Local News

The Josephine County Board of Commissioners this morning approved the sale of two properties and an annexation into the local library district. The Board voted unanimously in favor of an order that confirmed the Sheriff's Property Sale of July 17th, accepted the Sheriff's Return of Sale, accepted the Sheriff's Certificate of Sale and Authorized the Distribution of Sale Proceeds. Assistant Legal Counsel Stephanie Nutall testified two county-owned parcels were sold including a property on Grave Creek Road for $214,000 and another unnamed property for about $150,000. She said proceeds from the first sale will go to the Forestry Reserve account minus administrative fees. The second purchase was made with a land sale contract, with the proceeds to be collected over time. Property Manager Helene Lulich testified that both properties were property tax foreclosures that had gone through the six-year foreclosure process. She said 11 remaining county-owned properties will be sold at a future Sheriff's auction. All three Commissioners voted in favor of annexing a 40-acre property into the Josephine Community Library District. Former County Assessor Connie Roach represented the district during the public hearing. There was no public comment. During Requests and Comments from Citizens, the Board heard from a citizen who complained about public education indoctrinating students to a socialistic agenda, a Williams resident who urged them to complete the Pipe Fork Sale, a man who is concerned about local homelessness, and two complaints about the Fire Hazard Map proposed by the Oregon Department of Forestry.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office jailed a man who led law enforcement on a high-speed pursuit through the Illinois Valley before crashing the stolen vehicle he was driving into a power pole, knocking out electrical service to several residents. The Sheriff's Office did not report the incident in its daily log, but jail records show a 39-year-old man identified as "Victor Ryan Taber" was booked today at 1:50 a.m.. Trusted sources report deputies spotted a stolen vehicle and started a pursuit, but the driver refused to yield while leading them on a high-speed chase that ended when the vehicle crashed into a power pole. There were no injuries reported, but a widespread outage occurred due to the crash. No other information was available. The suspect identified as "Taber" was placed into custody and transported to the Josephine County Jail where he was lodged for crimes including Felony Attempt to Elude Police, Felony 1st-Degree Criminal Mischief, Reckless Driving, Recklessly Endangering a Highway Worker, Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle and 2nd-Degree Criminal Mischief. He was being held without bail.

 

Two men camping on Bureau of Land Management property in Josephine County were arrested yesterday for vandalizing the land and one of them was also arrested on a statewide felony warrant. The Josephine County Sheriff's Office reports deputies contacted several people -- including the two arrestees -- on the BLM property in an undisclosed area on Tuesday morning. Deputies said they initially detained three people at gunpoint while investigating the illegal campsite. Two of the three were arrested -- a 43-year-old male subject and a 40-year-old male subject. Both were charged with Felony 1st-Degree Criminal Mischief and Offensive Littering after being placed into custody. A routine records check revealed that the 43-year-old man was also wanted on an Oregon State warrant for Parole Violation related to a conviction for Delivery of Methamphetamine. He was also charged with Escape and Interfering with a Police Officer. Ammunition was found at the campsite, but a firearm was not located. Both suspects were transported to Grants Pass and lodged at the Josephine County Jail. The older man was being held on a no-bail detainer.

 

Due to technical issues, the Grants Pass Police Department did not publish a daily log today. However, arrests made by the agency on Tuesday were documented by the Josephine County Jail. According to jail records, GPPD arrested a 39-year-old man for Felon in Possession of a Restricted Weapon, Resisting Arrest and Criminal Trespass. Grants Pass Police also arrested a 47-year-old man for 3rd-Degree Theft and a 22-year-old man for Criminal Trespass. Three arrests by the Josephine County Sheriff's Office yesterday were not included in its daily log, but once again documented through jail records. A 61-year-old man was arrested for Felony Identity Theft, a 57-year-old man was arrested for 3rd-Degree Theft and a 44-year-old woman was arrested for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants.

 

The Oregon State Police arrested a motorist for two traffic violations last night. Few details about the incident were released by OSP, but their desk log showed the unidentified driver of a Subaru was pulled over by troopers in an unnamed location on Tuesday at 10:30 p.m.. Troopers said they stopped the vehicle for a traffic violation, and quickly learned the motorist's driving privileges had been suspended and they were driving without insurance. According to OSP, the driver was cited to appear in court and then released, but their vehicle was impounded.

 

Firefighters quickly extinguished a small vehicle fire on Redwood Highway in Cave Junction this week. On Monday afternoon, the Illinois Valley Fire District and Oregon Department of Forestry responded to the incident in the 28,100-block of US Highway 199. IVFD officials said arriving units found a Ziply Fiber vehicle that was smoking. The fire was put out without any extension to the rest of the vehicle or nearby properties. There were no injuries reported and the damaged vehicle was hauled away by Jerry's Towing.

 

The Southern Oregon Child Exploitation Team (SOCET) task force served a search warrant on a Talent apartment yesterday after discovering images of child exploitation were uploaded from that address. SOCET served the warrant on Monday shortly after 7 a.m. at an apartment complex in the 500-block of Talent Avenue. Detectives interviewed possible witnesses and involved parties, and the investigation is ongoing. SOCET began its investigation after receiving a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children which led to subpoenas followed by the search warrant at the apartment. The Talent Police Department and Jackson County District Attorney's Office assisted with the warrant service. SOCET was also assisted by the Jackson County Sheriff's Office, Medford Police Department and Southern Oregon High Tech Crimes Task Force. During the search, investigators seized digital devices which will be forensically examined for further evidence of child exploitation. So far, no arrests have been made. SOCET is a joint interagency task force that started in June 2020 to combat local child exploitation. The task force consists of investigators from the Jackson County Sheriff's Office and US Homeland Security Investigations as well as prosecutors from local, state and federal law enforcement in Jackson and Josephine counties.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office jailed a Sunny Valley man this week for threatening a Ready Ride driver with a gun. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies arrested the 45-year-old male subject in the 700-block of Placer Road on Monday. Deputies said a Ready Ride driver was following his navigation system to pick up a client when it took him to the wrong driveway. The driver was confronted by a resident who knocked on his window and complained about him driving too fast. The driver locked the doors and the man kept yelling at him. As the driver began to pull away, the man pulled out a gun and pointed it at his head. The entire incident was recorded on the vehicle's camera. Upon arrival, deputies reviewed the camera footage and the suspect was placed into custody after admitting to the incident. He was transported to Grants Pass and lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Unlawful Use of a Weapon and Menacing.

 

The Oregon State Police arrested a Grants Pass felon who fled from an attempted traffic stop on Redwood Highway in the Illinois Valley this week. OSP reports troopers tried to stop a Honda Civic driven by a 36-year-old male subject near milepost 32 of US Highway 199 on Monday morning. Troopers said they observed the subject from a prior eluding incident and tried to pull him over. The man immediately crashed his car on the shoulder, bailed out and fled from the vehicle on foot. A foot pursuit was initiated and the man was apprehended without further incident. According to OSP, a criminal amount of methamphetamine and a hand-held Taser were found in the suspect's possession. The drugs and weapon were seized. The suspect was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Attempt to Elude Police and the resulting Felony Parole Violation. Charges of Felon in Possession of a Weapon and Possession of Meth were referred to the District Attorney's Office for consideration. He was being held without bail and his car was impounded.