(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.)
May 24
*A citation was given to Jesse A. Wilda Specht for driving while suspended near the 7000 block of Redwood Highway when he was right in front of a police officer. It is unknown why he was pulled over, but they knew. Oh yes, they knew.
*Michell Wagerle was caught going 81 in a 45mph zone in the 100 block of E. Interlake Rd.
*Zacharia Travis Jones was also cited for speeding at Redwood Hwy and Helms Rd.
*An unprepared driver was warned for driving without registration, no front license plate, and no insurance in Merlin.
*At the 1200 block of Merlin Road, another driver was caught speeding with no insurance, and driving while suspended.
*Okay, this is getting ridiculous, but yet another driver was popped on Galice Rd. for driving while suspended, no insurance, and failure to install an ignition interlock device, AKA a “blow and go.” Be careful out there, folks, they are paying attention, so pay your fees.
May 25
*Rogue River Ave. and SW Laurel, Mark E. McPhilomy went too fast and was caught uninsured.
*On River St., a mother reported her intoxicated 39-year-old son for harassing her, refusing to leave her property, falling into lamps and other random objects, and generally “messing with her.” Respect your mothers!
*A spray-painted vehicle (nothing suspicious about that) was pulled over and the driver was warned for failure to renew registration and driving while suspended.
*The driver of a silver Dodge truck was warned about driving while suspended on Merlin Rd.
*A woman was worried that she was “being tracked like an animal” by another female who was found in a car in front of the caller’s “no trespassing” sign. The subject, Linda Mullens, admitted that she knew she was doing wrong and that she had used methamphetamine earlier in the day. Her reason for entering the vehicle, which presumably was not hers, was that she was feeling electric shocks in her body. She was arrested on charges of criminal trespass.
May 26
*Kevin Huerta got nabbed on Lower River Rd. for careless driving in his silver Audi. He was taken into custody and his case will be sent to the Jackson County Circuit Court.
*Meranda Burkeen shouldn’t have been using her cell phone while driving and ultimately was caught doing just that.
*A man called 911 to report that his neighbor had hit him in the face, which two females witnessed, but stayed anonymous in fear of retaliation. Randy Rose did not come up smelling like a rose after being arrested on assault charges.
*An unnamed WMA (white male adult) in his 60s was arrested after his neighbor, who did not know him, called to report that the man had a pistol in each hand, along with a small dog, and was on their property. How he was able hold the dog in addition to the pistols is unclear at this time. He was booked on charges of menacing, felon in possession of firearms, bias criminal, unlawful use of a weapon, and trespassing.
May 28
*A person was pulled over near the 4000 block of Granite Hill leading to a firearm being seized, several federal citations issued, a felon in possession charge, no driver’s license, no registration, and being flagged as carrying a concealed weapon. Somehow, this unnamed person was only issued citations.
*Ryan Jantz was arrested after reports of a man yelling near Monument Dr. and California Ave. were received. He was charged with criminal mischief, criminal trespass, and offensive littering. Give a hoot, don’t pollute! If you are going to pollute, don’t hoot so loud, it just attracts attention.
May 29
*On Southside Rd. a driver was cited for driving while suspended, failure to renew registration, and failure to use a turn signal.
May 29
-Why did the sovereign citizen cross the road?
-It’s none of your business! Am I being detained??
*Brandon William Measel caused quite the fever when he was arrested on multiple charges including a felony warrant, assault x2, unlawful use of a weapon x2, domestic violence, robbery, menacing x2, unlawful use of a motor vehicle, criminal mischief, and a felon in possession of a restricted weapon. It all started after Measel went to a person’s home asking for a ride, but left on foot when denied. The reporting person then said that a weed eater was missing, so they then found and confronted Measel with a baton, but Measel then raised his own baton in the form of a metal water bottle, and told the man, “We can fight, or I can take you to where your weed eater is!” The complainant agreed, and they left in a car together. Shockingly, Weasel turned on the man, punching him several times, forcing him to stop the car in the opposite lane of traffic. The perp then seized the baton as he tried to exit the car, striking the victim multiple times causing significant cuts to their face and breaking a rearview mirror. Yet a THIRD person was driving by, witnessing the assault, stopped to help, and called 911 to report that “a man was trying to steal a car, revving the engine, and trying to get it into gear.” (Who doesn’t know how to drive a stick shift?) Measel then struck both the victim and the good Samaritan several times with the baton. Ultimately, the good Sam award goes to the passerby, who overtook the baton and gave Brandon Measel a taste of his own medicine, sending him to the hospital with minor injuries, and a ride to stay at the glamorous Josephine County Jail. I think there’s a vaccine for that!
