Local News

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for attempting to swindle Fred Meyer out of some money last night. According to the Police Department, officers responded to a theft complaint at the store located off the Grants Pass Parkway on Wednesday around 7:15 p.m.. Police said 58-year-old Troy Allen Hornsby entered Fred Meyer and placed batteries valued at $20 in his back pocket before proceeding past all points of sale and exiting the store. They said the suspect then re-entered the store to return the batteries he had just stolen. An unsuspecting clerk provided him with a gift card. Hornsby was stopped by loss prevention and the gift card was recovered, but he left before the arrival of law enforcement. Officers searched the area and finally located him near the corner of 7th and M streets. He was questioned and then placed into custody. Hornsby was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for two counts of 3rd-Degree Theft. He was also trespassed from Fred Meyer.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man on a local warrant early yesterday during a patrol check at the J Street homeless campsite. The Police Department reports officers contacted four people standing around a warming fire -- including 32-year-old Nicholas Leo Yeley -- at the campground in the 700-block of SE J Street on Wednesday at about 9 a.m.. Police said Yeley was contacted and found to be wanted on a Josephine County warrant for failing to appear in court for Contempt of Court. They said a small baggie containing a "miniscule" amount of drug residue was found on the man and it was seized for destruction. He was placed into custody without incident. Yeley was lodged in jail on the warrant. His backpack and belongings were logged into evidence for safekeeping. By order of the Grants Pass City Council, the J Street campsite will be permanently closed at midnight tonight.

 

Grants Pass Police issued two citations and one exclusion while performing a patrol check at the 7th Street homeless campground early yesterday. GPPD's Community Response Team reports officers cited Freedom Clayburn and Laura Momney for Unlawful Utilization of Space. It was Clayburn's third citation so she was trespassed from the temporary campsite for 30 days. During the patrol check, seven campers were contacted. A large single tent with poles was confiscated and stored at the city shops. By order of the Grants Pass City Council, the 7th Street campsite is now only open for "resting" between the hours of 5 p.m. and 7 a.m. daily. Much smaller than the J Street campsite, there will not be enough room there for the displaced campers.

 

An employee of Walmart was on his way to work yesterday when Grants Pass Police detained him for being highly intoxicated. According to the Police Department, officers observed the man crashing his skateboard while entering the Walmart parking lot from the F Street side on Wednesday around 2:15 p.m.. Upon contact with the worker, police said they detected a heavy odor of alcohol coming from his person. They said he also had slurred speech and bloodshot, watery eyes. The man was going to start work at Walmart at 3 p.m., but showed he was not capable of caring for himself and was a danger to others because of it. The man admitted to crashing his longboard twice on his way to work. He also admitted to drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana before leaving his home. The now former-Walmart worker was lodged at the Grants Pass Sobering Center where he provided a breath sample that was nearly twice the legal driving limit.

 

A Josephine County Sheriff's Office investigation has resulted in the arrest of a Grants Pass man for felony assault and another crime. According to the Sheriff's Office, deputies arrested 40-year-old Richard Michael Espinoza in the 1400-block of SE M Street on Tuesday morning. Deputies released no details about the arrest, but stated Espinoza was wanted for probable cause due to a criminal investigation. Espinoza was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on a felony charge of 2nd-Degree Assault and a misdemeanor charge of Unlawful Entry into a Motor Vehicle. He was being held without bail.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office apprehended a man wanted on a statewide felony warrant this week while investigating a transient camp west of Wolf Creek. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies arrested 44-year-old Richard Wallace Carlyle, II, at a camp in the 11,000-block of Lower Grave Creek Road on Tuesday. Deputies said Carlyle was contacted at the second of two transient camps in that area and he was found to be wanted on an Oregon State Parole Board warrant for Parole Violation stemming from a conviction for Felony Attempt to Elude Police. Carlyle was transported to Grants Pass and lodged at the Josephine County Jail on a no-bail detainer.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man on two outstanding warrants this week after he turned himself in at Josephine County Community Corrections. According to the Police Department, officers placed 42-year-old Brandon John Berry into custody at the corrections office on NW 4th Street on Tuesday. Police said Berry's corrections officer called in to report his client was in the lobby and wanted to surrender himself to law enforcement. He was wanted on a Medford Police Department warrant for Probation Violation related to Attempted Felony Assault and a Josephine County warrant for Probation Violation related to 1st-Degree Burglary. After the warrants were confirmed, Berry was lodged at the Josephine County Jail where he was being held on $117,500 bail.

 

Fire destroyed the kitchen of a rural home west of Grants Pass late yesterday. Rural Metro Fire Department and Grants Pass Fire & Rescue responded to a reported structure fire in the 2900-block of Lower River Road on Wednesday at 4:21 p.m.. Firefighters got a quick knockdown of the flames, but they had to tear into the ceiling and walls of the home to be sure the fire hadn't entered the attic space. Rural Metro officials said the investigation is continuing, but evidence suggests unattended cooking on the stovetop may have been a factor. Officials said despite a lack of smoke alarms, there were no injuries reported.

 

Did you know one of the most valuable home defense tools to stop a fire is a readily accessible garden hose with attached nozzle? Quick action with a hose has saved many homes in Josephine County -- but with the cold weather right now, it won't do much good if it's frozen. Rural Metro Fire Department says protecting the hose and faucet against freezing is very important because you never know when the hose might be needed to suppress unexpected flames, inside or outside your home. Officials say when thawing out anything frozen, consider using warm water rather than a torch or open flame. Be sure to follow recommendations on portable heaters by providing adequate space of three feet from anything flammable. Keeping a charged fire extinguisher available is just as important.