Local News

Grants Pass City Police responded to 911 complaint of a suspicious person looking into vehicles Friday afternoon in the Walmart complex and arrested the suspect. The initial call came from a citizen who was sleeping in his vehicle when the suspect opened his car door. The suspect fled the scene but continued to look through windows of vehicles parked in the lot. Responding officers were directed telephonically by the first victim who followed the suspect through the Taco Bell area, past Big 5, where officers observed the fleeing man. A second police unit detained the suspect, identified as Matthew Dylan Barnett, 33, at the entrance of the Holiday Inn Express. Barnett complied with officers demands and was taken into custody. During a consent search, two pieces of folded tin foil were located, and field tested presumptive positive for methamphetamine. Barnett’s parole officer requested he be detained. Barnett was lodged and remained in custody Sunday evening facing charges of unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle, possession of meth and the parole violation.

 

Josephine County Sheriff’s Deputies lodged three individuals in separate incidents Friday. The first incident began about 12 minutes after midnight with a traffic stop of a black Chevy SUV at the intersection of Redwood Highway and Pinewood Way that began with a traffic complaint. A 35-year-old man was stopped and detained. Following field sobriety tests the man was placed into custody and lodged in the county jail where he remained Saturday morning facing charges of reckless driving and driving under the influence. His SUV was impounded. The 2nd arrest came just before one Saturday afternoon when Deputies detained 46-year-old Lukas Short behind the bank on Caves Avenue in Cave Junction. He was placed in custody following the confirmation of two valid felony warrants, one from Josephine County for failure to appear for unauthorized use of a vehicle and one from the Oregon Parole Board. He was lodged and remained in custody Saturday morning. 26 minutes later Deputies were reporting Kristle Smart, 39-years-old, was detained and in custody in the 200 block of Redwood Highway.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a man this week for threatening another man with a knife at the new designated campground on NE 7th Street. The Police Department reports officers arrested 36-year-old Aaron Wesley Storms at the campsite located next to GPPD headquarters on Thursday evening. Police said they responded to reports that Storms was chasing another man while armed with a large knife. The weapon was described by witnesses as a buck knife with a brown and gold handle and a long straight blade. No reason was given for the incident, but there were no injuries reported. Upon arrival, officers contacted and disarmed Storms before placing him into custody. The knife was seized as evidence.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a felon for beating up an elderly man in the downtown area this week.
According to the Police Department, officers responded to a reported assault in the 200-block of NW 6th Street on Thursday afternoon. Police said an investigation determined 44-year-old Nicholas John Knox Knowles became engaged in an argument with a 72-year-old man. The argument escalated when the suspect pushed the victim, knocking him down, before he punched the man in the face. The one-sided fight was broken up by a witness. The reporting party stayed with the bleeding victim until medics arrived to treat the patient. Knowles was placed into custody and lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Physical Harassment and Disorderly Conduct plus the resulting Felony Parole Violation. He was being held on a no-bail detainer.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office jailed a local man for four felony-level sex crimes this week. Josephine County Jail records show 32-year-old Donovan Jordan Dean Newman around midday Thursday. The Sheriff's Office has not yet provided any details about the investigation that resulted in Newman's arrest, but he was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on three counts of 1st-Degree Sex Abuse and one count of another felony-level sex crime.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for drug trafficking this week at Three Rivers Medical Center. The Police Department reports officers arrested 29-year-old Gaetano Esatorre at the hospital on SW Ramsey Avenue on Thursday afternoon. Police did not disclose any details about the incident that led to Esatorre's arrest, but he was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Felony Possession and Delivery of MDMA, also known as Ecstasy.

 

The Oregon State Police is assisting the Grants Pass Police Department with an investigation into a stolen Oregon Lottery cash slip. According to OSP, the agency's Lottery Security Section was asked to assist GPPD with a theft case involving the lottery cash slip on Wednesday. Troopers said the theft occurred at an unspecified time and place after it was won on October 1st at Abby's Pizza in Grants Pass. Members of the Security Section observed the cash slip had been paid out to an individual on October 4th.

 

Rogue Community College has appointed Cass Sinclair as the new executive director of the RCC Foundation, effective October 7th. Sinclair brings a wealth of experience in nonprofit leadership, community engagement and strategic planning that will serve the RCC Foundation well as it continues to expand its impact in Southern Oregon. Sinclair joins RCC from Opportunities for Housing, Resources and Assistance (OHRA) in Ashland, where she served as executive director. During her tenure with OHRA, she secured funding for Oregon's first Project Turnkey, overseeing the conversion of a Super 8 motel into a fully-staffed, low-barrier shelter and resource center. Sinclair has demonstrated a passion for addressing community needs and improving lives, qualities that align with the missions of RCC and the RCC Foundation. Sinclair earned a master's degree in business administration and a bachelor's degree in human communication from Southern Oregon University.

 

Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest Supervisor Molly Juillerat (jeweler-ah) recently signed a closure order for the Butte Fork Bridge located in the Red Buttes Wilderness. The Butte Fork Bridge closed to the public on October 9th and will remain closed until October 1, 2025, unless rescinded sooner. Removal of the bridge is required due to catastrophic failure from decayed substructures. Since it is located in a designated wilderness, minimum impact techniques will be used while dismantling the bride. At this time, it is unclear whether the bridge will be replaced or if a re-route of the trail will be required. The Butte Fork Trail is also expected to be temporarily closed at a later date for required maintenance. In the meantime, the trail will be more difficult to access east of Butte Fork Bridge due to this closure. The Shoofly Trail, also located in the Red Buttes Wilderness, is available an alternate route. The Butte Fork Bridge was originally constructed around 1988 after a pack string tumbled off an existing trail. During construction, Applegate Ranger District employees utilized on-site materials that were felled, de-barked and installed.