Local News

GP Police Jailed Man for Stealing Expensive Camera Equipment from Brother
Grants Pass Police jailed a man last night for stealing thousands of dollars' worth of camera equipment from his brother. The Police Department reports officers arrested 28-year-old Jacob Nicolas Mas for the incident at a home in the 800-block NW Pawn Way on Monday at 9:13 p.m.. Police said the homeowner called 9-1-1 to report a theft of $7,900 worth of camera equipment from his garage. The caller said he found out his brother stole the items after his mother texted him and informed him of his sibling's crime. About 90 minutes later, police tracked down Mas and placed him into custody after he admitted taking his brother's property. He was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Felony 1st-Degree Theft and was being held without bail. It was unclear in the report if the stolen camera equipment was recovered.
Posted on 12/17/24 11:10AM by Sam Marsh
 

GP Police Arrested Elderly Man for Punching Wife in the Face While Driving
Grants Pass Police arrested an elderly man late yesterday for punching his wife in the face. According to the Police Department, officers placed the 82-year-old man into custody at Mid Rogue Imaging on NW Hawthorne Avenue at 4:49 p.m. Monday. Police said an employee at the medical facility told them the woman was treated there earlier in the day after her husband punched her in the face while they were driving in the 2500-block of Merlin Road. They said the victim initially did not want to press charges against her spouse for giving her possible fractures in her bloodied nose. The employee spoke to the victim about her options and tried to encourage her to file charges. Officers also spoke to the victim and gathered enough information to develop probable cause for the arrest. The husband was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for 4th-Degree Domestic Assault. He was being held without bail.
Posted on 12/17/24 11:08AM by Sam Marsh
 

GP Police Arrested Man for Taking Shopping Cart & Trespassing at 7-Eleven
Grants Pass Police arrested a man for stealing a shopping cart and trespassing at a downtown convenience store early yesterday. According to the Police Department, officers contacted 44-year-old Nicholas John Knox Knowles at the 7-Eleven store on SW 6th Street on Monday at 10:30 a.m.. Police said Knowles already had been trespassed from 7-Eleven and he was found to be in possession of a Bi-Mart shopping cart valued at $350. They said he also had been recently warned about taking shopping carts from local retailers. Knowles was booked into jail for 2nd-Degree Theft and 2nd-Degree Criminal Trespass. The shopping cart was returned to Bi-Mart.
Posted on 12/17/24 11:07AM by Sam Marsh
 

