Local News

Grants Pass Police arrested a man on a statewide felony warrant after responding to a weekend trespassing complaint at a local retailer. According to the Police Department, officers were alerted to a trespassing call involving a man and woman at Big Lots in the 300-block of NE Agness Avenue on Saturday at 5:20 p.m.. Police said the 33-year-old male subject was called in by Big Lots who wanted him and his girlfriend trespassed due to frequent thefts from the store. The subject who refused to provide identification walked outside while officers sent photos and researched known associates of the girlfriend identified only as "Cassandra." The subject identified by GPPD as "Derrold Joseph Kinzel, III" was found to he wanted on a Santiam Correctional Institution warrant for Parole Violation related to a previous conviction for 1st-Degree Theft. He was located a short time later inside Big 5 Sporting Goods and placed into custody at the point of a Taser. Kinzel was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on a no-bail detainer.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man on two outstanding warrants plus several other crimes after a weekend contact at one of the city's designated campgrounds. The Police Department reports officers located 37-year-old Kelcey Edwin Cummings at the SE J Street campsite on Saturday during the noon hour. Police said Cummings was contacted and advised he was under arrest for two Grants Pass warrants for failing to appear in court for 2nd- and 3rd-Degree Theft. They said he attempted to flee on his bicycle, but lost his chain, crashed and was placed into custody. Cummings was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the warrants along with charges of Escape and Methamphetamine Possession. He was also wanted for probable cause of 2nd-Degree Theft, 3rd-Degree Theft and two counts of 1st-Degree Criminal Trespass. He was being held without bail. While arresting Cummings, officers said other park campers began yelling at a male subject who was cleaning up trash. They called him a "rat" and started to throw rocks at his truck. They were warned and asked to leave the campsite if they could not control their behavior.

 

The Oregon State Police arrested a Grants Pass man on an outstanding warrant during a weekend traffic stop in the downtown area. According to OSP, troopers pulled over a white Ford Explorer driven by a 46-year-old male subject near the intersection of NE 7th and A streets on Saturday at 12:23 p.m.. Troopers said they stopped the vehicle for a traffic violation and discovered that the driver was wanted on a local warrant for Contempt of Court. The driver was placed into custody without incident and lodged at the Josephine County Jail. He was being held on $15,000 bail. His vehicle was impounded.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office arrested a motorist for impaired driving early yesterday following a traffic stop in the Merlin area. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies pulled over a white Jeep driven by a 30-year-old male subject near the corner of Merlin Road and Allman Way shortly after midnight on Sunday. Deputies said they stopped the Jeep for a traffic violation and the driver displayed strong signs of impairment. They said he performed poorly in field sobriety tests, a search warrant was obtained and he was taken to Three Rivers Medical Center for a legal blood draw. Based on the results of the blood draw, the man was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants and Reckless Driving. His Jeep was impounded and towed to Grants Pass.

 

The Medford Police Department was investigating a weekend stabbing incident on the northeast side of the city. On Saturday at about 6:10 a.m., an MPD officer was conducting an extra patrol at the Delta Waters Car Wash at the corner of Crater Lake Highway and Delta Waters Road. The officer made contact with occupants of a suspicious vehicle in the parking lot, discovered that one of the occupants had just been assaulted with a knife and the suspect had fled just prior to the officer's arrival. The 44-year-old male victim was transported by ambulance to a local hospital where he was in stable condition. Police officers immediately established a perimeter in the area and an off-duty Jackson County Sheriff's Office deputy and K-9 assisted with a search. The suspect was not located. An MPD detective responded to the scene and has interviewed the involved parties and witnesses. Detectives were developing suspect information and are not releasing a description or name of any suspect at this time. It is believed the victim and suspect know each other, and this was an assault stemming from a previous disagreement. This investigation is ongoing and the incident will be updated as more information becomes available.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a man on outstanding warrants and new criminal offenses after he got into a fight with a manager at the downtown Safeway store at the start of the weekend. The Police Department reports officers arrested 39-year-old Joshua Alexander Deivert for the incident at the supermarket on SE 7th Street on Friday at 8:55 p.m.. Police said Deivert entered Safeway where he has been previously trespassed and acted in a disorderly manner. They said he was screaming at random individuals about a lost debit card, which caused a scene in front of numerous customers. A manager of the store asked the subject to leave, but he refused and kept yelling. As the manager escorted Deivert out of the business, he attempted to use an electric scooter to strike the manager, but the manager was able to successfully disarm the subject. The suspect then struck the manager, causing physical injury. Upon arrival, officers discovered that Deivert was wanted on two Grants Pass warrants for failing to appear in court for Petty Theft and Criminal Trespass. He was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the warrants plus new charges of Unlawful Use of a Weapon, 4th-Degree Assault, Disorderly Conduct and Criminal Trespass.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a woman for her alleged involvement in several crimes during a weekend patrol check at a city park. According to the Police Department, officers contacted a woman they identified as 27-year-old Megan Elise Mitchell at Riverside Park on Saturday around 8 p.m.. Police said Mitchell was wanted for probable cause from two recent investigations and she was placed into custody without incident. She was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Identity Theft, Fraudulent Use of a Credit Card, three counts of 2nd-Degree Theft and Unlawful Entry into a Motor Vehicle. No details about the alleged crimes were disclosed, although the suspect was trespassed from Walmart. Mitchell was being held without bail.

 

Firefighters extinguished a small vehicle fire near Cave Junction early yesterday and kept it from spreading to a nearby home and vegetation. On Sunday at 2:43 a.m., the Illinois Valley Fire District and Oregon Department of Forestry were dispatched to a vehicle fire in the 300-block of Caves Highway. IVFD officials said arriving units found a vehicle ablaze, with a nearby residence threatened by the flames. They said the fire was extinguished and the home was not damaged. ODF crews stood by to halt any spread into the vegetation. Officials said the cause of the fire was under investigation, but believe it may have been mechanical in nature.

 

As Southwest Oregon inches closer to the end of the 2024 fire season, now is a good time to cover dry burn piles with a tarp. Be sure piles contain only permitted Class A materials including yard debris, wood, paper and cardboard, and not prohibited materials such as garbage, tires, roofing, black plastic, plastic irrigation lines, appliances or furniture. Fire season is officially declared over when a significant weather pattern occurs and the Oregon Department of Forestry makes the announcement that is issued over all major media sources. Fire conditions are not determined by a date, but by local fuel conditions and weather. Rural Metro officials said a dry pile after the rain starts will promote a hot and clean burn -- but wait until fire season is declared over. Right now, open and barrel burning remains prohibited, and all other current restrictions remain in effect until further notice. For more information, visit "swofire.com/public-fire-restrictions."