Local News

Grants Pass Police apprehended a woman on two local drug warrants at a Rogue River Highway apartment complex yesterday. According to the Police Department, officers arrested 35-year-old Sarah Elizabeth Roddy in the 1400-block of Highway 99 on Tuesday at 3:18 p.m.. Police said they were on a call at the complex when they observed Roddy coming out of the apartment next door. She saw the officers and immediately shut the door, but they knew that she was wanted on two Grants Pass warrants for failing to appear in court for Methamphetamine Possession. Officers contacted the apartment manager who told her to come outside and she complied. Roddy was placed into custody and lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the warrants. She was being held on $30,000 bail.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for drug possession near a downtown resting site yesterday. According to the Police Department, officers contacted 25-year-old Thaddeous James Plummer at the former OnTrack building that formerly housed the Yankee Pot Roast restaurant on NW 6th Street on Tuesday shortly after 1 p.m.. Police said Plummer and another man they identified as "James Redden" were contacted, and Plummer was found to be in possession of a straw and a white crystal substance that tested positive as methamphetamine. Plummer was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Meth Possession and he was being held without bail. Both Plummer and Redden were trespassed from the property.

 

The Oregon State Police arrested a Grants Pass man for impaired driving after a traffic stop on Williams Highway in Murphy late yesterday. OSP reports troopers pulled over a GMC Rally driven by 79-year-old Jack Lewis Nutting near the intersection of Highway 238 and Murphy Creek Road on Tuesday at 5:06 p.m.. Troopers said they stopped Nutting for a traffic violation and he displayed signs of impairment. They said he consented to voluntary field sobriety tests, further signs of impairment were observed and he was placed into custody. Nutting was transported to the Grants Pass Sobering Center where he was charged with Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants. He was cited to appear in court and released. His vehicle was released to a family member.

 

A motorist was injured this week when they crashed their vehicle off Illinois River Road near Selma. On Monday evening, the Illinois Valley Fire District, American Medical Response, the US Forest Service and Grayback Forestry were dispatched to the single-vehicle wreck at the intersection of Illinois River Road and Forest Service Road 4105. IVFD officials said one individual was located approximately 50 feet from the roadway and was assisted back to the road. They said the patient was transported by ambulance to Three Rivers Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries. Jerry's Towing was assigned to remove the vehicle and haul it to Cave Junction.

 

A roadside fire along Interstate 5 near Merlin Hill this week drew a large response of local firefighters. Late Monday afternoon, Rural Metro Fire Department, the Oregon Department of Forestry and Grants Pass Fire & Rescue responded to the incident next to the southbound lanes of I-5. Firefighters -- along with a couple of good Samaritans -- quickly contained the fire to just under a half-acre. The fire did not jump Highland Avenue to the south. ODF was investigating the cause of the fire.

 

The Oregon State Police is leading a murder-suicide investigation after a family of five were found dead at a Merlin area home this week. On Monday at 9:37 a.m., the Josephine County Sheriff's Office responded to the 200-block of Hussey Lane in the Pickett Creek area after receiving a request to check the welfare of the residents. It was reported that an adult female at the home had uncharacteristically not shown up for work. Deputies and the Oregon State Police arrived at the address and entered the home after observing suspicious circumstances around the property. Upon entry, law enforcement discovered five people who appeared to have been killed by a firearm. The deceased victims were identified as 40-year-old Chad Scott Behee, 42-year-old Hannah Marie Behee, an 11-year-old boy, a 9-year-old boy and a 7-year-old girl. All died from gunshot wounds and Chad Behee is believed to be the suspect in a murder-suicide incident. The Sheriff's Office has requested that OSP lead the investigation with assistance from the Grants Pass Police Department. OSP detectives said the investigation is ongoing and anyone with information related to the incident is encouraged to contact them at 1-(800)-442-0776 or *OSP. Please reference Case #SP25-366471.

 

An Eagle Point woman died last weekend after she was struck by a commercial vehicle while crossing Interstate 5 in Jackson County. The Oregon State Police reports troopers and emergency crews were dispatched to the vehicle versus pedestrian crash on I-5 near milepost 35 early Sunday morning. Troopers said the preliminary investigation indicated a northbound Freightliner and trailer driven by a 37-year-old Riverside, California, man hit 50-year-old Scarlet Laresia Guenther who was standing in the travel lane. According to OSP, Guenther was declared deceased at the scene. The truck driver and his 38-year-old male passenger were not injured. OSP was assisted by the Jackson County Sheriff's Office. The freeway was not impacted during the on-scene investigation.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a man for roughing up a woman at a south-city apartment complex last weekend. The Police Department reports officers arrested 44-year-old Christian Anthony Bartell for the incident at the Harbeck Village Apartments on Sunday morning. Police said a woman called 9-1-1 to report that Bartell hit her several times and she was bleeding. She requested medical attention and stated that the suspect left the scene on a bicycle. She was treated by medics for noticeable swelling and a cut. Officers tracked Bartell down in the 1,000-block of SE Park Plaza and placed him into custody. They contacted his corrections officer about the incident. Bartell was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for 4th-Degree Assault and Physical Harassment plus the resulting Probation Violation related to an arrest for Felony Criminal Mischief. He was being held on a no-bail detainer.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for violating his post-prison supervision after a drug-fueled incident at a residence on the east side of the city this week. The Police Department reports officers placed 26-year-old Zachary Randall Holmes into custody for the incident at the NE D Street home of his girlfriend on Monday morning. Police said Holmes arrived at his girlfriend's residence while under the influence of methamphetamine, forced his way into the home and began breaking items. They said he showed up wearing only a pair of boxer shorts and his girlfriend told them he was not allowed to be there. Responding officers arrested Holmes and confirmed that he was under a "meth psychosis." He was transported to Three Rivers Medical Center for treatment of cuts on his hands from breaking his girlfriend's property. Holmes was then lodged at the Josephine County Jail for 2nd-Degree Criminal Mischief, Meth Possession and the resulting Felony Parole Violation. He was being held on a no-bail detainer. He was also trespassed from the property. Jail records show it was the fourth time this year that Holmes had been arrested for violating his parole.