*A confused elderly driver in an old Ford pickup truck was thankfully not injured after crashing and causing accidental property damage. He was cited for driving while suspended and released to family.
May 30
*Richard Leon McQueary shot the tires out of his ex’s car while their child was in his vehicle on Sunny Glen and Green Leaf Way. DHS was contacted, and McQueary was arrested on charges of domestic violence/menacing, domestic violence/assault, coercion, reckless endangerment x2, unlawful use of a weapon, and additional menacing charges.
May 31
*A Ford Ranger was towed after Jacob McAlister was cited for driving while uninsured, failure to renew, and no front license plate on Monument Drive.
*A man and a woman were wrestling over a lighter after the man was attempting to “burn a yard.” The phone was on the ground, but the woman could be heard yelling that she had the male restrained until he gave up the lighter. Joseph Gilliland was arrested and taken to the county jail on charges of menacing and reckless endangering. Gilliland said he would wait to burn the yard until tomorrow while she’s gone. Hopefully, he cooled down after a stay in a jail cell, it’s almost fire season!
*The driver of a blue Chevy, whose name is Kaneon Parker, initially told an officer that his first name was Edward during an unknown police encounter. “Edward” will now be added as an “AKA.”
June 1
*After attempting to hide in the creek behind Bigfoot Printing, Jeffrey Bryant was transported to the JoCo jail on charges of failure to appear on two counts of animal neglect and two counts of animal abandonment. Officers were advised not to cite and release Bryant due to overcrowding, as they had a warrant for his arrest in hand.
*A U-Haul van was pulled over for going 95 in a 65mph zone. Jeshua Ruelas Salazar was cited and released.
*A motorcycle operator identified as only “Mazza” was stopped by a sheriff due to having no rear license plate. He stated that he had just traded a vehicle for the street bike, and had no registration or insurance, nor did he have a valid driver’s license, and also believed his license was suspended. He was suspended (again?) and cited to appear at the Josephine County Circuit Court.
*A “slow rolling vehicle” with Washington plates was “nosed in” by officers at Redwood Highway and Midway Avenue. Patrick Keever was taken into custody, cited and released for driving while suspended, and warned for improper display of a license plate, as well as no proof of insurance. His friend came to pick up the vehicle, and maybe Keever, too.
June 2
*Michael Johnston was detained on charges of trespass and harassment after calling to state that he had been fighting with three customers in the 200 block of Redwood Highway in Cave Junction, and was bleeding from the nose. He was the only one out of the four to be arrested.
No reports were made on June 3.
June 4
*Monica Campbell was served a restraining order to move out of a residence on Tuesday, but released after detainment. The original warrant against Campbell was for charges of theft.
*A man says that his grandson pulled a knife on him and threatened to kill him. Out of fear for his life, the man drove to a nearby store on Demaray, advising officers that his grandson was a meth user. Subsequently, Ronald Federico, Jr. was booked on charges of menacing, harassment, and unlawful use of a weapon.
June 5
*A driver of a blue Mazda initially told a deputy that her insurance had expired in January of this year, but it turned out that it had actually expired in June of 2023. Angelica C. Boke was scheduled to appear at the Circuit Court on the citation.
June 6
*Myles Kennedy was cited for speeding in his blue Subaru.
*Adrienne Harris-Goode was cited and released after being found with no insurance, improper registration display, and warned for speeding in her Honda Accord.