Local News

The Grants Pass High School Marching Band & Color Guard has once again been crowned champions of the Pacific Northwest. GPHS picked up the first place trophy last weekend at the Northwest Marching Band Championships at Autzen Stadium in Eugene. The GPHS group scored 92.25 in the finals at the competition, edging the 91.80 posted by Ridgeline and the 88.10 posted by Kamiak/Sherwood. The local band won High General Effect, High Music, High Visual and High Color Guard while Ridgeline won High Percussion. It was an amazing day for the Grants Pass High School band family who would like to thank everyone who helped them along their way to the top this fall. We Are GP!

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a motorist for impaired driving and more after he caused a violent weekend crash on Williams Highway that injured a total of five people. The Police Department reports officers, Grants Pass Fire & Rescue, Rural Metro Fire Department, Jackson County Fire District #1, American Medical Response, Oregon State Police and the Oregon Department of Transportation all responded to the two-vehicle collision on Highway 238 near Fruitdale Drive late Saturday night. Police said 35-year-old Matthew Dowell was driving a Honda Odyssey northbound on Williams Highway when he claimed an opposing vehicle turned in front of him. The subsequent crash with a Nissan Pathfinder resulted in the Pathfinder flipping over and trapping the occupants who had to be extricated by emergency personnel. Dowell's passenger and three out of four occupants of the Nissan were transported to Three Rivers Medical Center for treatment of their injuries -- some were serious. Dowell had no serious injuries and he displayed signs of impairment at the scene. He performed poorly in field sobriety tests and was taken to the hospital for a legal blood draw that documented a high level of impairment. Dowell was subsequently lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Felony Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants, Felony 2nd-Degree Assault, Reckless Driving and Reckless Endangering. He was being held without bail. Both vehicles were towed, with the heavily-damaged Honda being impounded.

 

Grants Pass Police apprehended a man wanted on statewide, outside and local warrants after performing a weekend traffic stop on a bicycle. According to the Police Department, officers pulled over a bike ridden by 29-year-old Travis Tyler Bradley-Martin on the Grants Pass Parkway near NE Beacon Drive on Friday at 11:45 p.m.. Police said they stopped Bradley-Martin for no bicycle light and he provided a false name. After confirming his true identity, they discovered that he was wanted on an Oregon State warrant for Parole Violation related to a conviction for Identity Theft, a Jackson County warrant for failing to appear in court for eight counts of Identity Theft, and a Josephine County warrant for two counts each of 2nd-Degree Forgery and 2nd-Degree Theft. Bradley-Martin admitted without prompting that he had a concealed syringe with fentanyl hidden in his sock. He also admitted that he lied about his identity to avoid being arrested. Bradley-Martin was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the three warrants plus new charges of Fentanyl Possession and Furnishing False Information to Police. He was being held on a no-bail detainer.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for committing domestic violence against his girlfriend at a home in the southwest part of the city. The Police Department reports officers placed the 34-year-old male subject into custody at GPPD headquarters on NE 7th Street on Saturday at 7:44 p.m.. Police said a woman called 9-1-1 early Saturday morning to report she and her boyfriend were involved in a dispute that escalated to the man strangling her and slapping her before fleeing in his vehicle. She was not seriously hurt, but the Women's Crisis Support Team responded and transported her to a safe location. Officers later contacted the subject by phone and he agreed to speak with them at the police station. He was arrested after admitting to the physical confrontation with his girlfriend at the home in the 900-block of SW Blackberry Lane. The suspect was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Domestic Strangulation, Domestic Menacing and Domestic Harassment. He was being held without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a well-known criminal offender for yet another incident of bad behavior at a downtown area church over the weekend. According to the Police Department, officers were alerted to suspicious activity on Friday afternoon at St. Luke's Episcopal Church at the corner of NW 5th and D streets. Police said an employee called 9-1-1 to report a male subject was hiding at the church with a large gun under his jacket. The caller said he tried to come into the church, but then walked off before he was observed pointing the firearm at random vehicles from a position of cover. Officers arrived on scene and challenged 30-year-old Dustin Michael Fontana, placing him into custody at gunpoint. He was found to be in possession of a realistic-looking Air-Soft pellet gun and it was seized as evidence. Fontana was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Disorderly Conduct and he was being held without bail.

 

The Oregon State Police responded to several weather-related crashes on Interstate 5 in Josephine County since Friday -- most of them without any injuries. But on Friday afternoon, OSP and emergency personnel responded to a single-vehicle wreck with an injury on Interstate 5 in east Grants Pass. State troopers said a 57-year-old man was driving a Chevrolet Silverado on the Grants Pass Parkway when he lost control on the wet roadway while entering the freeway. They said the vehicle overturned and the driver was transported to the hospital with unspecified injuries. The damaged pickup was towed into Grants Pass. OSP was assisted by Grants Pass Fire & Rescue and the Oregon Department of Transportation. According to OSP records, troopers responded to at least five other crashes on Interstate 5 over the weekend and most of them involved motorists driving too fast for the wet road conditions. Some citations and a few warnings were issued.

 

No one was hurt in a head-on collision that occurred on Redwood Highway in Selma at the beginning of the weekend. On Friday at 7:57 p.m., the Oregon State Police and emergency crews were dispatched to the two-vehicle crash on US Highway 199 at Lakeshore Drive. Troopers said a preliminary investigation indicated an Infinity G35 driven by a 77-year-old Merlin man make an improper right-hand turn and caused a head-on wreck with a Volvo XC9 driven by a 33-year-old male motorist. According to OSP, there were no injuries reported and Jerry's Towing hauled both vehicles to Cave Junction. Both drivers were either cited or warned for unspecified traffic violations.

 

Grants Pass police officers and firefighters did their best to protect the community during the week leading up to Halloween. According to the Weekly Report filed by Grants Pass City Manager Aaron Cubic, police officers responded to a total of 631 calls for service along with 313 officer-initiated calls last week that resulted in 50 arrests, 31 citations, 45 warnings and nine highly-intoxicated people being lodged at the Sobering Center. Cubic also reported that officers conducted a total of 70 traffic stops in the city and they made 20 referrals to the Oregon Department of Human Services. The GPPD Community Response Team (CRT) contacted a total of 55 potential trouble-makers while arresting two people, citing three more and warning 10 others. The CRT unit also trespassed nine individuals and removed trash from one transient campsite. Grants Pass Fire & Rescue responded to a total of 89 calls last week including 39 for emergency medical service, three reports of fire or smoke, 12 lift assists, nine rescue situations, 11 assists to other agencies and six false alarms. The Grants Pass 9-1-1 Communications Center fielded a total of 1,248 emergency calls.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office arrested a woman for a strange incident at a mini-storage unit in Selma. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies were alerted to a disturbance at the business in the 100-block of Hogue Drive on Friday afternoon. Sheriff's deputies said 48-year-old Andrea Rose Cripps snuck in through the gate as a customer drove in. They said another customer had a storage unit door open so it could dry out and the customer found the woman poking at the plywood wall with a knife. The complainant confronted the subject and she stood up, held the knife but did not threaten him. He held the woman at gunpoint until law enforcement arrived. According to the report, Cripps believed that her daughter was being held against her will in an adjacent unit which was found to be vacant. She was placed into custody without incident. Cripps was transported to Grants Pass and lodged at the Josephine County Jail for 3rd-Degree Criminal Mischief and 2nd-Degree Criminal Trespass. She was being held pending a mental health evaluation.