Local News

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office arrested a Grants Pass man for violating terms of his probation yesterday. According to the Sheriff's Office, deputies tracked down and arrested 46-year-old Dallas Lee Silva at a home in the 3100-block of Williams Highway on Monday at 1:34 p.m.. Deputies said Silva was wanted for Probation Violation related to a May 2024 arrest for Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle. He was initially charged with several other crimes, but the District Attorney's Office dismissed all other charges. Silva was described as "uncooperative," but he was eventually lodged at the Josephine County Jail on a no-bail detainer.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office arrested an Illinois Valley man on two local warrants in the O'Brien area yesterday. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies contacted and arrested 41-year-old Jonathan Mark Michels in the 200-block of Samarkand Drive on Monday at 3:13 p.m.. Deputies said Michels was wanted on two Josephine County felony warrants for Felon in Possession of a Weapon and failing to appear in court for Unlawful Use of a Weapon. They said he was placed into custody at gunpoint because of his past affinity for possessing and using weapons. Michels was transported to Grants Pass and lodged at the Josephine County Jail on $60,000 bail.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office arrested an Illinois Valley woman on a local felony warrant in Cave Junction yesterday. According to the Sheriff's Office, deputies made contact with 34-year-old Solana Rae Costello in the 100-block of North Redwood Highway at 1:46 p.m. Monday. Deputies did not disclose the nature of their contact with Costello, but they said she was wanted on a Josephine County felony warrant for Probation Violation related to a 2024 arrest for 1st-Degree Criminal Mischief. Costello was placed into custody, transported to Grants Pass and lodged in jail on $50,000 bail.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man on an out-of-county warrant while performing a welfare check near an eastside fast food restaurant last weekend. According to the Police Department, officers contacted 46-year-old Clayton Anthony Grant in a vacant lot behind the Carl's Jr. located on NE Terry Lane on Sunday shortly after 2 p.m.. Police said they received a call about a male subject with a green jacket and his pants pulled down who was sitting down and talking to himself. Upon contact with Grant, officers discovered that he was wanted on a Florence Police Department warrant for two counts of Disorderly Conduct. He was placed into custody and lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the outstanding warrant.

 

Police cited two motorists who were involved in a crash near Grants Pass High School on Monday. The Police Department reports officers and emergency crews responded to the two-vehicle collision at the corner of NE 8th and A streets shortly after 1 p.m. yesterday. Witnesses said both drivers appeared to be GPHS students. Police said an investigation determined the driver of a black pickup was stopped for pedestrians at the intersection. When the pedestrians finished crossing the street, the driver decided to go and struck the passenger side of a gold car that ran through the stop sign. No one was hurt and neither vehicle required towing. Following the investigation, the driver of the car was cited for Failure to Obey a Traffic Control Device and the driver of the pickup was cited for No Insurance.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a man on three out-of-state felony warrants last weekend after he tried to purchase lottery tickets with counterfeit $100 bills at a downtown watering hole. The Police Department reports officers arrested 56-year-old Dennis Allen Gross for the incident at the Purple Parrot on SE J Street on Sunday at 6:52 p.m.. Police said an employee called 9-1-1 to report a male subject later identified as Gross had attempted to utter counterfeit C-notes to purchase scratch-it tickets. When told the $100 bills were counterfeit, the suspect reportedly threw them away and walked off -- but the employee retrieved the funny money and called police. Responding officers contacted Gross and discovered that he was wanted on three Sarasota County, Florida, felony warrants for crimes including Forgery, Uttering Forged Counterfeit Bank Bills, Grand Theft and Impersonating Another. Gross was placed into custody and lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the out-of-state warrants. He was being held without bail pending extradition proceedings that will likely send him back to Florida.

 

The Oregon State Police jailed a Roseburg man early yesterday for several crimes that he allegedly committed in the Wolf Creek area. OSP reports troopers arrested 39-year-old Jason Ryan Taylor near Interstate 5 on Coyote Creek Road on Monday shortly after midnight. OSP had been notified by the Josephine County Sheriff's Office that a deputy was in contact with an individual whom they knew a trooper had probable cause to arrest. Troopers responded and conducted a field interview before placing Taylor into custody. He had been pulled over by deputies while driving a Kia Optima. No specific information about the alleged incident was released in the OSP report. Taylor was transported to Grants Pass and lodged at the Josephine County Jail for suspicion of 1st-Degree Arson, 1st-Degree Criminal Mischief, Reckless Burning and Tampering with Physical Evidence. He was being held without bail.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office arrested an Illinois Valley man for boorish behavior after he allegedly threatened an elderly employee at the O'Brien General Store. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies responded to the incident at the store in the 33,000-block of Redwood Highway on Saturday afternoon. Deputies said 44-year-old William Bruce Damon, III, was loitering at the general store and was asked to leave by an employee. They said Damon motioned with his arm and fist as if he was preparing to hit the elderly worker. He left the store, but came back several times to harass customers and employees and disrupt business. Upon arrival, deputies contacted Damon and determined he had been drinking. He was uncooperative both before and after being placed into custody. After being loaded into the patrol vehicle, he spat and slammed the cages a few times, telling deputies he was going to fight them when the handcuffs came off. The handcuffs stayed on and Damon was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Menacing and Disorderly Conduct. He was being held without bail.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office arrested a motorist for impaired driving last weekend after he crashed into two parked vehicles in the Williams area. According to the Sheriff's Office, deputies and emergency crews responded to the three-vehicle collision on Williams Highway near Green Meadow Road on Sunday around 9:30 p.m.. Deputies said an investigation determined that a black pickup driven by 37-year-old Taylor Thorp went off the roadway and collided with a Kia and an Infinity before taking out a fence and landing in a ditch near the Williams Grange. No injuries were reported, but all three vehicles sustained minor to moderate damage. Thorp reportedly showed signs of impairment at the scene. He was placed into custody after performing poorly in field sobriety tests. Thorp was subsequently transported to and lodged at the Grants Pass Sobering Center for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants. His truck was impounded.