Local News

Grants Pass Police arrested a man on a local warrant and added three new charges to his criminal bill after shoplifting at Fred Meyer. According to the Police Department, officers responded to a theft complaint at the store on the Grants Pass Parkway on Friday around 2:35 p.m.. Police said 37-year-old Steven Ray Compton intentionally stole more than $156 worth of items from Fred Meyer by passing all points of sale and exiting the store without paying. Loss prevention pursued the suspect in the parking lot where he dropped the stolen items and fled on foot toward Walmart, crossing the Parkway. Officers confronted Compton in the Carl's Jr. parking lot and he continued to flee toward Parkway Christian Center where he was cornered and placed into custody at Taser point. While in the back seat of a patrol vehicle, the suspect slipped his handcuffed arms to the front of his body and intentionally damaged the plexiglass divider between the back seat and rear cargo area. Compton then retrieved his backpack and concealed it in the back seat. It was discovered in the sally port of the jail and the suspect advised he was trying to access an alcoholic beverage in the backpack before he was lodged. Compton was booked into jail on a Josephine County warrant for failing to appear in court for 2nd-Degree Theft along with new charges of 2nd-Degree Theft, 2nd-Degree Criminal Mischief and 3rd-Degree Escape. He was being held without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police apprehended a man wanted on a statewide felony warrant while investigating a report of suspicious activity on Rogue River Highway. The Police Department reports officers arrested 46-year-old Michael Earl Tognoni at Morrison Centennial Park on Friday at 12:16 p.m.. Police said Tognoni was wanted on an Oregon State warrant for Parole Violation stemming from a previous conviction for assault. They started looking for him after receiving a report that he was involved in a disturbance in the 1400-block of Rogue River Highway. It was at the residence of an ex-girlfriend. After officers located Tognoni at the city park, he was found to be in possession of a backpack that contained a small baggie of a white crystal substance that tested positive as methamphetamine. It was seized for destruction. Tognoni was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the warrant plus a new charge of Meth Possession. He was being held on a no-bail detainer.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office arrested a man on an outstanding warrant containing a total of 18 fraud charges at the Courthouse late last week. According to the Sheriff's Office, 41-year-old Ryan Ray Rhodes was placed into custody in Room 4 of the Courthouse on Friday at 11:11 a.m.. Rhodes was wanted on a Josephine County felony warrant for failing to appear in court for 11 counts of Identity Theft and seven counts of 1st-Degree Forgery. No information was available on the criminal allegations against him. Rhodes was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the warrants and he was being held on $25,000 bail.

 

A 19-year-old man fell off a cliff and drowned at an Ashland area swimming hole last week. The Jackson County Sheriff's Office reports deputies responded to the rock quarry reservoir in the 500-block of Keno Access Road on Thursday evening. Deputies said an initial investigation revealed the young man fell from a cliff at the water's edge and disappeared into the deep water. Jackson County Search and Rescue responded to recover the victim's body and detectives from the Medical Examiner's Office arrived to investigate. No suspicious circumstances were observed at the scene and the decedent's identity will not be released out of respect for his family's privacy at this difficult time. Sheriff's officials said there is no additional information available at this time and their condolences go out to the young man's family and friends.

 

The Jackson County Sheriff's Office and Medford Police Department arrested two suspects after they attempted to elude a deputy during a traffic stop late last week. On Thursday afternoon, a deputy observed a vehicle run a stop sign and nearly hit a bicyclist at the intersection of 10th and Fir streets in Medford. A deputy activated lights and sirens and the suspect vehicle eluded at slow speeds, running multiple stop signs with no traffic in the immediate area. The deputy got permission to perform a Pursuit Intervention Technique (PIT) maneuver to disable the vehicle. But the PIT maneuver was unsuccessful and the vehicle continued to elude onto Barnett Road. Speeds increased to approximately 60 miles per hour. The suspect -- later identified as 32-year-old Whitney Ann Word -- ran a red light at the intersection of Barnett Road and Riverside Avenue, and nearly collided with a vehicle. A second PIT maneuver was successful and the Medford police officers arrived to help place the suspect into custody near Highland Drive. Word -- who is a well-known offender in Grants Pass and Josephine County -- was lodged at the Jackson County Jail for Felony Attempt to Elude Police, Reckless Driving and Reckless Endangering. A passenger in the vehicle -- 51-year-old William Clifford Sanders, a Medford area transient -- interfered with the arrest and was also booked into jail. He was charged with Resisting Arrest and Interfering with a Police Officer.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office arrested a man for allegedly roughing up his grandmother at a residence located west of Grants Pass late last week. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies responded to a domestic disturbance in the 600-block of Woodlawn Circle on Friday around 1:50 p.m.. Deputies said a neighbor called 9-1-1 when he heard 53-year-old Ronald Evan Flansburg, Jr., yelling at his grandmother that she was lucky that he just pushed her down. The caller said the 90-year-old woman lives with her grandson and he is constantly yelling at her. The neighbor requested a welfare check on the woman. Upon arrival, deputies interviewed both parties and determined that Flansburg had pushed his grandmother to the ground. The elderly woman was not seriously hurt and did not require medical treatment, but her grandson was placed into custody. Flansburg was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Domestic Harassment and he was being held without bail.

 

The Illinois Valley Fire District and Oregon Department of Forestry responded to a vegetation fire along Redwood Highway in Selma late last week. On Friday at 10:45 a.m., IVFD and ODF crews were dispatched to the blaze on US Highway 199 at Lakeshore Drive. IVFD officials said the fire was successfully extinguished by passersby using fire extinguishers before the arrival of emergency services. There were no injuries and no spread into the surrounding wildland. Officials said an investigation determined the cause to be a catalytic converter from a passing vehicle.

 

The Grants Pass City Council's bi-weekly workshop will feature a funding request, a forum update and an advisory committee motion along with an executive session. The City Council will open the workshop with a funding request from Main Street Grants Pass, a community-driven initiative dedicated to preserving, enhancing and revitalizing the heart of the city. Next up is an update on the "What's the Climate Economic Development Forum" followed by a review of the agenda for Wednesday night's regular meeting. The Council will also hear a motion made by the Committee on Public Art. Following the workshop, Mayor Clint Scherf will convene a Special Meeting in Executive Session. The closed-door meeting includes consultation with legal counsel concerning the legal rights and duties of a public body in current or likely litigation. Today's workshop begins at 11:45 a.m. in the City Council Chambers at Grants Pass City Hall, 101 NW A Street.

 

The Cave Junction City Council will hold a meeting this morning in order to approve its budget before the state-mandated deadline. The meeting will open with a public hearing on the use of State Revenue Sharing funds for the next fiscal year, with an opportunity for public testimony. The City Council will then consider budgetary resolutions including the Fiscal Year 2026 Budget, Recertifying Reserve Funds, Josephine County Investment of Tax Funds and the Election to Receive State Revenue Sharing Funds. By Oregon Statute, all municipalities in the state must approve balanced budgets before July 1st, which is Tuesday. Today's meeting starts at 10 a.m. at Cave Junction City Hall, 222 Lister Street.