Deputies Snared Man on Local Warrant after Cave Junction Church Contact
The Josephine County Sheriff's Office arrested a man on a local warrant late last night during a patrol check at a Cave Junction church. According to the Sheriff's Office, deputies contacted a group of people including 34-year-old Christopher Wayne Powers at Immanuel Methodist Church on West Watkins Street on Monday at 10:40 p.m.. Deputies detained Powers and a female companion due to previous trespassing incidents at the church. He was found to be wanted on a Josephine County warrant for failing to appear in court for Fraudulent Use of a Credit Card. Powers was placed into custody, transported to Grants Pass and lodged in jail on the warrant. He was being held without bail.
Posted on 12/17/24 11:05AM by Sam Marsh
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OSP Arrested Woman for Stealing Redwood Highway Sign near Wilderville
The Oregon State Police arrested a woman for stealing a sign in the Wilderville area last weekend. According to OSP, troopers responded to a call regarding a female subject stealing a sign from the side of Redwood Highway near Wilderville Frontage Road on Saturday around 11:40 p.m.. Troopers said they searched the area and contacted 54-year-old Sabrina Nastiuk who was found to be in possession of the stolen sign. The sign was recovered and Nastiuk was cited to appear in court for Felony 1st-Degree Theft. It was unclear in the report what she planned to do with the sign.
Posted on 12/17/24 11:04AM by Sam Marsh
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GP Police Evicted Man from 7th Street Campsite for Ordinance Violations
Grants Pass Police evicted a man from a designated campground early yesterday after he committed multiple city ordinance violations. Police said Freedom Clayburn Walker was cited for Scattering Rubbish and Improper Utilization of Park Space at the NE 7th Street campground. Walker was using an approximately 11-by-11-foot space that was littered with broken tent poles and discarded wet clothing. He was issued a 30-day exclusion. John Praise Williams was found to be in possession of a TJ Maxx shopping cart. He was warned and the cart was returned to the local retailer. Another shopping cart was returned to Grocery Outlet. Officers posted 42 campsites at the campground and removed four of them. Trash was cleaned up and disposed of at Southern Oregon Sanitation.
Posted on 12/17/24 11:02AM by Sam Marsh
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OSP Releases Results of Investigation into Fatal Motorcycle Crash on I-5
The Oregon State Police has released the results of its investigation into a fatal motorcycle crash that occurred on Interstate 5 in Central Point late last week. On Friday at 10:53 a.m., troopers and emergency personnel responded to a two-vehicle crash in the northbound lanes of I-5 near milepost 33. OSP said the preliminary investigation indicated a Jackson County sheriff's deputy observed a Suzuki GSX-R1000 operated by 19-year-old Chalino Tellez-Cortez of Phoenix traveling northbound at more than 100 miles per hour. The deputy attempted to initiate a traffic stop, but the motorcycle rider failed to yield and struck the trailer of a Peterbilt commercial motor vehicle driven by a 28-year-old Yuba City, California, man. Tellez-Cortez was declared deceased at the scene. The truck driver was not hurt. Interstate 5 was impacted for approximately two hours during the on-scene investigation. OSP was assisted by the Jackson County Sheriff's Office, Central Point Police Department, Jackson County Fire District #3, Mercy Flights and the Oregon Department of Transportation.
Posted on 12/17/24 6:29AM by Sam Marsh
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GP Police Jailed Young Man for 3 Crimes after High-Speed Weekend Chase
Grants Pass Police jailed a man for multiple crimes after he led officers on a high-speed pursuit last weekend. The Police Department reports officers eventually arrested 20-year-old Wyatt Cole Davis at gunpoint near the intersection of Granite Hill and Donaldson roads on Sunday at 9:17 p.m.. Police said they observed a white Ford Thunderbird pull out of the Li'l Pantry Market & Deli in north Grants Pass at a high rate of speed and skid sideways. An officer initiated a traffic stop, but the young motorist refused to yield, drove into the oncoming travel lane and drove away at speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour. According to the report, the officer terminated the pursuit and returned to Li'l Pantry where he used video surveillance to identify the vehicle and its owner. The suspect vehicle was located and a high-risk traffic stop was conducted, with Davis and his male passenger detained. K-9 Maro was deployed for compliance and contingency needs. Davis admitted to trying to elude law enforcement and he stated he almost crashed and endangered his passenger who was released. Davis was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Felony Attempt to Elude Police, Reckless Driving and Reckless Endangering. His car was impounded.
Posted on 12/17/24 6:19AM by Sam Marsh
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Police Snared Man for Drug & Probation Violations at GP Shopping Center
Police arrested a man for drug possession and probation violation after responding to a domestic disturbance in the parking lot in the Grants Pass Shopping Center last weekend. According to the Police Department, officers were alerted to an incident involving 60-year-old Clint Edward Robertson near Southern Oregon Goodwill on Sunday at about 1:45 p.m.. Police said they contacted Robertson after the altercation with his girlfriend in which no one was hurt. They said Robertson was clearly intoxicated and he is on probation through Jackson County for assault, which includes conditions of no intoxicating substances and no contact with his girlfriend. During a consent search, Robertson was found to be in possession of a small amount of methamphetamine -- which was seized for destruction. Robertson was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Meth Possession and Probation Violation. He was being held on a no-bail detainer.
Posted on 12/17/24 6:17AM by Sam Marsh
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GP Police Nabbed Transient for Returning to Dutch Bros Property Again
Grants Pass Police arrested a man early yesterday for once again returning to a property from which he had been trespassed numerous times. According to the Police Department, officers contacted 46-year-old Jason William Whittenberg on the back patio of the former Dutch Bros headquarters building on SW 4th Street on Monday around 12:30 a.m.. Police said Whittenberg has been trespassed from that location eight times since March of this year and he had been trespassed from the site on Sunday evening. A few hours later he was back, and all the garbage and rubbish he had cleaned up the night before was back as well. Whittenberg was lodged in jail for 2nd-Degree Criminal Trespass and Offensive Littering. To keep him from returning again, he was being held without bail.
Posted on 12/17/24 6:16AM by Sam Marsh
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Rural Metro Crews Helped Free Horse that Became Stuck in Merlin Stall
Rural Metro Fire Department helped free a horse that became stuck in its stall in the Merlin area last weekend. On Sunday afternoon, Rural Metro crews were requested to help free a horse that was caught in a metal panel of its stall on Hugo Road. Firefighters assisted the horse owner with disassembling the panel, freeing the horse and then reassembling the panel. Fortunately, the horse was not injured. Rural Metro wants to remind the community that animal rescues can be reported through 9-1-1. Firefighters often work with equine veterinarians and animal control officers to find safe and effective solutions to free them from their predicaments. Firefighters also employ their technical rescue and extraction theories along with tools typically applied for human rescues. Several Rural Metro employees not only own their own horses, but have taken specialized training to rescue large animals. Animal rescues and extractions have been applied locally to horses, cows, dogs, cats, goats, exotic birds, ducks, deer and many other critters.
Posted on 12/17/24 6:14AM by Sam Marsh
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Ballots for Commissioner John West Recall Election Due by 8 O'Clock This Evening
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It's Election Day and that means ballots for the recall effort targeting Josephine County Commissioner John West are due by 8 o'clock this evening. The Josephine County Clerk's Office reported voter turnout for the recall election was just under 28% as of Monday evening. Out of 70,457 registered voters, 19,688 had returned their ballots. Per the Oregon Secretary of State's Office, it is recommended that voters drop off their ballots at the Courthouse in Grants Pass or an official drop-site location before tonight's 8 p.m. deadline. Drop boxes are located at the Clerk's Office, the north and south entrances to the Courthouse, the back parking lot of the Grants Pass library branch, Washington Federal Bank on Union Avenue, Ray's Food Place in Merlin, Hidden Valley Market in Murphy and Cave Junction City Hall. Voters can still mail in their ballots and they will be counted if they receive the December 17th postmark. Be sure to vote and then tune in to this radio station tonight at 8 for the first set of results in the recall election.
Posted on 12/17/24 6:12AM by Sam Marsh
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