Local News

Grants Pass Police apprehended an unsuspecting corrections client on a statewide felony warrant yesterday. According to the Police Department, officers arrested 47-year-old Jeremy Kyle McFarland at the Josephine County Community Corrections Office on NW 4th Street on Monday at 1:35 p.m.. Police said an employee alerted them that McFarland was there to see his parole officer, but the officer was unavailable. The worker knew that the man was wanted on an Oregon State warrant for Parole Violation related to a burglary conviction, so they stalled him until law enforcement could arrive on scene. Upon arrival, officers confirmed the warrant and placed McFarland into custody. He reportedly was unaware that he was wanted. McFarland was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the warrant and he was being held on a no-bail detainer.

 

The Oregon State Police arrested a Kerby man on an outstanding warrant during a traffic stop in downtown Cave Junction early yesterday. According to OSP, troopers pulled over a Ford F-350 pickup driven by 56-year-old Joseph Melvin Winslow near the intersection of Redwood and Caves highways on Monday at 9:37 a.m.. Troopers said they stopped the pickup for multiple moving violations and learned that Winslow was wanted on a Josephine County felony warrant for failing to appear in court for 3rd-Degree Sex Abuse. After the warrant was confirmed, Winslow was placed into custody, transported to Grants Pass and lodged at the Josephine County Jail without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested two people on outstanding warrants while investigating a trespassing complaint at a local middle school early yesterday. According to the Police Department, officers responded to the trespassing call at South Middle School on Harbeck Road shortly after 9 a.m. Monday. Police said they were informed about a vehicle with two dogs inside that had been parked at the middle school since last Friday. They were able to find someone who was familiar with the vehicle and who provided a phone number for the occupants -- identified as 48-year-old Jamie Stanford and 35-year-old Zach Reyes. Stanford and Reyes were both found to be wanted on Curry County Sheriff's Office warrants for 2nd-Degree Theft. Both were cited to appear on the warrants at a Gold Beach courtroom on December 9th. Josephine County Animal Control was prepared to take the dogs to the Animal Shelter, but custody was returned to the two arrestees.

 

No one was hurt when a vehicle collided with a school bus in southeast Grants Pass late yesterday. The Oregon State Police reports troopers responded to the two-vehicle crash at the intersection of Rogue River Highway and Fruitdale Drive on Monday at 4:43 p.m.. Troopers said an investigation determined that a Nissan pickup driven by a 53-year-old man failed to stop when entering the highway and impacted the rear bumper of a passing school bus. The bus was driven by a 70-year-old man and it contained seven juveniles between the ages of 12 and 17. No one was injured. According to OSP, both vehicles were driven from the scene under their own power. It was unclear in the report if any citations or warnings were issued.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office is reporting two fatal crashes occurred on the same night last weekend -- one near Williams and the other just southwest of Grants Pass. On Saturday at 10:35 p.m., deputies, American Medical Response and firefighters responded to a single-vehicle crash in the 15,300-block of Water Gap Road. First responders arrived on scene and confirmed the 16-year-old male driver was deceased. It appeared the young driver was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash. Speed and wet roads appeared to be a factor in the fatal crash. Next of kin was notified, but the name will not be released as he is a juvenile. On Saturday at 11 p.m., deputies, Grants Pass Fire & Rescue and AMR responded to a single vehicle in a ditch on Redwood Avenue and Jenkins Avenue. Arriving units found the driver -- identified as 32-year-old Trevor Aron Dimick -- to be deceased. He was the only occupant in the vehicle. The initial investigation indicated the vehicle was traveling south on Jenkins, failed to stop at the stop sign, traveled across Redwood Avenue and struck a tree on the far side of the ditch. Next of kin was notified.

 

A pedestrian was struck and killed on Highway 140 in Jackson County last week. The Oregon State Police reports troopers and emergency personnel responded to a vehicle versus pedestrian crash on Highway 140 near Dean Creek Road early last Thursday morning. Troopers said a preliminary investigation indicated an eastbound Chevrolet Silverado driven by 44-year-old Anthony Joseph Grubb of Grants Pass struck a pedestrian identified as 68-year-old Robert Allen Dishman of Yreka, California, while Dishman was crossing the highway. According to OSP, Dishman was declared deceased at the scene while Grubb was not injured. Highway 140 was impacted for about 2-1/2 hours during the on-scene investigation and Grubb remained there to cooperate with investigators. The exact cause of the crash remains under investigation. OSP was assisted by the Jackson County Sheriff's Office and Oregon Department of Transportation.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a motorist for impaired driving and more after he caused a violent weekend crash on Williams Highway that injured a total of five people. The Police Department reports officers, Grants Pass Fire & Rescue, Rural Metro Fire Department, Jackson County Fire District #1, American Medical Response, Oregon State Police and the Oregon Department of Transportation all responded to the two-vehicle collision on Highway 238 near Fruitdale Drive late Saturday night. Police said 35-year-old Matthew Dowell was driving a Honda Odyssey northbound on Williams Highway when he claimed an opposing vehicle turned in front of him. The subsequent crash with a Nissan Pathfinder resulted in the Pathfinder flipping over and trapping the occupants who had to be extricated by emergency personnel. Dowell's passenger and three out of four occupants of the Nissan were transported to Three Rivers Medical Center for treatment of their injuries -- some were serious. Dowell had no serious injuries and he displayed signs of impairment at the scene. He performed poorly in field sobriety tests and was taken to the hospital for a legal blood draw that documented a high level of impairment. Dowell was subsequently lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Felony Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants, Felony 2nd-Degree Assault, Reckless Driving and Reckless Endangering. He was being held without bail. Both vehicles were towed, with the heavily-damaged Honda being impounded.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested two young men from Utah last weekend after they tried to steal items from Walmart. The Police Department reports officers responded to the shoplifting complaint at the store on NE Terry Lane on Sunday around 1:25 p.m.. Police said 20-year-old Kolton Leo Hubbs and 19-year-old Maxwell Dennis DeGraff entered Walmart to get camping supplies. They intentionally swapped tags on a cooler to lower the price and also did not scan multiple items at checkout. Both passed all points of sale, depriving Walmart of nearly $200 in merchandise. After being detained by loss prevention, DeGraff admitted to swapping the tags to "save some money." Turns out the crime will cost the men some additional cash. Hubbs and DeGraff were lodged at the Josephine County Jail for 2nd-Degree Theft.

 

A Glendale woman was injured last weekend when she rolled her vehicle on Interstate 5 in the Sunny Valley area. The Oregon State Police reports troopers and emergency personnel responded to the single-vehicle crash in the southbound lanes of I-5 near milepost 73 on Sunday at 8:14 a.m.. Troopers said the 30-year-old female motorist was driving a Honda Accord when she lost control of the vehicle on wet pavement, causing the car to slide off the freeway, rollover and crash. According to OSP, the woman was transported by ambulance to Three Rivers Medical Center for treatment of suspected minor injuries. Her wrecked car was towed to Grants Pass. No citations were issued.