Local News

A disability rights advocacy group has filed a new lawsuit to halt the city of Grants Pass from closing one of two sanctioned homeless camps and restricting the hours of the other. The Oregonian reports the suit is the first major case following last summer's US Supreme Court ruling that found public camping restrictions in Grants Pass did not constitute “cruel and unusual punishment.” Disability Rights Oregon and the Oregon Law Center joined to represent five people, ages 47 to 66, who live with disabilities, ranging from arthritis to vertigo. Since August, the Grants Pass City Council had required all homeless people to stay at one of two sites in the city. But on January 7th, the Council decided to restrict camping further, voting to close the larger of the two sites, known as the J Street site. City staff estimated that roughly 120 tents were at the location. At the same time, the council restricted the hours at the much smaller remaining camp on 7th Street to overnight camping only. The site holds roughly 30 tents and often is full, according to the suit. Disability Rights Oregon contends that the closure of one of two acceptable camping sites violates state law and is not "objectively reasonable as to time, place and manner." The suit filed in Josephine County Circuit Court also contends the change discriminates against people with disabilities, arguing that the smaller site still open is physically inaccessible to people using wheelchairs or those who have trouble walking because it's mostly loose gravel.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office captured a fugitive out of northern California early yesterday during a patrol check in downtown Cave Junction. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies contacted and arrested 59-year-old Scott Seaman in the 500-block of East River Street on Wednesday at 2 a.m.. Deputies said they spotted Seaman sitting in a vehicle at that location. During a routine records check, they discovered he was wanted on two Siskiyou County felony warrants for failing to appear in court for Felon in Possession of a Firearm and for failing to appear in court for narcotics possession. Seaman had also been listed as a missing person by the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office. After the warrants were confirmed, Seaman was transported to Grants Pass and lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the warrants. He was being held without bail pending extradition proceedings that will send him back to Siskiyou County.

 

A Josephine County Community Corrections client was jailed last night on an outstanding warrant and a plethora of other charges. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies arrested 38-year-old Marshall Brodie Elliott in an unspecified location on Wednesday evening. There was no entry for the incident in the Sheriff's Log, but deputies said Elliott was wanted on one local warrant for Probation Violation plus nine more criminal allegations. Elliott was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the warrant as well as felony charges including 1st-Degree Robbery, 1st-Degree Burglary, Unlawful Use of a Weapon, Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle and Attempt to Elude Police. He was also charged with Reckless Driving, Reckless Endangering and Criminal Mischief, which are misdemeanors. Elliott was lodged at the Josephine County Jail where he was being held on $100,000 bail.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office arrested a distraught teenage girl for attacking her mother in the Williams area early yesterday. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies responded to a domestic disturbance at a home on Tetherow Road on Wednesday around 6 a.m.. Deputies said a woman called 9-1-1 to report that her 17-year-old daughter was upset because her father may be going to prison. The caller said her daughter was throwing things in her bedroom and she flipped over a dresser. When the woman went to console her daughter, the girl responded by punching her several times in the face. Upon arrival, deputies interviewed both parties and observed a raised bump on the mother's forehead along with abrasions and scratches on the side of her neck and her arms. The daughter stated that her mother also punched her, but there was no evidence of any injury. The daughter was placed into custody, transported to Grants Pass and lodged at the Josephine County Juvenile Justice Center for 4th-Degree Domestic Assault. The Oregon Department of Human Services was notified about the incident.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested two people for stealing from a local supermarket last night. The Police Department reports officers were alerted to a shoplifting incident at WinCo Foods on NE Terry Lane on Wednesday shortly after 8 p.m.. Police said 34-year-old Brittany Rae Adams and 23-year-old Alyczander Truel Morgan were observed by loss prevention concealing merchandise and leaving the store without paying. They said Adams had concealed multiple health and beauty products, and that she had been trespassed from WinCo on January 18, 2024. Adams was arrested in the WinCo parking lot while Morgan was arrested after he ran across the Grants Pass Parkway to Walmart with stolen items on his person. All of the stolen merchandise was returned to WinCo. Adams was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for 3rd-Degree Theft and 1st-Degree criminal Trespass. Morgan was jailed for 3rd-Degree Theft. Both were being held without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a woman for stealing from Home Depot yesterday. According to the Police Department, officers responded to a shoplifting call at the store on NE Mill Street on Wednesday at 12:20 p.m.. Police said 42-year-old Dalacey Laurene John stole a set of curtains from Home Depot that were valued at $23. They said she was caught by loss prevention while trying to leave the business without paying for the curtains. John was escorted to the loss prevention office where she initially refused to provide any identification. Officers were able to identify her and they charged her with 3rd-Degree Theft. John was cited to appear in court and then released. She was also trespassed from Home Depot.

 

The Jackson County Sheriff's Office -- along with other local law enforcement agencies -- are conducting a high-visibility seat belt and child restraint enforcement campaign from now until February 9th. The campaign aims to encourage drivers and passengers to wear seat belts and use proper child restraints. Federally-funded overtime will increase police presence on city and county roads throughout the Rogue Valley. This effort is made possible by grant funding from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) through the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT). The latest research from the NHTSA shows motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children and that 46% of child car seats are misused. Common issues include children being in the wrong type of car seat for their age and size, and car seats being installed improperly -- both of which leave children vulnerable to injury or death in a crash. Every day in 2022, three children ages 14 and younger were killed in traffic crashes while another 429 were injured.

 

A total of five people were injured in two motor vehicle accidents that occurred in Josephine County late yesterday. On Wednesday at 3:46 p.m., Rural Metro Fire Department and American Medical Response were dispatched to a single-vehicle crash on Southside Road near Murphy. Rescue crews were able to quickly extract everyone after a vehicle went out of control and struck a tree, likely due to ice. One adult and three juveniles were transported by ambulance to Three Rivers Medical Center for treatment. On Wednesday at 8:42 p.m., Rural Metro and AMR responded to a single-vehicle rollover wreck in the 900-block of Jumpoff Joe Creek Road near Hugo. Few details were available, but the driver was transported to the hospital. Ice may have been a factor, but law enforcement was investigating the cause of the crash. First responders are reminding motorists that some roads remain icy all day if they are shaded from sunlight. Please drive with caution.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office jailed a man for leading deputies on a pursuit in the Hugo area this week. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies eventually arrested 41-year-old Kyle David Thier at Taser point in the 900-block of Hitching Post Road on Tuesday morning. Deputies said they attempted a traffic stop on Thier, but he refused to yield and led them on a chase that ended when he bailed out of the vehicle, jumped a fence and started running down a hill. He was placed into custody a short time later. Thier was wanted on a Josephine County warrant for Parole Violation stemming from a conviction for Felony Attempt to Elude Police and Reckless Driving. He was additionally charged with Felony Attempt to Elude Police, Reckless Driving and Escape. Thier was transported to Grants Pass and lodged at the Josephine County Jail on a no-bail detainer.