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Tales from the Rural Patrol

(Editor’s note: Factual information for ‘Tales’ is provided by the Josephine County Sheriff’s Office. All persons listed are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Charges can be amended or dismissed.)


Friday, July 1
*A guy rented a John Deere tractor, backhoe, tiller, box-scraper and brush hog June 8, with a return date of June 28. The renter’s address was Jacksonville, but his job site was within five miles of Cave Junction. The renter texted the tractor’s owner that the trailer had been impounded in Ashland. Josephine County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO) advised that this was a civil matter and provided him with options.
*A gal sent a photographer to her property in the 500 block of Waldo Road at 12:32 p.m., but trespassers there did not paint a pretty picture. There was lots of garbage, a gate with no hinges and a disassembled abandoned vehicle.
*Swastika stickers were placed on doors and windows at Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the 200 block of S. Junction Avenue June 30 after 9 p.m.
*A hiker and his four dogs were rescued after they slid down a ravine near Illinois River Road at 7:45 p.m.

Saturday, July 2
*At 12:36 a.m. a fellow contacted Grants Pass Department of Public Safety (GPDPS) from the 100 block of S. Redwood Hwy. When asked if he had used drugs or alcohol, he answered “Yes and no” but would not clarify. The kook on the loose rambled on about being shot with a laser, and he wanted to talk to the ‘lawmen’ about shining their lights in his eyes at night. He eventually left in a black 2003 Nissan Frontier pickup truck.
*A scruffy barefoot thief with a small brown dog broke a glass door and entered Shop Smart in the 200 block of W. Watkins Street at 2:32 a.m.
*Nathaniel Wagner had warrants from JCSO when he was arrested near the 100 block of S. Redwood Hwy. Wagner was charged with failure to appear (FTA) for unlawful possession of meth and heroin, and second-degree criminal trespass. He was released and cited to appear at Josephine County Circuit Court (JCCC) Aug. 4.
*A guy’s finger wasn’t loaded when he pointed it at a gal in the 200 block of Prottsman Way at 2:37 p.m. Therefore, his threats were not criminal, but she still felt menaced due to his past behavior.
*Timothy Davis was wanted by JCSO for FTA for first-degree criminal mischief and third-degree theft. Davis was apprehended in the 200 block of W. Watkins Street, then cited and released to appear at JCCC Aug. 4.
*At 11:44 p.m. clowns drove a tan 1986 Toyota SR5 pickup truck through a yard in the 100 block of Ollis Road, only to get tangled in barbed wire fence. The thieves ditched the stolen truck before law enforcement arrived.

Sunday, July 3
*Six bullet holes and a bullet were found on property in the 1300 block of Lakeshore Drive at 1:58 p.m. A resident in the 900 block of Deer Creek Road admitted he was shooting a rifle and pistol, so he was admonished and advised regarding safe gun operations, including placing a berm as a backstop. (Instead of the neighbors’ trees and outbuildings.)

Monday, July 4
*A banner promoting Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) was taken from Ray’s Food Place in the 100 block of Deer Creek Road between 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. July 3.
*A disorderly fellow in a white shirt was freaking out and foaming at the mouth at 2:45 p.m. in the 300 block of S. Redwood Hwy.
*A gal regretted picking up a shaggy blond hitchhiker when he refused to get out of her brown Chevy SUV at 4:41 p.m. in the 400 block of S. Redwood Hwy.
*A witness noticed a gal wrapped in a shower curtain when she climbed under a fence in the 200 block of S. Caves Avenue at 4:57 p.m. At 8:21 p.m. she left the property, clothed and eating food from a box.
Tuesday, July 5
*Angelique Aundrea Maria Miller was contacted in the 200 block of W. Lister Street at 10:01 a.m. Miller had a misdemeanor warrant from JCSO for FTA for driving under the influence of intoxicants (DUII). She was cited to appear at JCCC July 7. Two juveniles were released and cited to appear at Juvenile Justice Center Aug. 8 for third-degree assault.
*A paranoid person in the 100 block of Sanger Lane thought that mean baby mommas and their boyfriends cut the ball joints on his and his sister’s vehicles. He discussed another time when he purchased a vehicle and the wheel fell off, and he believes they tried to commit vehicular homicide on him.
*Illinois Valley Safe House Alliance notified JCSO that a repeat offender returned on June 17 or 18. The unwelcome visitor left dirty underwear, notes and garbage. A report was filed for second-degree criminal trespass and third-degree criminal mischief.
*Kelly Byrdice King was taken into custody near the 300 block of Schumacher Street at 1:44 p.m. King had a misdemeanor warrant from GPDPS for FTA for second-degree trespass, and JCSO wanted her for second-degree theft. King was released and cited to appear at JCCC July 27 for both warrants.
*At 6:51 p.m. a gal in the 1300 block of Lakeshore Drive reported a bullet hole in the driver-side door of her silver-colored 2019 Toyota Corolla.

