Local News

Grants Pass Police arrested a male transient on two outstanding warrants while performing a patrol check at a city park early yesterday. According to the Police Department, officers contacted 45-year-old James Edward Weinshrott at Kesterson Park on NE Evelyn Avenue on Monday at 9:50 a.m.. Police said Weinshrott was found to be wanted on two Grants Pass warrants for Failure to Report as a Sex Offender and Methamphetamine Possession. He was also cited for Violating Park Rules by staking his tent and for being in possession of drug paraphernalia. Those violations led to a 30-day exclusion from the park. Weinshrott was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the warrants. His tent was left at the park for him to pick up after he was released from custody.

 

Grants Pass Police cited two people and evicted one of them during a patrol check at the NE 7th Street homeless campsite yesterday. According to the Police Department, officers contacted two men they identified as Ryan Burrows and Charles Williams at the "resting place" at 11:20 a.m. Monday. Burrows was cited for Scattering Rubbish while Williams was cited for Scattering Rubbish and Utilization of Park Space. Williams was trespassed from the campsite for 30 days.

 

Grants Pass police officers and firefighters logged a busy week of activity during the first days of April. According to the Weekly Report filed by Grants Pass City Manager Aaron Cubic, police officers responded to a total of 569 calls for service along with 327 officer-initiated calls last week that resulted in 84 arrests, 43 citations, 65 warnings and five highly-intoxicated people being lodged at the Sobering Center. Cubic also reported that officers conducted a total of 96 traffic stops in the city while making 23 referrals to the Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS). The GPPD Community Response Team (CRT) made contact with a total of 22 potential troublemakers while citing seven people and warning 12 others. Grants Pass Fire & Rescue responded to a total of 93 calls last week including 40 for emergency medical service, one report of fire or smoke, 14 lift assists, four rescue situations, three assists to other agencies and six false alarms. Firefighters also performed 15 business inspections, led two education/prevention programs, assisted the public six times and properly installed one child car seat. The Grants Pass 9-1-1 Communications Center fielded a total of 1,071 emergency calls along with 608 calls for non-emergency service.

 

The Oregon State Police apprehended a man on an out-of-state fugitive warrant following a weekend traffic stop in the Merlin area. OSP reports troopers pulled over a Toyota Camry occupied by 28-year-old Kyle Adam Berger on Merlin Road near Merlin Landfill Road at 5:27 p.m. Sunday. Troopers said they stopped the Camry driven by 46-year-old Tawnia L. Berger of Grants Pass for multiple traffic violations. Kyle Berger was her passenger and he was found to be wanted on an out-of-state warrant for Felony Parole Violation. Kyle Berger was lodged at the Josephine County Jail and was being held without bail pending extradition proceedings. Tawnia Berger was cited to appear in court for the traffic violations.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man on three outstanding warrants during a weekend patrol check at an eastside restaurant. The Police Department reports officers contacted 47-year-old Michael Del Curry at Elmer's on NE Agness Avenue on Sunday shortly after 3 p.m.. Police said they were patrolling the area when they spotted a Ford Econoline minivan in the restaurant parking lot and the license plate returned as belonging to a Ford Ranger pickup. That's when they contacted the occupant identified as Curry. A routine records check revealed that Curry was wanted on a Medford felony warrant for 1st-Degree Theft as well as two Washington County warrants for failing to appear in court for 1st-Degree Theft and Failure to Report as a Convicted Sex Offender. A pipe found in his pocket contained methamphetamine residue. Curry was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the warrants plus a new charge of Meth Possession. He was being held without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for multiple crimes last weekend after he was caught shoplifting at a downtown supermarket. According to the Police Department, officers responded to a theft complaint at the Safeway on SE 7th Street on Sunday at 5:32 p.m.. Police said 30-year-old Jacob Levi Reeder was initially called in as a trespasser at the supermarket. They said he left the property before they arrived, but a worker advised he had stolen about $10 worth of deli meat. Reeder was located sitting across the street with the deli meat in hand. He was placed into custody and officers located a glass pipe with a white substance that tested positive as methamphetamine. It was seized for destruction. Reeder was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for 3rd-Degree Theft, 1st-Degree Criminal Trespass and Meth Possession. He was being held without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a corrections client for violating terms of his probation following a weekend traffic stop on Redwood Highway. The Police Department reports officers pulled over a large box truck driven by 42-year-old Guy Caley McFarland in the 600-block of US Highway 199 on Sunday at 12:15 p.m.. Police said the truck McFarland was driving had no license plates and they stopped it as it pulled into the Pinnacle 365 store. They said the driver had a suspended license, no insurance and expired registration tags on the vehicle. His corrections officer was contacted and she requested the arrest of her client. McFarland was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Probation Violation related to arrests for Criminal Mischief and Hit-and-Run Causing Property Damage. He was also cited for the traffic violations and was being held on a no-bail detainer. According to GPPD, the box truck was impounded.

 

Grants Pass parks staff have added ADA-compliant wood fiber to the Orbiter at Riverside Park to ensure a safe, more accessible play surface for all users. During routine inspections, one of the department's Certified Playground Safety Inspectors discovered and replaced broken spring cups on a teeter-totter to prevent potential injuries. Parks crews finished removing downed and damaged trees from recent storms. In partnership with the Urban Area Tree Advisory Committee, 12 new locations were identified and trees were planted along the 6th Street right-of-way, with permission from adjacent businesses. Parks officials said these trees will be watered for the next three years to establish healthy root systems, providing long-term benefits such as improved air quality, shade and enhanced urban canopy coverage at the north end of the city.

 

Three new lawsuits have been filed against a regional hospital in Medford and a former nurse. The hospital could now face over $477 million in damages. Oregon Public Broadcasting reports alleged victims and their surviving relatives filed three new civil lawsuits against Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center and former nurse Dani Marie Schofield last week, with more expected soon, according to attorneys representing the plaintiffs. The Jackson County District Attorney's Office charged Schofield with 44 counts of second-degree assault last year. Authorities accuse her of swapping patients' liquid fentanyl with non-sterile tap water, causing infections in dozens of patients. At least 16 of those alleged victims died. The latest complaints name James Geear, Jill Baylor and Kevin Jay Hughes as being under the care of Asante and Schofield when they developed bacterial infections. Hughes died due to his infection, according to the complaint filed by his estate. The lawsuits seek from $6 million to over $9 million in damages. Not all of those lawsuits name Schofield, who is out on $4 million bail. Her first pre-trial criminal hearing is scheduled for April 28th.