Local News

Grants Pass Police apprehended a man wanted on a statewide felony warrant in the downtown area late yesterday. According to the Police Department, officers arrested 32-year-old Clifford Ray Rapstine, Jr., near the Purple Parrot on SE J Street on Monday at 4:50 p.m.. Police said they contacted Rapstine during a patrol check and discovered that he was wanted on an Oregon State warrant for Felony Parole Violation related to a past conviction for an unspecified crime. Rapstine started walking away from officers when they questioned him, but he eventually surrendered to them and was placed into custody. During a consent search, he was found to be in possession of "lots" of drug paraphernalia. Rapstine was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on a no-bail detainer. Additional charges of drug possession were referred to the District Attorney's Office for consideration.

 

The Oregon State Police arrested a Bend man for violating terms of his post-prison supervision during a weekend traffic stop on Riverbanks Road. OSP reports troopers pulled over a Dodge Avenger driven by 29-year-old Brandon Keith Campbell near milepost 21 of State Route 260 on Sunday at 5:13 p.m.. Troopers said they stopped the vehicle for a traffic violation and quickly learned that Campbell was in violation of the terms of his parole from an unspecified criminal offense. He was placed into custody without incident. Campbell was transported to Grants Pass and lodged at the Josephine County Jail on a no-bail detainer. The Avenger was left in the possession of his passenger, a 23-year-old Cave Junction woman.

 

The Oregon State Police arrested a man for drug and weapon crimes following a driving complaint on Interstate 5 in northern Josephine County last night. According to OSP, state troopers and emergency crews responded to the incident in the northbound lanes of I-5 near milepost 76 on Monday around 7:15 p.m.. Troopers said they arrived on scene and found 45-year-old Patrick Gary Pettit suffering from an unspecified medical episode. They said he is a convicted felon and he was found to be in possession of a gun and narcotics. Pettit was transported by ambulance to Three Rivers Medical Center for an evaluation. He was charged at the hospital with Felon in Possession of a Firearm and a misdemeanor drug crime. He was cited and released to the care of doctors.

 

Grants Pass Police assisted Josephine County Community Corrections with the arrest of a man on an outstanding warrant early yesterday. The Police Department reports officers arrested 47-year-old Damien Demetrius Scissom at a home in the 1,000-block of NW C Street on Monday at 10:27 a.m.. Police said corrections officers were performing a home visit with another resident at that location. They advised GPPD that Scissom was there and he was wanted on a Jackson County warrant for failing to appear in court for Larceny. Scissom was located on the property and placed into custody without incident. He was lodged in jail on the outstanding warrant.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a felon for violating terms of his post-prison supervision after they found him passed out in a vehicle with a gun, ammunition and drugs. The Police Department reports officers arrested 29-year-old Vinnie Dale Shuler near the corner of SW Spruce and Bridge streets on Monday around 4:30 a.m.. Police said they responded to perform a welfare check on a male subject who was sleeping in a parked vehicle with drug paraphernalia in plain view. They woke up the man and directed him out of the vehicle after he locked the glovebox. During a consent search of the vehicle, multiple drug items were located and Shuler admitted to fentanyl use. He was found to be in possession of fentanyl and refused to open the glovebox, so his corrections officer was contacted. The box was searched and a 9-millimeter firearm and ammunition were found and seized. Shuler was confirmed to be a convicted felon prohibited from possessing guns or narcotics. He was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Fentanyl Possession plus the resulting Felony Parole Violation. He was being held on a no-bail detainer.

 

Grants Pass Police incarcerated a man on a statewide felony warrant following an incident at a local supermarket early yesterday. According to the Police Department, officers were performing a patrol check at WinCo Foods on Monday at 4 a.m. when they contacted 36-year-old Adam Joseph Jansen in the parking lot off NE Terry Lane. Police said Jansen was identified near Starbucks after a female in the parking lot of WinCo reported that he followed her to her vehicle. They said he denied following the woman and then proceeded to disclose that he had missed a check-in with his corrections officer. Further investigation revealed that Jansen was wanted on an Oregon State warrant for Parole Violation stemming from a previous conviction for Indecent Exposure. Jansen was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on a no-bail detainer. Jail records show he was also arrested for Parole Violation in February and November of last year.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a motel manager for allegedly becoming violent with a woman who accidentally parked there to have lunch at a nearby restaurant. The Police Department reports officers responded to the disturbance at the Grants Pass Travelodge on NW Vine Street on Sunday afternoon. Police said a woman told them she parked at the Travelodge by accident when she went to the Black Bear Diner to have lunch with a friend. The woman stated she got out of her vehicle and was yelled at by the motel manager to move her vehicle. The woman advised she was yelled at by multiple people at the motel and coffee was thrown at her vehicle. She called the motel to complain not realizing that the motel manager -- 56-year-old Christine Jeanne Bruner -- was also the one who answered the phone. Bruner got her number from caller ID and started calling her and threatening her. While investigating the incident, officers learned that Bruner gave her patrons the woman's phone number and asked them to call her. She also posted the woman's number on Facebook. In one of the calls, the woman was threatened with death. Bruner was arrested and lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Harassment. She was initially held without bail, but was released later in the day.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office arrested a man for allegedly trespassing on a remote property in the Selma area last weekend. According to the Sheriff's Office, deputies responded to a trespassing complaint in the 500-block of Squaw Mountain Road on Sunday at about 5:45 p.m.. Deputies said they received a call regarding a male subject who broke a front door and entered a home without permission. Once inside, the caller advised the man threatened them with his dog and told them he would kill them. Both the caller and her husband were armed, so the intruder left the house and returned to his property. Upon arrival, deputies contacted 71-year-old Jose Antonio Curtis in his driveway. Curtis was placed into custody, transported to Grants Pass and lodged in jail for 1st-Degree Criminal Trespass. He was being held without bail.

 

The Illinois Valley Fire District responded to two flue fire incidents in one day last weekend -- one in Kerby and another near Cave Junction. On Sunday at 6:34 a.m., IVFD crews were dispatched to a reported structure fire in the 100-block of Kerby Mainline Road. Also responding to the incident were Rural Metro Fire Department and American Medical Response. Upon arrival, crews found no visible fire and conducted a thorough investigation. The incident was determined to be a contained flue fire that was successfully put out by firefighters. The fire was limited to the woodstove chimney flue. On Sunday at 9:53 a.m., IVFD responded to a reported flue fire in the 9400-block of Takilma Road. IVFD officials said the fire was contained to the chimney and subsequently extinguished. They said the occupant had started putting out the fire prior to their arrival.