Local News

Grants Pass Police arrested a man on an outstanding warrant last night after he stole a tent from a local sporting goods store. The Police Department reports officers responded to a theft complaint at Big 5 Sporting Goods off NE Agness Avenue on Thursday around 6:40 p.m.. Police said a 35-year-old man entered the business and selected a Coleman tent valued at $299. They said he bypassed all points of sale with the tent with the intent to deprive the business of its property. The suspect climbed into another man's recreational vehicle and fled the area as a passenger. Officers located the RV and pulled it over in the Grants Pass Shopping Center where they detained the man for the tent theft. Further investigation revealed that he was wanted on a Jackson County warrant for failing to appear in court for a traffic offense. He was placed into custody and the tent was returned to Big 5. The suspect was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the warrant plus a new charge of 2nd-Degree Theft. He was being held without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man on a local warrant and added another charge after he became hostile with officers in the downtown area late last night. According to the Police Department, police spotted the 41-year-old male subject at Mock's Ford Sales on SE 6th Street on Thursday at about 11:20 p.m.. Police said the man appeared to be under the influence of intoxicants when they contacted him in front of Mock's. A routine records check revealed that he was wanted on a Grants Pass warrant for failing to appear in court for 2nd-Degree Criminal Mischief, so he was placed into custody. While an officer was transporting the subject to the Josephine County Jail, the man became hostile by bashing his head in the back seat of the patrol car. He sustained a self-inflicted injury and was placed in ankle restraints before being transported to Three Rivers Medical Center for treatment. The suspect was medically discharged from the hospital and lodged in jail on the warrant plus a new charge of Disorderly Conduct.

 

The Oregon State Police arrested a Coos Bay woman for impaired driving during a traffic stop in Josephine County yesterday. According to OSP, troopers pulled over a Subaru Outback driven by a 45-year-old woman in an unspecified location of the county on Thursday at 4:47 p.m.. Troopers said they had received a complaint describing a vehicle that was speeding and failing to maintain its travel lane. Upon contact with the driver, she displayed signs of impairment and performed poorly in field sobriety testing. The suspect driver was charged with Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol and Controlled Substances as well as Reckless Driving before she was lodged at the Grants Pass Sobering Center. Her vehicle was impounded.

 

Multiple agencies got a quick knockdown on a grass fire in the southeast Grants Pass area late yesterday. On Thursday at 4 p.m., Rural Metro Fire Department, Grants Pass Fire & Rescue and the Oregon Department of Forestry were dispatched to the reported fire in the 800-block of Summit Loop. Rural Metro officials said arriving units found the blaze had already spread to just under a quarter-acre, but an aggressive attack stopped the fire from growing any larger. They said no one was injured and no structures were threatened. The cause of the fire was under investigation.

 

The U.S Supreme Court this morning reversed lower court rulings, finding that public camping restrictions issued by the City of Grants Pass do not constitute "cruel and unusual punishment." The court split largely along ideological lines in a 6 to 3 vote. The Oregonian reports Justice Neil M. Gorsuch wrote for the majority that the enforcement of laws regulating camping on public property is "commonplace" and not barred by the Eighth Amendment. He found that homelessness is "complex," and that the city's limited fines for first-time offenders, trespass from public parks for repeat offenders and a maximum of 30 days in jail for any violators are punishments that don’t add "terror, pain or disgrace." Citing a brief from California Governor Gavin Newsom, Gorsuch wrote that many broadly agree that "policymakers need access to the full panoply of tools in the policy toolbox," and need to "have the latitude" to tackle the complicated issues of homelessness and lack of housing. The court found that prior rulings by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in the Boise case and Grants Pass, narrowing the actions cities and towns can take to restrict public sleeping on streets, parks and sidewalks, may have inadvertently increased the homelessness problem by weakening how cities can respond. The court’s opinion was released just over two months after it heard oral argument on April 22nd. The case has been touted as one of the most significant involving homelessness to come before the court in decades and has been closely watched by state and city officials across the country grappling with how to address a growing homeless crisis. They've expected the ruling could have significant reverberations around the country.

 

Firefighters working the Upper Applegate Fire continue to push forward and make steady progress on the incident south of Ruch, increasing mop-up to 15% and solidifying more direct line on Thursday, increasing containment to 65%. The Oregon Department of Forestry reports the wildfire was GPS-mapped at 937 acres late yesterday. It was a slight increase from the morning estimate. Resources assigned to the fire were able to meet their goal of mopping up 75 feet into the interior of the blaze along the southern border. This work helped to solidify the lines created and prevent the fire from reigniting in hot and windy conditions in these areas by extinguishing any lingering fire and heat. More than 200 personnel were assigned to the fire last night including seven 20-person hand crews backed by two engines, four water tenders and two bulldozers. Aircraft flew until nightfall. Strategic firing operations were planned to bolster line on the northeastern portion of the fire, which has been dangerous and challenging ground since the start of the fire on Thursday, June 20th. Evacuation orders remain in effect. Zone JAC-434 is on a Level 1 "Be Ready" notice while Zone JAC-436 remains at Level 2 "Be Set." The BLM as issued a closure order for lands it manages in the fire area including Grouse Creek. ODF has determined the cause of the fire was the unlawful mowing of dry grass.

 

The Grants Pass Police Department is investigating the brazen theft of firefighting equipment from a local motel. Grants Pass police officers were dispatched to the Holiday Inn Express on NE Agness Avenue on Thursday morning where it appears that thieves in the area have hit an all-time low by stealing equipment from US Forestry trucks parked overnight while firefighters finally got some rest after battling the Upper Applegate Fire. GPPD Lieutenant Jeff Hattersley said the thieves took thousands of dollars' worth of Hotshot backpacks, emergency fire shelters, headlamps, compasses, firing sticks, signal mirrors, first aid kits, water bottles and two Stihl chainsaws. Lieutenant Hattersley said this equipment was used to protect the lives of firefighters and residents of the Upper Applegate community. Anyone with information on the whereabouts of the stolen equipment or the identity of the thieves is encouraged to call the Grants Pass Police Department at (541)-450-6260. Please reference Case #24-23189.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a felon for violating his post-prison supervision after he punched his mother in a minivan at a city park this week. The Police Department reports officers arrested the 28-year-old male subject for the incident at Morrison Centennial Park on Wednesday morning. Police said a woman called 9-1-1 to report her son was inside her van when she woke up. The caller said she asked her son to leave and he became upset before punching her in the face. The woman did not wish to pursue charges, but she was concerned that her son was "off his meds." The suspect's corrections officer was contacted and advised of the situation, so the officer requested that his client be arrested for Felony Parole Violation. He was lodged in jail and being held on a no-bail detainer. Jail records show the man has been arrested for violating his parole 11 times since July 16th of last year.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a woman for violating terms of her probation after she caused a disturbance in the Fruitdale area of the city this week. According to the Police Department, officers responded to the complaint near the corner of Hamilton Lane and Rogue River Highway on Wednesday at 6:24 p.m.. Police said a man called 9-1-1 to report that a female subject was on the other side of his fence screaming, yelling and messing with his dog. The caller said the woman called him racial slurs after he told her to leave his dog alone. She was last seen walking south on Hamilton. Responding officers searched the area and located the 38-year-old woman a short time later in the 1400-block of Rogue River Highway. The suspect was placed into custody and lodged in jail for Probation Violation. She was being held on a no-bail detainer. Jail records show the woman has been arrested seven times for violating probation since September 6th of last year.