Local News

Grants Pass Police arrested a male transient on a local warrant early yesterday after he was found to be illegally camping near a church on the east side of the city. According to the Police Department, officers responded to a trespassing complaint at Edgewater Christian Fellowship on NE Industry Drive and Assembly Circle on Thursday around 9:15 a.m.. Police said a church employee called 9-1-1 to report 33-year-old Donald Gene Strunk was camping at the site in a green tent and that he had been asked to leave on Wednesday. Officers contacted Strunk and discovered that he was wanted on a Grants Pass warrant for failing to appear in court for 2nd-Degree Criminal Mischief. He was lodged in jail and trespassed from the church property. His belongings were logged into evidence for safekeeping.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a woman on a local warrant after catching her loitering at a recently shuttered restaurant late last night. The Police Department reports officers responded to a trespassing call at a building on NE Agness Avenue that formerly housed Shari's Cafe & Pies on Thursday at 11:35 p.m.. Police said they found 38-year-old Shani Renee Fedosky sitting outside the former restaurant with litter scattered everywhere around her. She was found to be wanted on a Grants Pass warrant for failing to appear in court for Criminal Trespass. During a consent search, Fedosky was found in possession of smoking devices and baggies of a white substance that field-tested positive as methamphetamine. They were seized for destruction. Fedosky was lodged in jail on the warrant plus a new charge of Meth Possession.

 

It wasn't Santa Claus, but Grants Pass Police arrested a man who reportedly looks like Kris Kringle for trespassing at a downtown bank early yesterday. According to the Police Department, officers responded to a trespassing call at First Interstate Bank on SE 6th Street on Thursday at 7:12 a.m.. Police said a caller reported "an older white male who resembles Santa Claus" was sleeping at the front entrance to the bank and he had been trespassed from that area on Wednesday. Responding officers contacted a man they identified as 72-year-old Russell Dewitt Coe and placed him into custody. He was lodged in jail for Criminal Trespass and his belongings were logged into evidence for safekeeping.

 

Grants Pass Police apprehended a man on a California fugitive warrant while investigating the theft of a package off the front porch of a northwest-city home this week. The Police Department reports officers arrested 41-year-old Jeffrey Michael Zink for the incident in the 1500-block of NW Lawnridge Avenue on Wednesday. Police said they contacted Zink when he matched the description of a male subject who stole a package from a residence. Officers obtained video footage from a ring camera which confirmed that he stole the package. He was also found to be wanted on a Siskiyou County felony warrant for Identity Theft, Resisting Arrest and Drug Possession. During a consent search, Zink was found to be in possession of a glass pipe with methamphetamine residue and a small bag containing a white substance that was later determined to be fentanyl. Those items were seized for destruction. Zink was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the extraditable warrant plus new charges of Meth Possession, Fentanyl Possession and 3rd-Degree Theft. The stolen package was returned to its rightful owner.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office jailed a man for multiple crimes while investigating car-clouting incidents in the Cloverlawn area this week. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies arrested 33-year-old Tyler Dewayne Armstrong at the Cloverlawn Market on Wednesday morning. Deputies said they responded to at least one report of a male subject attempting to open car doors while he was walking down Walker Road. They said a female caller told dispatchers the man came onto her property and tried to open her car doors. After contacting Armstrong at the neighborhood market, deputies determined he was wanted in connection with a recent burglary incident in which a mini bike was stolen. Deputies located the stolen pit bike and discovered that approximately $500 in damage was done after the suspect removed some vital components. The owner of the mini bike was contacted to come retrieve their vehicle. Armstrong was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle, 1st-Degree Burglary, 1st-Degree Theft and two counts of 2nd-Degree Criminal Trespass. He was being held without bail.

 

The Oregon State Police arrested a Grants Pass man for extreme impaired driving early yesterday following a traffic stop in the south part of the city. According to OSP, troopers pulled over a Toyota Tacoma driven by a 34-year-old male subject near the intersection of Williams Highway and Union Avenue on Thursday at 12:18 am.. Troopers said they stopped the pickup for a traffic violation and the driver showed strong signs of impairment by alcohol. They said he performed poorly in sobriety tests and provided a breath sample that was more than three times the legal driving limit. The suspect was charged with Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants and Reckless Driving. He was cited and released at the Sobering Center, but his truck was impounded.

 

The Jackson County Sheriff's Office rescued some dirt bike riders who became lost and stranded on John's Peak near Jacksonville last weekend. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies received an Emergency Communications of Southern Oregon dispatch alert about the lost dirt bikers on Sunday night. Due to the inclement weather and trail difficulty, the riders became lost and one of their dirt bikes broke down. The riders advised dispatchers that they were not dressed for the weather, had no food or water, and their cell phone batteries were dying. A Jackson County Sheriff's Office Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) deputy with knowledge of the John's Peak area responded and quickly located the subjects. They were cold and wet, but otherwise unharmed. The deputy drove them to a patrol car at the Pair-a-Dice Ranch Road staging area where they received a ride back to their family. The dirt bikes were recovered from the trail the following day. The Sheriff's Office works closely with the Motorcycle Riders Association (MRA) and regularly patrols the 1,200 acres of OHV trails in the John's Peak area.

 

A Rural Metro firefighter and "Harley" the dog were reunited this week for the exact same reason they met at the end of November. Around midday Wednesday, Rural Metro Firefighter Elzy responded to a report of a dog stuck in the Applegate River in the New Hope area. Having not learned from his previous mishap, Harley once again found himself stranded on an island in the cold river off Fish Hatchery Road. The dog's owner called in another favor from Rural Metro after his pet become too weak and cold to attempt to swim back across the swift river channel. After being picked up and carried across the river by his favorite firefighter, Harley was once again returned to his owner. The dog was counseled about finding other ways to seek attention in the future.

 

The Grants Pass Police Department joined Santa Claus, the Josephine County Sheriff's Office, Grants Pass Fire & Rescue and Rogue River Police Department this week in assisting CASA with its "Giving Tree Project." Flashing lights and Santa could be seen Wednesday afternoon as the caravan moved between Grants Pass business locations, collecting generous donations at the Giving Tree sites. GPPD has made this project an annual tradition of helping the deserving CASA organization. The mission of the Court Appointed Special Advocates is to provide specially-trained volunteers to advocate for abused and neglected children in the pursuit of safe and permanent homes. CASA of Josephine County -- founded in 1984 -- is a nonprofit organization responsible for recruiting, training and supporting the work of CASA volunteers. CASA volunteers donate their time to act as independent eyes and ears of the court and speak solely for the best interests of children and youth in the custody of the Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS). Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, with a special "Thank You" for those who have given to the CASA organization!