Local News

Grants Pass Police jailed an out-of-state sex offender after responding to a disturbance at Three Rivers Medical Center late last week. According to the Police Department, officers were alerted to a man threatening people at the hospital in the 500-block of SW Ramsey Avenue shortly after 3 p.m. on Friday. Police said TRMC Security called 9-1-1 to report a male subject making threats to hospital staff and the general public while hitting his head against the wall. While the man was said to be verbally aggressive, there were no physical acts of violence. Officers arrived on scene and diffused the situation by placing the man into custody. An investigation determined he is a registered sex offender for a felony offense committed in Texas in 1993, he had been living in Oregon for at least two months and he had not registered with local law enforcement. The 54-year-old suspect was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Felony Failure to Register as a Sex Offender and he was being held without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man on an outstanding warrant following an unusual weekend incident at a business on the east side of the city. According to the Police Department, officers responded to a trespassing complaint at Verizon Wireless on NE Terry Lane on Saturday around 2:45 p.m.. Police said a 47-year-old man was called in because he was yelling at himself while sharpening a machete on the sidewalk of the business with his belongings scattered about. They said he was not threatening anyone or wielding the machete around, but the store manager wanted him removed from in front of the doorway. Officers arrived on scene, contacted the man and discovered that he was wanted on a Grants Pass warrant for Failure to Register as a Sex Offender. He was lodged in jail without bail, his machete was seized and the rest of his belongings were logged into evidence for safe-keeping.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for two crimes after he ran away from officers who were investigating a trespassing complaint on the west side of the city. According to the Police Department, officers responded to the call in the 900-block of SW G Street on Saturday during the noon hour. Police said the 57-year-old man unlawfully entered the backyard of a residence and engaged in a verbal confrontation with the property owner. They said he fled the scene before officers arrived, but was contacted at the corner of H and Pine streets. The man became aggressive and took off running down the street, blocking vehicle traffic and kept running even though officers did not engage in any type of pursuit. The man then entered a property in the 700-block of SW H Street and climbed onto the roof of a building. He was told to get off the roof multiple times, but refused to comply. He eventually followed lawful orders after the threat of non-lethal force. The suspect was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Disorderly Conduct and Criminal Trespass. He was being held without bail.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office arrested a woman for spray-painting the outside of someone's trailer at an RV Park just east of Grants Pass last weekend. According to the Sheriff's Office, deputies responded to the vandalism incident at the park in the 3200-block of Pearce Park Road on Saturday at about 10:50 p.m.. Deputies said a man called 9-1-1 to report he caught his 76-year-old neighbor spray-painting his RV black and applying some colorful metaphors to the outside of the trailer. The woman also reportedly stacked fencing against the trailer door in an effort to trap him inside. The woman could be heard laughing and screaming inside own trailer when deputies arrived on scene. It was unclear why she victimized her neighbor. The suspect was contacted and placed into custody. She was lodged in jail for 3rd-Degree Criminal Mischief and trespassed from her neighbor's RV space.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for throwing empty beer cans off the Debbs Potts Memorial Bridge into the Rogue River over the weekend. The Police Department reports a citizen observed the 33-year-old male subject throwing beer cans off the span that carries the Grants Pass Parkway over the river on Saturday at about 2:50 p.m.. Officers contacted the suspect and another man who stated that he grabbed the suspect when he attempted to jump off the bridge. The suspect was uncooperative at first and refused to give his name. He eventually admitted to the offense and was placed into custody. The suspect was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Depositing Trash Within 100 Yards of a Waterway.

 

The Oregon State Police arrested at least two motorists for impaired driving in the Grants Pass area over the weekend. According to OSP, the first incident occurred on Friday at 11:32 p.m. when state troopers pulled over a Cadillac Escalade driven by a 31-year-old Florence man near the corner of Redwood and Kellenbeck avenues. Troopers said they stopped the man for speeding and failing to maintain his travel lane. They said the suspect showed signs of impairment, performed poorly in field sobriety tests and was taken to Three Rivers Medical Center for a legal blood draw. He was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants, Reckless Driving and Recklessly Endangering his 33-year-old female passenger from Grants Pass. The second incident happened on Saturday at 10:45 p.m. when troopers pulled over a Mercedes Benz driven by a 57-year-old Grants Pass man in the 2800-block of Midway Avenue. Troopers said the driver was visibly impaired when they stopped him for multiple traffic violations. They said he refused to participate in field sobriety tests, so a search warrant was obtained and he was taken to the hospital for a blood draw that was positive for alcohol. He was lodged in jail for DUII and Reckless Driving.

 

A weekend report of two young men fighting at a south Grants Pass residence led to the arrest of one of them for domestic violence. The Grants Pass Police Department reports officers responded to a disturbance at a home in the 1400-block of Playford Lane on Friday at 9:37 p.m.. Police said a female caller reported a physical fight outside the house with several people inside. The caller said it was unknown what started the fight between the 19-year-old and 21-year-old combatants. No one was seriously hurt in the brawl between the highly-intoxicated men. Upon arrival, officers broke up the fight and learned that the 18-year-old man had previously impeded the breathing of his girlfriend by grabbing her throat with his hands. He scuffled with officers while being placed into custody. The suspect was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Domestic Strangulation and Resisting Arrest. He was being held without bail. The 21-year-old man was transported to the Grants Pass Sobering Center.

 

Grants Pass Police apprehended a woman wanted on out-of-state fugitive warrant while investigating a trespassing complaint at the Grants Pass Shopping Center. The Police Department reports officers arrested the 40-year-old female suspect at Aaron's Furniture on Saturday at 2:25 a.m.. Police said they contacted the woman after she had scattered rubbish while sifting through garbage cans outside the business on NE D Street. They said she was hostile with a security guard and refused to leave the property. Upon arrival, officers contacted the woman and discovered that she was wanted on an extraditable Michigan Department of Attorney General felony warrant for Family Neglect. She was placed into custody without further incident. The suspect was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the fugitive warrant and she was being held without bail pending extradition proceedings that will send her back to Michigan.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office arrested a man for vehicle theft during a weekend traffic stop on Redwood Highway near the Applegate River. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies pulled over a vehicle driven by a 43-year-old man near the intersection of US Highway 199 and Riverbanks Road on Saturday shortly after 2 p.m.. Deputies said they were on patrol when they spotted the vehicle that had been reported stolen from a man living on Camp Joy Road. Following the traffic stop, they detained the suspect and then placed him into custody after it was confirmed that the vehicle was still reported as stolen. The suspect was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle. The vehicle was towed into Grants Pass and the registered owner was advised of its recovery.