Local News

Grants Pass Police jailed a man for violating a court order by stalking a woman after he called 9-1-1 to report that he was being stalked by others. The Police Department reports officers arrested 48-year-old Shawn Stephen Cox near the corner of NW Hawthorne Avenue and Savage Street at 4:49 p.m. Monday. Police said Cox had called 9-1-1 to report that he was being followed by four people who had been stalking him over the past four years. He told dispatchers he was going to AllCare Health to confront one of his stalkers. Meanwhile, the female subject of Cox's unwanted advances called police to report that he was continuing to violate a court stalking order that was issued to protect her. Shawn Cox was placed into custody and lodged at the Josephine County Jail for the Felony Stalking Violation. He was being held without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for breaking into another man's toolbox and then physically harassing the victim when he confronted him. According to the Police Department, officers responded to a theft complaint in the 500-block of NW F Street on Sunday around 9:20 a.m.. Police said 42-year-old James Allen Bendickson accessed a toolbox attached to another man's vehicle. The suspect was confronted by the victim and the suspect placed a hand on the victim's chest, subjecting him to unwanted physical contact. Bendickson fled the scene with a $15 breaker bar and the victim chased him until both he and police stopped him at the corner of NW C and 3rd streets. He had discarded the stolen breaker bar while running away. He was placed into custody. James Bendickson was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Unlawful Entry into a Vehicle, Harassment, Disorderly Conduct and 3rd-Degree Theft. He was being held without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for vandalizing a fountain in a city-owned parking lot in the downtown area late yesterday. According to the Police Department, officers responded to the incident at the Owl Parking Lot at the corner of SW 5th and H streets on Monday around 5:40 p.m.. Police said 29-year-old Jonathan Daniel Mahoney was observed in the fountain with large pieces of rock scattered around him. They said several witnesses stated the suspect was removing pieces from the fountain and causing damage. Mahoney was placed into custody and began yelling various curse words at officers, causing public alarm for nearby pedestrians. He was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for 2nd-Degree Criminal Mischief and Disorderly Conduct.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a woman for trying swindle Walmart out of several items yesterday. The Police Department reports officers were alerted to a shoplifting complaint involving 43-year-old Jamie Lynn Gallagher at the store on NE Terry Lane on Monday around 12:50 p.m.. Police said Walmart loss prevention called 9-1-1 to report Gallagher had switched tags on multiple items and filled her shopping cart before proceeding to the self-checkout. They said she scanned five items totaling just over $15, but passed all points of sale with 18 items totaling more than $127. Upon being placed into custody, Gallagher admitted to the attempted heist and knew that it was wrong -- but she didn't have money to pay for the items. She was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for 2nd-Degree Theft.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office jailed a man for assaulting his wife in front of their children last week after she reported the incident at a Grants Pass church last weekend. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies arrested 41-year-old Frank Gomez on Sunday for the incident that allegedly occurred at a home in the 200-block of Osprey Glen Lane last Wednesday evening. Deputies said the woman went to the office of Edgewater Christian Fellowship and reported that her husband physically assaulted her in front of their young children. She was initially afraid to report the crime, but did so at the church because she felt safe there. Church staff assisted her by obtaining photos and contacting the police. According to the report, deputies viewed photos of the victim's injuries including bruising on her arms, under her chin and on her knees as well as pain to her lower back and upper thigh areas. The victim also bit the inside of her mouth as a result of being shoved against the wall. As a result of the initial investigation, deputies went to the couple's home and placed Gomez into custody. He did not wish to provide a statement and was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Felony 4th-Degree Domestic Assault.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office apprehended a man wanted for felony assault during a weekend traffic stop. According to the Sheriff's Office, deputies pulled over a vehicle driven by 35-year-old Michael Taylor Marcum in an unspecified location around midday Sunday. Deputies said they stopped Marcum for a traffic violation and discovered that he was wanted for probable cause of Felony 2nd-Degree Assault. No other details about the incident or investigation into the alleged crime were disclosed. Marcum was also wanted on a warrant out of Illinois for failing to appear in court for Possession of Dangerous Drugs, but it was not extraditable. Michael Marcum was lodged at the Josephine County Jail without bail. At his request, his vehicle was left at the scene of the traffic stop and several friends were phoned to come retrieve his vehicle.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man wanted for probable cause of stealing a trailer and a golf cart from the Josephine County Fairgrounds last weekend. The Police Department reports detectives placed 33-year-old Justin Tylor Gardner into custody at gunpoint at a home in the 400-block of Edgewater Drive on Sunday at 3:58 p.m.. Police said officers received an anonymous tip that Gardner was working on a vehicle at that location. They said the caller believed Gardner was the subject who recently stole a trailer and a golf cart from the Fairgrounds. Video surveillance from cameras in the area was reviewed and it verified that he was the culprit. Justin Gardner was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Felony 1st-Degree Theft and Unlawful Entry into a Motor Vehicle. It was unclear in the report if the trailer and golf cart were recovered.

 

A motorist was injured when she crashed her vehicle on Interstate 5 in northern Josephine County last weekend. The Oregon State Police reports troopers and emergency personnel responded to the single-vehicle wreck in the southbound lanes of I-5 near milepost 73 on Sunday at 4:05 p.m.. Details about the crash were not disclosed, but it was raining and that area of the freeway is notorious for crashes when rain, speed, tire conditions and bad driving habits come together. Troopers said 44-year-old Patricia Ann Watts of Scio was driving a Subaru Legacy when she lost control of the vehicle on a curve. She was transported by ambulance to Three Rivers Medical Center for treatment of moderate injuries. Her car was hauled into Grants Pass by Caveman Towing. No citations were issued. With minutes of that accident, a secondary crash occurred on the same corner of the interstate. That driver was not injured. OSP was assisted by Rural Metro Fire Department, American Medical Response, Glendale Ambulance and the Oregon Department of Transportation with managing the incidents.

 

The Oregon State Police arrested a young motorist for drunken and drugged driving after he crashed his vehicle about seven miles west of Merlin. According to OSP, troopers responded to a non-injury wreck in the 7100-block of Galice Road. Troopers said the crash involved a Hyundai Elantra driven by 21-year-old Asher Benjamin Branson-Brackin. They said signs of impairment were observed when they spoke with the driver. He performed poorly in field sobriety tests and was taken to the Grants Pass Sobering Center where a urine sample was collected. Based on the sample, Branson-Brackin was lodged at the Sobering Center for Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol and Controlled Substances. His vehicle was towed to an impound yard in Grants Pass.