Local News

Grants Pass Police arrested a man on an outstanding warrant after responding to a non-injury crash in the southeast part of the city early today. According to the Police Department, officers were alerted to the collision near the intersection of SE N and M streets at 1:27 this morning. Police said an investigation indicated an unplated Nissan Maxima was being towed illegally when it broke loose and collided with a fence in the 900-block of SE M Street. They said 43-year-old Matthew Roy Barbosa was at the scene when they arrived and he initially denied any involvement with the accident. Upon further investigation, it was determined that Barbosa was given permission by the registered owner to tow the inoperable vehicle. The suspect said the driver of the truck towing the car fled and he refused to provide that person's name. Barbosa was placed into custody when officers discovered that he was wanted on a Douglas County misdemeanor warrant for failing to appear in court for Driving While Suspended. He was lodged in jail and the damaged Nissan was towed to a local impound yard.

 

The Grants Pass Police Department has identified a home near the downtown area as a "nuisance property" after citing the property owner last week. According to GPPD, officers have responded to multiple complaints about the home in the 700-block of NE 8th Street. On June 5th, the property owner was cited for Scattering Rubbish. She said the mess in her driveway belonged to someone who was moving out and someone who was moving in. The items had been in the driveway for several days. The property owner was provided with a copy of the city's Chronic Nuisance Property Ordinance for review. Officers explained the property has met criteria for the ordinance based on the high number of complaints. Officers plan to recheck the property on June 23rd.

 

A Josephine County man has been sentenced to more than eight years in prison after being convicted of throwing a fatal punch at a Grants Pass bar in December 2022. Josephine County Circuit Court Judge Brandon Thueson sentenced 43-year-old Todd Andrew Heckers to 100 months in prison for the incident at the Wonder Bur in downtown Grants Pass. Heckers was convicted of 2nd-Degree Manslaughter and 2nd-Degree Assault for fatally punching 75-year-old Claude Hayes and head-butting another 75-year-old man during the same incident. Heckers was an off-duty bartender at the Wonder Bur, which was shut down by the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC) shortly after the fatal attack. It has since reopened under new management. Following sentencing, Heckers was lodged at the Josephine County Jail, pending transfer to the Oregon Department of Corrections.

 

The Oregon State Police arrested a Wolf Creek man for violating a court order this week following a traffic stop near the City of Rogue River. According to OSP, state troopers pulled over a Mazda MZ3 driven by 40-year-old Sonny Hurt, II, on Foothill Boulevard near Dove Place on Monday night. Troopers said they made the traffic stop after observing both parties of a no-contact order -- Hurt and a 31-year-old Grants Pass woman -- inside the car. They said the driver had a suspended license and the vehicle was impounded. After further investigation, troopers developed probable cause of Hurt tampering with a witness. Hurt was transported to Grants Pass and lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Contempt of Court and two felony counts of Tampering with a Witness. He was being held without bail. The female passenger was the protected party and she was transferred to the care of family members.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for his destructive behavior at The Lodge at Riverside this week. The Police Department reports officers responded to the incident involving 31-year-old Ryan Kelly Hale at the riverfront motel on SE 7th Street on Monday. Police said the manager of Cartwright's Tap Rock NW Grill called 9-1-1 to report that Hale was throwing large rocks at the nearby motel before he crossed 7th Street and entered the restaurant parking lot. The caller said it appeared the man was having a mental breakdown and they wanted him trespassed from their property. Before officers arrived on scene, Hale fled under the 7th Street Bridge and that's where he was placed into custody. Hale was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on an out-of-county warrant. His corrections officer was contacted and he was being held on a no-bail detainer.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man on a local warrant and for violating terms of his probation this week in an encounter near the Parkway Public Safety Station. According to the Police Department, officers contacted 64-year-old Timothy Carl Ferguson at the intersection of the Grants Pass Parkway and East Park Street on Monday. Police said they observed Ferguson and knew that he was wanted on a Grants Pass warrant for failing to appear in court for Disorderly Conduct. After he was placed into custody, he made numerous statements about harming law enforcement once he was released from jail. Ferguson reportedly told the arresting officer that he would burn down his house, and drop rocks off overpasses onto police cars while wearing a black hoodie and riding around on a bicycle. He also mentioned going around town and cutting wires at buildings as a means to express his hatred toward everyone. Ferguson was lodged without bail at the Josephine County Jail on the warrant and the resulting Probation Violation. He was also flagged for his threats to local law enforcement and the community.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a motorist for an outstanding warrant early yesterday following a traffic stop on the Parkway. According to the Police Department, officers pulled over a silver Toyota driven by 28-year-old Tyler Lee Broyles on the Grants Pass Parkway near NE F Street on Tuesday around 4:40 a.m.. Police said they stopped Broyles for speeding and crossing over the fog line when they discovered that he was wanted on a Josephine County warrant for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants. He was not impaired during this traffic stop. Broyles was placed into custody and lodged in jail on the local warrant. His vehicle was moved to a nearby parking lot and secured.

 

The Josephine County Board of Commissioners is scheduled to hold five public hearings during its weekly business session this morning. The meeting was moved up one day this week in order to have a quorum. The first public hearing is for two annexation requests to the Josephine Community Library District while the other four are for consideration and approval of budgets. The first three budget hearings are for the Josephine County Rural Fire Protection District, Josephine County 4-H/Extension Service District and the Josephine County Law Enforcement Service District. The Commissioners will convene as the Board for each of the districts and will hear public comment before consideration. The fifth public hearing is on the Josephine County Budget for the 2026 Fiscal Year. After public comments, the Commissioners will consider resolutions for adopting the budget, making appropriations, and levying property tax rates and local option levy taxes as well as considering the supplemental budget for 2025. Under Administrative Actions, the Board is expected to approve the Special Election results for the Rural Fire Protection District. Today's public meeting starts at 10 a.m. in the Anne G. Basker Auditorium.

 

The Oregon State Fire Marshal has mobilized local resources to help fight the Alder Springs Fire in Jefferson County. The Alder Springs Fire is burning west of Crooked River Ranch. The wildfire sparked midday Monday on the Crooked River National Grasslands and it grew to more than 1,500 acres by Monday evening. Grants Pass Fire & Rescue deployed its Type 3 engine and three firefighters to the wildfire along with crews from other Southern Oregon fire departments including Medford Fire-Rescue, Ashland Fire-Rescue, Jackson County Fire District #1 and the Illinois Valley Fire District. The local teams left at 5 a.m. Tuesday and they arrived in the afternoon to set up to fight the fire. A total of eight structural task forces from Josephine, Jackson, Douglas, Benton, Clackamas, Clatsop, Lane, Washington and Yamhill counties have been deployed. The State Fire Marshal mobilizes resources through the Emergency Conflagration Act when invoked by the Governor. The Alder Springs Fire is the second conflagration of 2025.