Wednesday, July 6
*At 8:25 a.m. a guy notified JCSO that he found his skid steer and was on his way to collect it near Pugetville Road and Hathaway Drive. He was afraid that a feisty gal might pull a gun on him, so he was advised to not cause a disturbance in this civil matter. (Lesson: Steer clear when a marriage is on the skids.)

*A barefoot, middle-aged gal wearing a blue ‘Papas’ tank top and no pants was flashing folks near Western Plaza at 9 a.m. She left in a gold-colored Toyota Camry, then reappeared screaming in the 24300 block of Redwood Hwy. at 10:16 a.m.
*Michael James Clarke Harford was detained in JCJ following his arrest in the 200 block of W. Watkins Street at 11:17 a.m. Harford had a misdemeanor warrant from Douglas County Sheriff’s Office for FTA for third-degree escape and interfering with a peace officer.
*A woman in a blue dress and tennis shoes was running near Redwood Hwy. and Rockydale Road at 11:24 a.m. She yelled that she was being chased out of town, but a witness claimed there was no one after her.
*At 1:51 p.m. a chap phoned from Texas and claimed that there was a bill in his name for several hundred dollars from a store in the 400 block of Aquarius Way. It must have dawned on him what it was for because he disconnected the call.
Thursday, July 7
*A fellow with a warrant was asleep in a red Subaru near Kerby Mainline and Redwood Hwy. at 4:03 a.m. A chase began when law enforcement arrived at 11:34 a.m., but the fugitive was still on the loose at 12:46 p.m.
*An employee took a keyboard and light away from a would-be thief in the 100 block of S. Redwood Hwy. at 7:20 p.m.
*A burglary suspect was apprehended near Finch Road at 10:25 p.m. Sean MacDowell was charged with second-degree burglary, second-degree trespass, second-degree criminal mischief, and third-degree theft. MacDowell also had a warrant from Jackson County Sheriff’s Office for FTA for violation of probation on an original charge of DUII. MacDowell was detained in JCJ.
Friday, July 8
*Sabrielle Curry was taken into custody near Caves Hwy. and Caves Avenue at 12:59 a.m. Curry was charged with DUII and reckless driving and detained in JCJ.
*Surveillance footage documented a frequent offender who shoplifted from a store in the 300 block of S. Redwood Hwy. on June 28 at 11:45 a.m. A report was filed for third-degree theft.
*An unlicensed driver crashed into a tree in the 100 block of Hogue Drive at 12:33 p.m. The uninjured motorist veered off-road when she tried to close the sunroof in a 2000 Honda Accord.
*On July 8, four bags of recycled cans were taken from property in the 100 block of N. Junction Avenue.
*Ronald Eugene Keyser was detained in JCJ following his arrest at 6:28 p.m. near Illinois River Road. Keyser had misdemeanor warrants from Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and Medford Police Department for failure to register as a sex offender. Keyser was also charged with possession of pyrotechnics where prohibited.
*At 3 p.m. a customer realized her items were taken from a dryer at Brown Barn Laundry in the 100 block of S. Hussey Avenue. A fellow with extremely long dreadlocks returned her colorful t-shirts, pajama pants, leggings, and underwear by 5:27 p.m. (Wrong size?)