Local News

Grants Pass Police apprehended a California fugitive while investigating a disturbance at a residence in the south part of the city near Bi-Mart yesterday. The Police Department reports officers arrested 45-year-old Martin William Mitchell, Jr., on Monday at 11:50 a.m. after responding to the incident at a home in the 300-block of Tussey Lane. Police said neighbors reported a female screaming and they contacted Mitchell as part of the investigation into the incident, which was determined to be a mental health crisis. They said he was found to be wanted on a San Luis Obispo Police Department felony warrant for Contempt of Court related to a PRCS Violation. Mitchell was placed into custody and he was found to be in possession of a baggy containing a white crystal substance that tested positive as methamphetamine. It was seized for destruction. Mitchell was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the fugitive warrant. He was being held without bail pending extradition proceedings that will send him back to California.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a Josephine County Community Corrections client on statewide and local warrants early yesterday. According to the Police Department, officers were alerted to the presence of a man identified as 36-year-old Caleb Michael Bintz at the Corrections Office on NW 4th Street on Monday at 9:36 a.m.. Police said Bintz was called in by his corrections officer because he was wanted on a statewide felony warrant out of Josephine County for Parole Violation stemming from a conviction for Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle. He was also wanted on a Grants Pass warrant for Probation Violation related to an arrest for Contempt of Court and for Methamphetamine Possession. Bintz was placed into custody and lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the warrants. He was being held on a no-bail detainer.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for drug possession while performing a weekend welfare check at Walmart. According to the Police Department, officers contacted 31-year-old Michael Jordan Kitts while performing the welfare check in the parking lot of the store on NE Terry Lane on Sunday at 7:30 a.m.. Police said Kitts was passed out in his running vehicle with his wife and 6-year-old son inside. They observed two glass pipes, with one on the floorboard and the other in the driver-side door. He was detained and found to have a third cylindrical glass pipe in his shorts pocket. The pipes all tested positive for residue of methamphetamine and they were seized for destruction. Kitts admitted using the meth on Saturday night. He was arrested and lodged in jail for Meth Possession. He was released from custody on Sunday afternoon.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office arrested a man on two outstanding warrants early yesterday after a traffic stop in the Wilderville area. According to the Sheriff's Office, deputies pulled over a vehicle driven by 40-year-old Hank Sterling Sowell near the intersection of Redwood Highway and Old Redwood Highway on Monday at 2:35 a.m.. Deputies said they stopped Sowell for a traffic violation and discovered that he was wanted on a Jackson County warrant for Violating the Conditions of a Jail Release Agreement. He was also wanted on a Douglas County warrant for Driving While Suspended. He was placed into custody and lodged at the Josephine County Jail. Sowell's vehicle and a trailer carrying a portable saw mill were impounded and towed to Grants Pass.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office arrested a motorist for impaired driving after a weekend traffic stop in the Redwood area of Grants Pass. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies pulled over a vehicle driven by a man they identified as 28-year-old Israel Francisco Morales near the corner of Willow Lane and Kellenbeck Avenue on Sunday at 2 a.m.. Deputies said they stopped Morales for a traffic violation and he displayed signs of impairment. They obtained a search warrant and transported him to Three Rivers Medical Center for a legal blood draw that documented his impairment. Morales was lodged in jail for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants and Reckless Driving. His vehicle was impounded.

 

Grants Pass Police cited four people and evicted three of them for city ordinance violations in downtown resting sites early yesterday. The first incident occurred at the NE 7th Street campsite where officers cited Ryan Burrows and Carol Ann Taylor for Scattering Rubbish and Utilization of Space. Both were trespassed from the resting site for 30 days. Officers said Burrows was found sleeping in another tent while his tent was empty but surrounded by bicycle parts and trash. They said Taylor was lying in a pile of trash. She was contacted while yelling with three lit candles. When told to put out the candles, she threw them into the walkway. The second incident happened at the NW 6th Street campsite where officers cited James Brockman and Caitlyn Fossen for Utilization of Space. Brockman was issued a 30-day exclusion notice due to repeat violations. Officers said Brockman's tent was oversized with numerous broken wheelchair parts outside. They said Fossen had two tents and two kennels with additional property outside the tents. She was warned that another citation would lead to an exclusion.

 

The Oregon State Police on Monday afternoon released information about a fatal vehicle versus pedestrian crash that happened last week in Cave Junction. Last Tuesday at 5:40 a.m., state troopers and emergency personnel responded to the incident on US Highway 199 near milepost 26. OSP said the preliminary investigation indicated a pedestrian -- 31-year-old Kale Phillip Luke -- was walking on the highway when he was struck by a southbound Ford Escape driven by 39-year-old Andrew Vendrick of Santa Rosa, California. Kale Luke was declared deceased at the scene while Vendrick was uninjured. Troopers said the highway was not impacted during the on-scene investigation. OSP was assisted by the Illinois Valley Fire District and Oregon Department of Transportation.

 

Smoke alarms alerted residents to a house fire in the southeast Grants Pass area early yesterday. On Monday at 3:11 a.m., the Grants Pass 9-1-1 Communications Center dispatched six units from Rural Metro Fire Department, two units from Grants Pass Fire & Rescue and one ambulance from American Medical Response to a structure fire in the 4700-block of Cloverlawn Drive. Rural Metro officials said arriving units found a large two-story residence with fire in a basement bedroom. They said a fire extinguisher that was used by an occupant was instrumental in slowing progression of the blaze until firefighters arrived. All four occupants and some of their dogs were able to escape without injury, but two dogs did not survive the fire. The cause of the fire was under investigation. The American Red Cross was notified to provide assistance to the family.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a man for hitting a motorist with his vehicle and fleeing the scene after he was involved in a weekend crash in the south part of the city. The Police Department reports officers tracked down and arrested 67-year-old Alan Dorsey Long on SW Ramsey Avenue near Three Rivers Medical Center on Sunday at 11:07 a.m.. Police said Long was driving a pickup with a load of firewood in the back when he rear-ended another vehicle at the intersection of Williams Highway and West Harbeck Road. They said the female driver of the other vehicle tried to exchange information with Long and Long refused. He reportedly struck the woman two more times with his vehicle and then reversed down West Harbeck and struck a second vehicle before fleeing the scene. Witnesses followed Long to the hospital where he was located and placed into custody by law enforcement. The woman he struck was transported by ambulance to the hospital where she was treated for minor injuries. Long was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Felony 2nd-Degree Assault, Felony Unlawful Use of a Weapon, Felony Hit-and-Run and two counts of Hit-and-Run Causing Property Damage. He was being held without bail and his pickup was impounded.