Local News

Because Josephine County is observing the Juneteenth holiday on Wednesday, the Board of Commissioners is holding its weekly business session tomorrow morning. The Board will open the meeting with a public hearing for the supplemental budget for the current fiscal year. Following the hearing, the Commissioners will decide whether to approve adjustments to the spending plan that ends on June 30th. Under Administrative Actions, the Board will consider a purchase and sale agreement between The Conservation Fund and Josephine County for the Pipe Fork property near Williams. As part of the sale, a contribution agreement covering funds provided by the Williams Community Forest Project must also be approved by the Commission. The proposed sale has been months in the making. As part of the Consent Calendar, the Board is scheduled to make an appointment to the Grants Pass Airport Advisory Board. Tuesday's public meeting begins at 9 a.m. in the Anne G. Basker Auditorium.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed an impaired man for multiple crimes early yesterday after he crashed a vehicle into a traffic signal pole while fleeing from law enforcement. The Police Department reports officers arrested the 55-year-old male subject at Three Rivers Medical Center on Sunday at about 3:30 a.m.. That's where he was taken following the wreck at the intersection of Rogue River Highway and the Grants Pass Parkway. The Oregon State Police assisted with the arrest. Police said they observed the motorist speeding, failing to maintain a travel lane and nearly crashing while outbound on Highway 99 near Fruitdale Drive. They said he turned around and accelerated to a high rate of speed before a traffic stop was attempted. The man refused to yield while striking curbs, swerving all over the highway and nearly crashing several more times. The pursuit ended when the man lost control of the Mini Cooper he was driving and struck the traffic signal pole, totaling his car. He sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was transported by ambulance to the hospital for evaluation. After he showed indicators of impairment, a search warrant was obtained for a legal blood draw that documented a high level of inebriation by alcohol. The suspect was medically cleared and then lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Felony Attempt to Elude Police, Reckless Driving and Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants. He was being held without bail and his totaled car was impounded.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for stealing a laptop computer out of a parked vehicle in the downtown area late last week. The Police Department reports officers responded to a theft complaint near the corner of SE H and 6th streets on Friday around 1:35 p.m.. Police said the owner of a 2005 Honda Accord called 9-1-1 to report that his passenger-side window was broken out and his backpack was stolen along with a laptop computer with a brown and black case inside. The caller advised that $35 in cash was also stolen from a cup-holder in his car. The total amount for the stolen items was estimated to be $1,615, with damage to the car around $200. Officers searched the area and contacted a 39-year-old man walking on SW G Street while carrying the stolen property. The suspect was placed into custody and lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Felony 1st-Degree Theft. He was being held without bail and the stolen items were returned to their rightful owner.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for displaying unruly behavior in a city park at least two times over the weekend. According to the Police Department, officers responded to the incident involving the 38-year-old man at Kesterson Park on NE Evelyn Avenue on Saturday around 12:15 p.m.. Police said the male subject had been reported kicking someone inside a tent and then trying to punch them when they got out. They said he was warned for Disorderly Conduct because they were unable to locate the victim. They returned to the park a short time later for another call involving the same man. The suspect was reported to be yelling at people in a violent manner. He was contacted by officers while continuing to yell and displayed what they called "pre-assault indicators." This time, the suspect was placed into custody and lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Disorderly Conduct. He was being held without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police apprehended a man wanted on statewide and Salem area warrants after a weekend theft complaint at the south Abby's Pizza. According to the Police Department, officers responded to the incident at the restaurant in the 1600-block of Williams Highway on Saturday shortly after 11 a.m.. Police said they contacted a 30-year-old male subject inside Abby's and he admitted to stealing a basket full of food items. He was also found to be wanted on a state warrant for Felony Parole Violation as well as a Marion County warrant for failing to appear in court for 2nd-Degree Theft. After the warrants were confirmed, the suspect was lodged in jail without bail and a charge of 3rd-Degree Theft was added to his criminal bill.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for riding a dirt bike recklessly in the downtown area late last week. According to the Police Department, officers performed a traffic stop on a dirt bike ridden by a 24-year-old male subject near the corner of NE 7th Street and Midland Avenue during the noon hour on Friday. Police said they observed the man illegally riding north at 7th and A streets at a high rate of speed. They said he was driving recklessly and doing wheelies while cutting in and out of traffic. He failed to yield for several blocks until stopping. A routine records check showed the man's driving status was Felony Suspended, and he did not have a hardship permit to drive to and from work. The suspect was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Felony Driving While Revoked and was being held without bail. He was also cited to appear in court for Careless Driving and Violating the Basic Rule.

 

The Oregon State Police arrested a motorist for impaired driving during a weekend traffic stop on the Grants Pass Parkway. According to OSP, troopers pulled over a Chevrolet Express van driven by a 57-year-old man on US Highway 199 near NE F Street on Saturday at 1:40 a.m.. Troopers said they stopped the van for a traffic violation and the driver displayed signs of impairment. They said the driver performed poorly in field sobriety tests and his driver's license was found to be suspended at the misdemeanor level. The suspect motorist was placed into custody and taken to the Grants Pass Sobering Center where he provided a breath sample that exceeded the legal driving limit. He was cited to appear in court for Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol and Driving While Suspended. His vehicle was impounded.

 

Due to recent cool and wet weather, the Oregon Department of Transportation has pushed back the start of the Redwood Highway chip seal project until tomorrow morning. ODOT Public Information Officer Dan Latham said chip seals should be performed when the weather is warm and sunny, and today's temperature forecast for the O'Brien area is a little below what they would like. On Tuesday morning, the contractor plans to begin work at the south end of the project area at the California border and gradually work their way north through O'Brien to the milepost 36 marker. This means on the first day, they will work on the southernmost two miles between mileposts 41 and 40, resurfacing one lane and then the other. The contractor will repeat the process on Wednesday, resurfacing the highway between mileposts 39 and 38, and then the final two miles from mileposts 37 to 36 on Thursday. They hope to complete the chip seal project in three days, though Friday may be a catchup day. The ODOT contractor could begin work each day as early as 6 a.m. and continue as late as 8 p.m..

 

A well-known Jackson County drug dealer was sentenced to more than 15 years in federal prison after law enforcement located large quantities of drugs -- including fentanyl -- and a firearm in his abandoned vehicle. According to the US Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon, 36-year-old Anthony Ross Minneci was sentenced this month to 188 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release. According to court documents, following his release from prison for drug trafficking and possessing a firearm in January 2019, Minneci resumed selling drugs throughout Southern Oregon. From early 2019 to March 2022, the suspect was charged in multiple cases in Jackson and Josephine County Circuit Courts for drug trafficking, illegally possessing firearms and eluding police. On January 1, 2022, a Jackson County sheriff's deputy observed a vehicle failing to stop at an intersection and driving at a high rate of speed. The deputy identified Minneci as the driver and pursued him briefly before he got away. Later that evening, investigators found the vehicle unoccupied in a rural area, but were unable to locate the suspect. Four days later, investigators executed a search warrant on the vehicle and located fentanyl, heroin and methamphetamine as well as a firearm, ammunition and drug paraphernalia. They also found Minneci's driver's license and other identifying items.