Local News

Grants Pass Police officers arrested a man after a theft complaint at a local convenience store early this morning.

Officers arrived at Pinnacle 365 at 1044 NW 6th Street after a call from an employee who had the suspect held down.

The suspect, identified as Cristopher Lokken, had attempted to steal three Twix bars from the store. After being contacted by law enforcement, Lokken was found to have extraditable warrants out of Douglas and Lincoln County.

The worker requested Lokken be trespassed from the store, but didn't press charges. Officers lodged Lokken in the Josephine County Jail on his warrants which included charges of reckless burning, Second Degree Trespass, and Third Degree Theft.

 

Josephine County Sheriff's Office deputies received a call about a burglary in progress Tuesday morning.

The caller reported shortly after 4 a.m. that the suspect and another male stole items valued at over $100 out of two storage units at American Storage, 5017 Williams Highway. The two then cut a hole in the fence causing over $200 in damage and headed towards the Murphy area.

Officers heard back from the caller two hours later saying one suspect returned, and the caller's husband had him detained. Officers arrived, contacted Justin Stephens, and lodged him in the Josephine County Jail.

Stephens was charged with two counts of Second Degree Trespass, three counts of Second Degree Criminal Trespass, two counts of Second Degree Burglary, Possession of a Burglary Tool, Unlawful Use of a Weapon, and Menacing.

 

A new affordable housing community, the first in Josephine County specifically designed to serve veterans, will break ground in Grants Pass Thursday.

Known as Hillcrest Village, the community will provide 36 units of affordable housing. All of them will be veteran-preferred, but a minimum of 18 will be set aside specifically for veterans.

The project comes from the Mid Rogue Foundation, with Home First Development serving as a consultant on the project. The groundbreaking ceremony will take place tomorrow at 2 p.m. at 952 N.E. Hillcrest Drive. Construction should be completed in late 2026.

The new community will feature one- and two-bedroom units in three buildings, plus a separate community services building. Units will include in-unit washers and dryers, air conditioning, luxury vinyl plank flooring, quartz countertops and efficient fixtures.

Funding for the project comes from Oregon Housing and Community Services, People’s Bank, AllCare Health, the Carpenter Foundation, Four Way Community Foundation and American Rescue Plan Act funds issued by Josephine County.

In a separate project, the city of Grants Pass provided funding to bring water and sewer infrastructure to the site, helping to make the development possible.

 

The Wolf Creek Rural Fire Protection District responded to two separate fires yesterday, the latter of which involved one fatality. At 5:21 p.m. Tuesday, WCRFPD was dispatched to a reported structure fire in the 100 block of Main St. in Wolf Creek. Upon arrival, smoke was showing from the eave. With the assistance of Rural Metro Fire Department, the fire was extinguished and overhauled. ODF Southwest Oregon District, and the Glendale Rural Fire Department also assisted. One victim was pulled from the structure, treated by American Medical Response, and then transported to Three Rivers Medical Center. The fire is under investigation. At 8:42 p.m., while still on scene of the structure fire, WCRFPD was dispatched to a reported grass fire in the 2700 block of Speaker Rd. Upon arrival, a fully involved vehicle was found on its side in a drainage ditch with approximately 1/10 of an acre of wildland in flames.

 

A drunken disturbance resulted in the arrest of a suspect for assault, according to the Josephine County Sheriff's Office.

Officers were notified of the disturbance at 14,171 Williams Highway after receiving a call regarding a man that was punched.

All parties were still on scene and appeared to be intoxicated when officers arrived. The suspect was yelling until officers contacted him. He was arrested and lodged in the Josephine County Jail for Fourth Degree Assault, and two counts of Disorderly Conduct.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's office were notified of a vehicle hijacking victim Tuesday afternoon.

Officers received a call from Rogue Regional Medical Center. They had a male patient who stated he was involved in a car hijacking involving a gun. Officers learned the incident occurred around 8 p.m. Monday on Upper River Road and Pinecrest Drive.

The victim had scratches on their face, and stated he lost consciousness and his throat may have been grabbed. Doctors took a CT scan of his skull and spine. The victim wasn't sure if, during the incident, the suspect's gun was ever discharged.

Officers were able to track down and contact the suspect, Randy Adkins. He was charged for Felony Hit and Run, and lodged at the Josephine County Jail.

 

Josephine County Commissioner Chris Barnett will receive $100,000 from online publisher John Oliver Riccio after a court judgement.

The Daily Courier reports the Josephine County judge signed the ruling for the payment plus 9% interest for each year the debt isn't paid.

The ruling also awards attorney fees and costs to Barnett and dismisses the libel, false publication, and tortious interference case he filed against Riccio.

According to a written complaint from Barnett and his lawyer, they say Riccio uses his news site "to smear political candidates that he does not like. Riccio is targeting Barnett with a stream of lies that he makes up and publishes on his website."

Barnett said the lawsuit hasn't been about the money, but defending his reputation. In the Courier's attempt to contact Riccio about the judge's final decision in the case, he said, "No comment."

 

TheThe Josephine County Commissioners will further discuss proposed fee changes for multiple departments after Tuesday's workshop. The finance department presented a list of six departments with fee changes effective January 1st. The departments include Public Works, Surveyor, Recreation, Animal Shelter, Public Health, and the Board of County Commissioners. The board postponed deciding on the Human Resources resolution to refer unused sick hours to the Oregon Public Employees Retirement System until the Weekly Business Session. They also tabled the District Attorney's non-competitive grant and the Sheriff's request for approval of auction forfeited items pending further explanation. The commissioners did approve the Sheriff's Department's Bureau of Land Management memorandum of understanding, as well as the US Marshal Service memo modification.

 

The Josephine County Commissioners covered the potential library lease and Dimmick Campus during their workshop's Legal Counsel Update. Wally Hicks confirmed rent for the library would be at $27,687. Commissioner Andreas Blech recommended extending the current lease, while Commissioner Ron Smith didn't want to move forward until the Library was able to see the new draft and respond. Commissioner Blech said he would be willing to go with a 90 day termination clause if the library would consider a concession as well, and the board agreed to further discuss the lease during next Tuesday's meeting. With the Dimmick Campus being on the market for a year with zero offers, the commissioners considered a price change dropping from the current $3.25 million to about 10% less. A motion was made to approve the price change at $2.925 million with a 6 month extension and land sell contract option. It passed unanimously.