent search, Bertik was found to be in possession of two containers with a white crystal substance in them that tested positive for methamphetamine. Bertik was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for probable cause of the mentioned crimes as well as for Meth Possession. He was being held without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man on an outstanding felony warrant plus a drug crime after a weekend contact near a southeast city watering hole. According to the Police Department, officers were on patrol in the 600-block of Fruitdale Drive at 10:09 p.m. Friday when they observed 47-year-old Jason Lee Stout exiting Flespy's Bar & Grill. Police said Stout started running east and he was located in front of Li'l Pantry Market & Deli a short time later. They said the subject deliberately hid a jar of methamphetamine by trying to kick it under a nearby bush. Responding officers placed the suspect into custody and seized the jar of meth for destruction. Stout was found to be wanted on a Medford felony warrant for failing to appear in court for 1st-Degree Theft. He was lodged in jail on the warrant plus new charges of Meth Possession and Tampering with Evidence.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man on a local warrant and for probable cause of two other crimes after he was spotted using drugs at a north-city fast food restaurant. The Police Department reports officers were alerted to suspicious activity at the McDonalds on NE 6th Street on Saturday at about 3:30 p.m.. Police said they contacted 37-year-old Jordan Ellis Haas at the north McDonalds after receiving reports of a male subject using drugs near the dumpster. Employees said the subject was in clear view of customers in the drive-thru and surveillance cameras were directed toward that area. Officers arrived on scene, contacted Haas and discovered that he was wanted on a Grants Pass warrant for failing to appear in court for Failure to Register as a Sex Offender. He was also a suspect in a recent forgery crime, so he was placed into custody. Haas was lodged in jail on the warrant as well as for probable cause of 1st-Degree Forgery and Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument. No mention was made of any drugs or drug paraphernalia.

 

The Oregon State Police was notified that multiple railroad explosives were turned in to a local fire department late last week. According to the report, the OSP Explosives Unit was alerted on Friday afternoon that the dangerous devices had been turned in to Rural Metro Fire Department Station #2 on Monument Drive. Rural Metro officials said the railroad explosives -- which included torpedoes, detonators and fog signals -- were surrendered by the family of the owner after the owner passed away. State troopers said the items were collected and stored for future destruction.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office jailed a dangerous criminal offender on a local felony warrant late last week after a pursuit in the New Hope area. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies eventually arrested 30-year-old Mackenzie Duane Clinger at gunpoint on Corbin Drive near Williams Highway last Friday at 12:40 a.m.. Deputies said they were attempting to locate Clinger because he was wanted on a Grants Pass felony warrant for Probation Violation related to recent arrests for 2nd-Degree Kidnapping and two counts of 4th-Degree Assault. Upon spotting Clinger, deputies pursued him out Highway 238 and successfully spiked his vehicle. They attempted to block him in when he pulled into a private driveway, but he went around the patrol vehicle and continued to flee until all four tires went flat, disabling his vehicle. The Grants Pass 9-1-1 Communications Center notified deputies that Clinger was considered armed and dangerous, but he was placed into custody without further incident. Clinger was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the warrant along with new charges of Felony Attempt to Elude Police and Reckless Driving. He was being held over the weekend on $250,000 bail.

 

Two people were hurt -- one critically -- in a weekend motor vehicle accident near Selma. The Illinois Valley Fire District, American Medical Response and the Josephine County Sheriff's Office were dispatched to the single-vehicle crash in the 1,000-block of Reeves Creek Road on Friday night. Arriving units found a vehicle with extensive damage after striking a tree. The two occupants had to be extricated from the wreckage with the "jaws of life." One patient was transported by ambulance to Three Rivers Medical Center while the more critical patient was taken to IVFD Station #2 in Selma and transferred to a Mercy Flights helicopter that flew them to a local trauma center. Jerry's Towing hauled the heavily-damaged vehicle to Cave Junction. The Sheriff's Office was investigating the cause of the wreck.

 

Two weekend crashes in the North Valley area sent several people to the hospital. On Saturday afternoon, units from Rural Metro Fire Department and American Medical Response were dispatched to a crash near milepost 65 of northbound Interstate 5. Rural Metro officials said the driver experienced a medical problem and veered into the median. The occupants were transported to Three Rivers Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries. Thankfully, the high-tension cable barrier prevented the vehicle from crossing into opposing southbound traffic. Also Saturday afternoon, additional Rural Metro and AMR units responded to a crash involving two vehicles near the intersection of Granite Hill and Donaldson roads. Officials described the wreck as a T-bone accident that occurred in the intersection. They said the occupants of the rolled-over vehicle were transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

 

The Oregon State Police was investigating two motor vehicle accidents that occurred within hours of each other this past weekend in the Illinois Valley. On Saturday at 2 a.m., OSP, the Illinois Valley Fire District, American Medical Response and the Oregon Department of Transportation were dispatched to a single-vehicle crash on Redwood Highway at Wild Park Lane near Selma. Arriving units found a vehicle that had struck the guardrail and ended up on the side of the highway. Jerry's Towing removed the vehicle and hauled it to Cave Junction. There were no injuries reported. On Saturday at 5:59 a.m., OSP, IVFD and AMR responded to a single-vehicle crash on Redwood Highway at Eight Dollar Mountain Road. Arriving units found a vehicle into the trees just off the highway and there were no occupants around. The vehicle was flagged for towing.