Local News

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office apprehended a man wanted on a local felony warrant in the Colonial Valley area last weekend. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies contacted and then arrested 43-year-old Christopher Lane Slover near the intersection of Granite Hill and Grouse Creek roads on Sunday at 8:50 a.m.. Deputies said they spotted Slover working on a truck with two other men. They knew he was wanted on a Grants Pass felony warrant for failing to appear in court for two counts of Felon in Possession of a Weapon and one count of Delivery of Methamphetamine. The suspect was detained and he provided a false name. After Slover was positively identified, he was placed into custody and lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the warrant plus a new charge of Furnishing False Information to Police. He was being held on $50,000 bail.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office arrested a motorist for impaired driving and more after she crashed a vehicle near Merlin early yesterday. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies and emergency crews responded to the single-vehicle wreck near the intersection of Azalea Drive and Robertson Bridge Road on Monday at about 4:30 a.m.. Deputies said they were alerted to the incident by an Azalea Drive resident who advised he heard a vehicle roll at least five times while taking out several mail boxes. Upon the arrival of law enforcement, 36-year-old Desiray Deon Tolson was out of the vehicle and walking around. Fortunately, she was not badly hurt. According to the report, Tolson displayed signs of impairment and performed poorly in field sobriety tests. A search warrant was obtained and she was taken to Three Rivers Medical Center for a legal blood draw that documented inebriation. Tolson was subsequently lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants, Reckless Driving and Criminal Mischief. She was being held without bail and her wrecked vehicle was impounded.

 

One person was injured in a motor vehicle accident that occurred on Interstate 5 in the Sunny Valley area late yesterday. The Oregon State Police reports troopers and emergency personnel responded to the three-vehicle crash in the southbound lanes of I-5 near milepost 70 on Monday at 5:20 p.m.. Troopers said a preliminary investigation indicated the collision occurred between a BMW 300 and two Freightliner commercial vehicles. They identified the drivers as 35-year-old Joshuah Hogenkamp of Eugene, 45-year-old Sukhwinder Singh and 19-year-old Camron Spicer. Singh's and Spicer's addresses were not disclosed. According to OSP, one unidentified occupant was transported by ambulance to Rogue Regional Medical Center in Medford for treatment of moderate injuries. No one else was hurt and Bulldog Towing was dispatched for one of the vehicles. The Oregon Department of Transportation issued a bulletin that the I-5 crash was causing delays and asked motorists to slow down and watch for first responders.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office arrested a woman for drug possession after she broke into an unoccupied recreational vehicle in Cave Junction last weekend. According to the Sheriff's Office, deputies responded to a burglary call in the 27,000-block of Redwood Highway on Sunday around 7:45 p.m.. Deputies said a woman called 9-1-1 to report a female subject later identified as 34-year-old Sarah Ivory Jaentsch broke into her boss's trailer and was doing drugs. The caller said the woman then left and started walking down the highway near the Great Cats Park. That's where deputies found her with a glass pipe with a white crystal substance that tested positive as methamphetamine. She admitted to smoking meth and was placed into custody. Nothing had been stolen from the RV, but staff members requested her to be trespassed from the park. Jaentsch was transported to Grants Pass and lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Meth Possession.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for drug possession in the north part of the city last night. The Police Department reports officers contacted 32-year-old Michael Jeremy Johnson and arrested him at Subway on NW 6th Street shortly before 8 p.m. Monday. Police said a patrol officer observed Johnson yelling to himself and falling face-first onto the ground before running toward 6th Street. Upon contact, he displayed slow, slurred speech and lethargic motor skills. He denied being under the influence of narcotics despite clear indicators to the contrary. During a consent search, Johnson was found to be in possession of a melted straw, foil with burnt residue and a green container with a white chalky substance. The substance -- which tested positive as fentanyl -- was seized for destruction. Johnson was lodged in jail for Fentanyl Possession and he was being held without bail.

 

The Josephine Marijuana Enforcement Team (JMET) raided an illegal cannabis growing site in the southern Illinois Valley last week. Last Wednesday, JMET -- with assistance from the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, United States Marshals Service, BLM, IRS and Illegal Marijuana Enforcement Team (IMET) of Jackson County -- served a search warrant in the 31,000-block of Redwood Highway. During execution of the warrant, more than 7,000 marijuana plants and around 300 pounds of processed marijuana were seized and destroyed. The property also had multiple electrical, water and solid waste code violations that could result in civil forfeiture of the property. The primary suspects were not on scene during the time of the search. If they are located, they will be charged with Unlawful Manufacture of Marijuana, Unlawful Possession of Marijuana and Unlawful Appropriation of Water. According to JMET, the investigation is ongoing and no further details are being released at this time.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a man for multiple crimes after he entered the residence of his legally protected mother and then fought with officers when they arrived to arrest him. The Police Department reports officers eventually arrested 23-year-old Joseph Randall Bakewell at a home in the 400-block of West Harbeck Road on Saturday night. Police said Bakewell violated a no-contact order protecting his mother when he entered her residence due to a prior case involving domestic violence. After acting in a manner that threatened his mother, he secured himself in a bathroom and refused to submit to lawful detention and arrest. According to the report, Bakewell intentionally used physical force to resist arrest. During the encounter, he tried to assault uniformed officers by wildly thrashing and kicking toward them. He also utilized a detached showerhead to drench two officers with water during the incident. A Taser was deployed to subdue him. Bakewell was transported to Three Rivers Medical Center for an evaluation. He was medically cleared and then lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Felony Attempted Assault on a Peace Officer, Resisting Arrest, Domestic Harassment and Contempt of Court. He was being held without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested two people for felony drug trafficking after a weekend welfare check in the downtown area. The Police Department reports officers contacted 39-year-old John Thomas Steel, II, and 27-year-old McKayla Nicole Harris in a silver hatchback parked in the 800-block of SE 8th Street late Saturday night. Police said they were alerted to a man and woman laying over in the car with some items on the roof of the vehicle. They initially contacted Steel and discovered that he was wanted on a Medford felony warrant for Aggravated 1st-Degree Theft and 2nd-Degree Burglary. He had a glass pipe and admitted to the use of fentanyl. A consent search of the car uncovered greater quantities of fentanyl, a scale and a large sum of money. A search of Harris's purse revealed more fentanyl, a scale, a glass pipe and a small amount of methamphetamine. She confessed that she and Steel sell and trade fentanyl. They were placed into custody and all the narcotics and paraphernalia were seized as evidence and for eventual destruction. Steel was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the warrant plus new charges of Felony Possession and Delivery of Fentanyl. Harris was jailed for Possession and Delivery of Fentanyl as well as Methamphetamine Possession. Both were being held without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a woman for impaired driving and more after she was caught operating a vehicle with five juvenile passengers inside last weekend. According to the Police Department, officers pulled over a Honda sedan driven by 34-year-old Deanna Marie Price at the A-1 Market & Deli at 7th and B streets early Sunday morning. Police said a man had driven Price and the young passengers to a concert in Medford. They said he was the designated driver for the group and when they returned to Grants Pass, a highly-intoxicated Price jumped into the Honda and drove away with the juveniles in order to attend a party in the Merlin area. The unidentified man called 9-1-1 because Price was obviously impaired when she drove away. Officers searched the city until they located the suspect and her car. She displayed strong signs of impairment and a consent search revealed her to be in possession of brass knuckles with a spring-loaded knife. They also discovered that she had prior felony convictions before she was placed into custody. Price was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants, Reckless Driving, Felon in Possession of a Restricted Weapon and five counts of Reckless Endangering. She was being held without bail and her car was impounded.