Local News

Grants Pass Police arrested a felon for beating up an elderly man in the downtown area yesterday. According to the Police Department, officers responded to a reported assault in the 200-block of NW 6th Street on Thursday shortly after 1 p.m.. Police said an investigation determined 44-year-old Nicholas John Knox Knowles became engaged in an argument with a 72-year-old man. The argument escalated when the suspect pushed the victim, knocking him down, before he punched the man in the face. The one-sided fight was broken up by a witness. The reporting party stayed with the bleeding victim until medics arrived to treat the patient. Knowles was placed into custody and lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Physical Harassment and Disorderly Conduct plus the resulting Felony Parole Violation. He was being held on a no-bail detainer. Jail records show Knowles has been arrested eight times for violating his post-prison supervision since October of last year.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office arrested a female felon for her outlandish behavior in downtown Cave Junction yesterday. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies responded to a disturbance in the 100-block of South Redwood Highway on Thursday during the noon hour. Deputies said a student at the Kalmiopsis Community Arts High School and a bank employee both called 9-1-1 to report the incident involving 47-year-old Crystal Mae Lucas. They reported the female subject was screaming at children and making threats to hurt them. She was also being rude to other citizens in the area. According to the report, deputies contacted Lucas who told them people were throwing rocks at her. However, there was no one near her and she was not hurt, so she was detained. Her corrections officer was contacted and the officer wanted her to be arrested. Lucas was placed into custody, transported to Grants Pass and lodged in jail for Disorderly Conduct and the resulting Felony Parole Violation. She was being held on a no-bail detainer. She was also trespassed from the school and the bank.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a woman for her boorish behavior in the vicinity of a local gas station-convenience store yesterday. The Police Department reports officers were alerted to a disturbance at the Arco AM/PM on NE Terry Lane on Thursday at 10:22 a.m.. Police said 32-year-old Chantal Roseann Haney refused to leave the Arco property multiple times after she attempted to head-butt an employee three times. They said she was also causing public alarm by screaming and arguing with the employee. A short time later, she argued with two other people while holding a corkscrew/knife in her hand across the street from Arco next to Taco Bell. Officers arrived on scene and immediately placed Haney into custody. She was lodged in jail without bail for Disorderly Conduct and Criminal Trespass.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for multiple crimes yesterday following a 9-1-1 investigation. According to the Police Department, the Grants Pass 9-1-1 Communications Center received several emergency calls from a home in the 800-block of Bower Lane so officers responded to investigate. Police said the residence had a 9-1-1 call from earlier in the day with a false report of an active burglary. The call was unfounded and the caller was not located. A short time later, officers contacted 20-year-old Logan M. Diaz outside the home and he denied making the false burglary call. The man showed officers the call history on his phone that showed three prior calls to 9-1-1 related to the referenced case. Dispatch showed the prior case having the same number that called for help. Diaz's phone did not have a service plan and could only be used to call 9-1-1. He was placed into custody and lodged in jail for Disorderly Conduct and Improper Use of 9-1-1. He was being held without bail.

 

An out-of-compliance sex offender was arrested yesterday following a trespassing complaint at a north Grants Pass ice cream store. Grants Pass Police responded to a trespassing call at Udder's Ice Cream on NE 7th Street on Thursday around 10:40 a.m.. Police said 37-year-old Jordan Ellis Haas was the subject of the call after the store owner found him on the stairs behind the business. They said he was found to be out-of-compliance with his sex offender registration and he was also found to be in possession of methamphetamine. He was arrested and the drugs were seized. Haas was lodged in jail for Failure to Report as a Sex Offender and Possession of Meth. He was also trespassed from Udder's and reminded that he was still banned from frequenting Catalyst Pizza.

 

Medford police say a fentanyl-addicted woman admitted to secretly giving birth at home instead of at a hospital last month because she feared Oregon child-protective workers would take custody of the newborn, just like they'd done with her three other children, whom she said also had had drugs in their systems. Acting on a tip Monday, the Oregonian reports police arrived at the home of the baby's mother and father -- Samantha Michelle Davis and Mitra Osho Orescan -- to find the 12-day-old in such dire condition that a nurse who later assessed him estimated he likely was a few days away from death. The baby weighed less than 4.5 pounds and had a gray skin tone, a "severe festering diaper rash" and infections in his mouth, eyes and thumb, according to a probable cause affidavit. Police said they also found a baggie with fentanyl next to the baby's pacifier. On Tuesday, police arrested Davis and Orescan, both 34, on allegations of first-degree criminal mistreatment and fentanyl possession. Davis also was charged with first- and second-degree assault, supplying contraband and cocaine possession. The last two charges appear to be related to the alleged discovery of drugs that a deputy at the Jackson County Jail said Davis hid in her body and bra. Davis remains in jail in lieu of $500,000 bail, while Orescan was released due to overcrowding.

 

The Jackson County Sheriff's Office and Oregon Department of Forestry are conducting a joint investigation after a fire damaged a Butte Falls area bridge early yesterday. On Thursday at 8 a.m., the Sheriff's Office received a call regarding a fire on the Fredenburg Road Bridge over the north fork of Big Butte Creek east of Butte Falls. Butte Falls Fire & Rescue put out the fire just after 8:30 a.m. and there was no spread to the surrounding forest. Public Information Officer Aaron Lewis said the bridge is expected to be closed for an extended period while the Jackson County Roads Department assesses the damage. Fredenburg Road is closed at the 0.7 mile maker. A temporary detour is in place for the use of affected residents in cooperation with the BLM. Lewis said the cause of the fire was under investigation. According to initial estimates, damage to the bridge could exceed $1 million. Anyone with information about this fire is encouraged to call the Jackson County Sheriff's Office Tip Line at (541)-774-8333. Please reference Case #24-5571.

 

The Oregon State Police arrested a man for stealing a vehicle out of California during a traffic stop in the Glendale area this week. OSP reports troopers were notified about a recently-stolen Landrover from California that was passing through Grants Pass on Interstate 5 late Wednesday night. State troopers said they later located the Landrover on I-5 in Glendale and it was occupied by a man they identified as 52-year-old Nicholas Reiner. They said the suspect had caused more than $1,000 damage to the interior of the vehicle while stealing it. Reiner was placed into custody, transported to Grants Pass and lodged at the Josephine County Jail on charges of Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle, Possession of a Stolen Vehicle, 1st-Degree Criminal Mischief and Unlawful Entry into a Motor Vehicle. According to OSP, the Landrover had been stolen from a 51-year-old male victim in an unspecified part of California. It was towed to Grants Pass and the owner was notified.

 

Grants Pass Police apprehended a woman wanted on a statewide felony warrant during a city park patrol check this week. The Police Department reports officers arrested 47-year-old Rose Marie McLaughlin at Riverside Park late Wednesday night. Police said McLaughlin was contacted in the park after its open hours. They said dispatchers determined she was wanted on an Oregon State warrant for Felony Parole Violation related to a weapon conviction. She was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on a no-bail detainer. McLaughlin and a man identified as "McCool" were both warned for park hours. Jail records show McLaughlin has been arrested 11 times for violating her post-prison supervision since September of last year.