Local News

Grants Pass Police arrested a woman for returning to a city park from which she had been excluded early yesterday. The Police Department responded to a trespassing complaint involving 46-year-old Rose Marie McLaughlin at Gilbert Creek Park on Tuesday around 9:20 a.m.. Police said McLaughlin returned to the park after she was trespassed on March 7th. They said she was reminded of the 30-day exclusion on Monday, but she returned there again yesterday. Rose McLaughlin was lodged in jail for 2nd-Degree Criminal Trespass along with the resulting Parole Violation related to nine previous convictions for violating city ordinances in parks. Her property was logged into evidence for safe-keeping. Meanwhile, a man identified as "Franklin Lister" was trespassed from Gilbert Creek Park for one year after numerous repeated ordinance violations.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested man for rummaging through garbage cans in a southeast-city neighborhood earlier this week. According to the Police Department, officers responded to a disturbance in the 1400-block of Fruitdale Drive on Monday night. Police said 49-year-old Daniel Reese Wise, Jr., was reported to be making a big mess while going through a garbage can in front of a residence. The caller said her husband confronted the man who yelled at her husband and threatened to fight him. The husband returned to the home and no one was hurt. Responding officers found Wise laying in a ditch in the 1500-block of Fruitdale Drive. They said he denied allegations that he was going through trash cans, but he had several white bags with him at the time. He was placed into custody. Daniel Wise was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Offensive Littering. He was also warned for Disorderly Conduct and was being held without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a young woman for violating terms of her probation by sleeping in the doorway of a downtown business early yesterday. According to the Police Department, officers were alerted to a female transient sleeping in a doorway in the 300-block of SE H Street at about 9 a.m. Tuesday. Police said 18-year-old Makailah Gayle Dunham was called in as a trespasser by the business owner. They said she had a small brown dog with her and kept running away from officers who were trying to contact her. She was eventually contacted and placed into custody at the corner of SW 6th and G streets. Dunham was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Probation Violation related to arrests for Unlawful Use of a Weapon and Attempt to Commit a Felony Crime. She was being held without bail. At about the same time, a man identified as "Brian Chapman" was caught sleeping in the doorway of Catalyst Pizza. He was warned for Offensive Littering and for violating a city ordinance against Illegal Camping in the downtown area.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office has issued a press release regarding the fatal structure fire that occurred last weekend in the Jerome Prairie area, but the identity of the deceased has not yet been disclosed. Sheriff's deputies, Rural Metro Fire Department and Grants Pass Fire & Rescue were dispatched to the structure fire in the 600-block of Timber Ridge Road late Sunday night. Upon arrival, rescue personnel searched the single-story residence and located a deceased adult inside. No other injuries were reported. Because of the death, Lieutenant Jim Geiger said the Oregon State Fire Marshal has begun an investigation into the cause of the fire. He said investigators are continuing to work on identifying the decedent and locating their next of kin. Lieutenant Geiger said on Tuesday that no further information on the fatal fire is available at this time.

 

One person was seriously injured early yesterday when their vehicle struck a tree in the Illinois Valley. On Tuesday at 3:55 a.m., the Illinois Valley District, American Medical Response and the Josephine County Sheriff's Office were dispatched to the single-vehicle crash at the intersection of Rockydale and Waldo roads near Cave Junction. IVFD officials said arriving units found a collision between a vehicle and a tree. They said one unidentified person was extricated from the vehicle and transported by ambulance to a local trauma hospital with multiple injuries. Jerry's Towing hauled the heavily-damaged vehicle to Cave Junction. Officials said the Sheriff's Office was conducting an investigation into the cause of the crash.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a woman this week for fighting with officers at a local motel after she was called in as a trespassing complaint. The Police Department reports officers eventually arrested 33-year-old Janique Lee Kosct for the incident at Holiday Inn Express on NE Agness Avenue on Monday afternoon. Police said they contacted Kosct in the parking lot of the motel where she was organizing her property and refusing to leave the premises. When told she was under arrest, she replied "No, I'm not" and physically resisted law enforcement. According to the report, Kosct kicked multiple officers in the groin area in an attempt to avoid being placed into custody. Focused blows to the suspect were administered with no effect, so a Taser was deployed during the close-quarters struggle and she was ultimately subdued. Janique Kosct was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Felony Assault on a Police Officer, Resisting Arrest, Criminal Trespass and the resulting Probation Violation. She was still being held without bail on Tuesday.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man who was unable to control his boorish behavior against a pet dog and humans in the northwest part of the city this week. The Police Department reports officers were alerted to the incident at AllCare Medical Group on NW Midland Avenue on Monday afternoon. Police said an employee called 9-1-1 to report that 38-year-old Matthew Richard Williams was screaming at and abusing his dog outside the medical facility. The caller said he was hitting the dog and grabbing it by its collar while insulting those who tried to intervene. His behavior was described as "violent and threatening." Responding officers contacted Williams and placed him into custody. He was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Disorderly Conduct and was being held without bail. His belongings were logged into evidence for safekeeping. The dog -- a female pit bull named "Angel" -- was picked by Animal Control and transported to the Animal Shelter.

 

Grants Pass Police incarcerated a man for trespassing at the Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS) office in the northwest part of the city early yesterday. The Police Department reports officers responded to a trespassing call involving 50-year-old Eugene Lynn Jenkins, Jr., at the DHS office on NW Hawthorne Avenue around 2:40 a.m. Tuesday. Police said Jenkins was initially contacted by Concierge Security and he refused to leave the premises. They said they offered to give him a ride to another location because he wasn't wearing any shoes. However, the man cursed at them, refused to leave and requested that he be lodged in jail. Jenkins got his wish. He was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for 2nd-Degree Criminal Trespass. He was trespassed from the DHS office and is only allowed on the property during business hours.

 

The Josephine County Board of Commissioners has only one action item on its weekly business agenda this morning. Under Administrative Actions, the Board will consider approval of a Criminal Justice Commission Justice Reinvestment Program grant agreement. The two-year agreement with the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission is worth a total of $2,454,684, which would be disbursed in four equal installments of $613,671 through January 5, 2025. Unless it's extended, the contract would expire in March 2026. As always, there will be Requests and Comments from Citizens in which residents are allowed three minutes to speak to the Commissioners on virtually any topic. Today's public meeting begins at 9 a.m. in the Anne G. Basker Auditorium.