Local News

Police arrested a male transient for causing a ruckus at a convenience store near Grants Pass High School early yesterday. According to the Police Department, officers responded to the incident at Pinnacle 365 on NE A Street on Sunday shortly after 6 a.m.. Police said store workers reported the 57-year-old male subject threw trash around, harassed customers and employees, and interfered with moving vehicles in the parking lot. They said his unruly conduct caused public alarm. Officers contacted the man and placed him into custody after taking photos of the trash strewn all over the store parking lot. He was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Disorderly Conduct and trespassed from Pinnacle 365.

 

The Oregon State Police arrested a motorist for impaired driving following a weekend traffic stop near Williams. According to OSP, troopers pulled over a Hyundai Accent drive by a 33-year-old Grants Pass man near the intersection of Water Gap and Blodgett Roads on Friday at 6:35 p.m.. Troopers said they stopped the driver for failing to maintain his travel lane. They said he appeared to be visibly impaired, admitted to consuming alcohol and being under its influence. He performed poorly in field sobriety tests and was taken to the Grants Pass Sobering Center where he provided a breath sample that exceeded the legal driving limit. The suspect was issued a criminal citation for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants and his vehicle was impounded.

 

Two separate motor vehicle accidents in Josephine County sent two people to the hospital on Saturday. At 11:03 p.m., Rural Metro Fire Department, American Medical Response and the Oregon State Police were dispatched to a single-vehicle crash in the northbound lanes of Interstate 5 near milepost 71 in Sunny Valley. OSP reports an 83-year-old Grants Pass man was driving a Honda Civic when he lost control while negotiating a curve, crashed into an embankment, trees and a small fence. After being extricated through the windshield of his car, the man was transported by ambulance to Three Rivers Medical Center for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. He was either cited or warned for an unspecified violation. At 12:57 p.m., Rural Metro, AMR and OSP responded to a two-vehicle collision on Williams Highway at the entrance to Fields Home Improvement Center near Murphy. OSP reports a 75-year-old man driving a Nissan Frontier made an unsafe turn in front of a Harley Davidson motorcycle operated by a 43-year-old Grants Pass man. The motorcycle rider could not stop before crashing into the pickup. He was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The Nissan driver was not hurt, but he was cited for the traffic violation.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office jailed a woman for injuring her boyfriend at a home in the Williams area late last week. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies responded to a domestic disturbance in the 800-block of Glenlyn Drive on Friday around 10 a.m.. Deputies said they were alerted to the disturbance by a man who called 9-1-1 to report that his girlfriend was throwing things and breaking bottles inside the house they share. Dispatchers said they could hear a woman screaming over the phone. According to the report, the 40-year-old woman became upset that morning and threw a cat dish at her boyfriend, causing a cut on his leg. He managed to avoid being struck by other flying objects and declined medical transport to the hospital. Upon arrival, deputies interviewed both parties before placing the woman into custody. The suspect was transported to Grants Pass and lodged at the Josephine County Jail for felony crimes of 2nd-Degree Domestic Assault and Unlawful Use of a Weapon. She was being held without bail.

 

The Grants Pass Police Department assisted Rogue Area Drug Enforcement (RADE) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) by arresting two people following a traffic stop on the east side of the city late last week. The Police Department reports officers pulled over a silver Infinity coupe with California plates at Elmer's Restaurant on NE Agness Avenue on Friday around 9:44 a.m.. Police did not say why they stopped the car occupied by a 49-year-old male driver and a 33-year-old female passenger. However, they said a law enforcement K-9 alerted to the presence of narcotics inside the vehicle. No other details were available in the report, but the occupants were arrested and the drugs were seized as evidence. The man and woman were both lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Felony Possession and Delivery of Methamphetamine. Both were being held without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for burning a piece of furniture at his mother's southwest city home this past weekend. According to the Police Department, officers responded to a trespassing complaint in the 1400-block of SW Bridge Street on Saturday at about 2:20 a.m.. Police said they received a call from the 34-year-old man's grandmother who reported her grandson was trying to break into his mother's residence. The man had been kicked out of his mother's house and was sleeping outside on a trampoline. According to the report, the mother has legal custody of the man's two juvenile children who were sleeping inside the house when the man decided to burn his mother's hutch in the very narrow backyard. He used gas propellant to fuel the fire, which damaged his mother's property. Officers arrived on scene, made sure the fire was out and placed the man into custody. He was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Reckless Burning.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a motorist for impaired driving following a weekend traffic complaint in the north part of the city. The Police Department reports officers contacted the 47-year-old man at Hampton Inn & Suites on NE Morgan Lane on Saturday at about 12:45 a.m.. Police said a fellow motorist called 9-1-1 to report they were following the driver on NE 7th Street and he was swerving all over the roadway at very slow speeds. The caller suspected the driver was impaired and followed the suspect vehicle to the motel where it appeared he was going to check in. Upon arrival, officers contacted the man and developed probable cause that he was the suspected impaired driver. He displayed signs of impairment, but refused to participate in field sobriety tests or to provide a breath sample. A search warrant was obtained and he was taken to Three Rivers Medical Center for a blood draw. The suspect was subsequently lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants. His vehicle was impounded.

 

US Senate votes expected for this week in Washington, DC, have forced the postponement of US Senator Ron Wyden's scheduled town halls in southwest Oregon. Wyden's office sent out a weekend press release that stated the town halls slated for Tuesday in Josephine and Curry counties and for Wednesday in Coos and Douglas counties have been postponed until further notice. Senator Wyden was set to hold a Josephine County Town Hall at Hidden Valley High School tomorrow afternoon. All four town halls will be rescheduled.

 

The US Supreme Court today dove into the high-stakes case on homelessness that originated in Grants Pass with justices struggling to figure out where to draw the line on how far cities can go to regulate how people sleep or camp in public spaces. The Oregonian reports they also asked if the Supreme Court even needed to intervene in this case since Oregon in 2021 adopted its own state law that allowed for "objectively reasonable" time, place and manner limits on sitting, lying or sleeping outside. During two-and-a-half hours of lively argument, conservative justices questioned why federal judges should weigh into municipal policy decisions. They wondered why those affected by camping ordinances in Grants Pass can't raise the defense in state courts that their individual circumstances left them with nowhere else to sleep once they're fined or charged with a crime in state courts, instead of seeking a broad ban on the city's ordinances. The liberal justices, in turn, hammered the city’s lawyer, who claimed that homelessness isn’t considered a status. Attorney Theane D. Evangelis, representing Grants Pass, argued that the city's laws punished the general conduct of sleeping outside in public places and not the broad condition of being homeless. The case arose when several homeless people filed suit against Grants Pass in 2018, alleging the city's aggressive enforcement of its public camping and sleeping ordinances were intended to banish them from town. A divided 9th Circuit US Court of Appeals barred the city from enforcing the laws, finding they criminalized the status of being homeless in violation of the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment, and the city petitioned for the Supreme Court’s review. The Supreme Court is expected to issue a decision by the end of June.