The latest news stories of interest in the Rogue Valley and around the state of Oregon from the digital home of Southern Oregon, Wynne Broadcasting’s RogueValleyMagazine.com
Friday, May 6, 2022
Rogue Valley Weather
Two Arrested in Rogue Valley Mall Carnival Shooting
On May 5, 2022, detectives arrested two suspects for their involvement in the shooting from April 23rd, 2022, at the Rogue Valley Mall. Isael Telles-Cortes, 18, and Braulio Chavarin-Regalado, 20, have been charged with Attempted Murder, Assault in the 1st Degree, and Riot. Both are in custody at the Jackson County Jail, bail $207,500.
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On April 24th, approximately 14 hours after the shooting, Isael Telles-Cortes arrived at a local hospital with a gunshot wound to his hand. The wound was treated and he was released to detectives, who lodged him on an unrelated juvenile warrant. He remained in custody until today, when he was transported from the Jackson County Juvenile Detention Center to the Jackson County Jail, on the above listed charges.
The investigation revealed that Telles-Cortes was in a fist fight with the juvenile victim, and after the fight, Chavarin-Regalado provided Telles-Cortes with a handgun who immediately shot the victim several times. During the shooting, it is believed Telles-Cortes shot himself in the hand.
On May 5th, 2022, detectives and officers executed two search warrants, in the 700 block of Narragan Street, and the 800 block of Palm Street, which are the residences of the listed suspects. Chavarin-Regalado was arrested at his residence on Narragen Street without incident. Evidence was recovered from both scenes.
The victim remains in the hospital in good condition.
Due to the amount of individuals involved in the altercation, the investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact our Detective Division, 541-774-2230.
Original press release:
On 042322 at approximately 2221 hours Medford Police Officers were dispatched to the Rogue Valley Mall for a report of a disturbance in which shots had reportedly been fired. Multiple vehicles were seen fleeing the scene as Officers arrived in the area. Multiple spent shell casings were located in the parking lot to the East of Bed, Bath and Beyond. Officers conducted a safety check of the area ensuring there weren’t any potential victims needing medical attention and began taking statements from multiple witnesses who were still on scene. A short time later a male subject was reportedly dropped off at one of Medford’s local hospitals with multiple gunshot wounds. At this time the subject is still being treated for his wounds. Detectives and other investigative assets have been called in as this case is still under investigation. Medford Police Dept.
Deceased Male Recovered from Rogue River in Grants Pass
This morning at 9:16 am, Grants Pass Police and Grants Pass Fire Rescue responded to Reinhart Volunteer Park regarding the report of a body floating in the Rogue River.
A short time later units recovered the deceased body of a 63-year-old Grants Pass male just upstream from the pedestrian bridge.
Grants Pass Detectives responded to the scene and found no signs of foul play. The family of the deceased has been notified.
The Grants Pass Police Department would like to thank the citizens who assisted with this investigation.
If anyone has further information regarding this investigation, they are encouraged to contact the police department at 541-450-6260. Grants Pass Police Department
Structure Fire in the Illinois Valley – 05/05/2022 Press Release
5/5/2022, Call time 1424 hours, IVFD responde to a structure fire at 3 North Old Stage Road.
Arriving units found a single story structure with heavy smoke showing from the attic area. The structure received heavy structural damage and heavy smoke damage. North Old Stage was shut down while the scene was active.
There were no injuries and all occupants are accounted for. The fire was quickly contained. Units on scene were IVFD, Josephine County Sheriff’s, AMR, PP& L and a unit from Rural Metro Fire also responded to the scene then staged at IVFD Station Two to cover district. Grants Pass Fire & Rescue also moved up to cover the fire district.
Fire has been mopped up and an ongoing investigation. Illinois Valley Fire District
Second Structure Fire in the Illinois Valley 5/5/2021
5/5/2022. Call time 2002 hours. Third alarm structure fire in Selma, (old Selma School) arriving units found heavy fire and smoke at the south side in the middle, of the commercial structure, not the auditorium part. Fire crews are on scene putting the fire out.
There will major traffic congestion most of the night. 199 is open but slowed. More information to follow.
Units on scene, IVFD, Rural Metro Fire, Grants Pass Fire & Rescue with Applegate FPD, and Williams FPD covering as well. Illinois Valley Fire District
Targeted Pedestrian Operation in Medford Today
On Friday, May 6th, 2022 from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM, the Medford Police Department and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office will be conducting a joint “Targeted Pedestrian Safety Enforcement Operation” on E Jackson Street at Olwell Road. The operation will focus on drivers failing to yield the right of way to pedestrians in the crosswalk. It is important to know this is an unmarked crosswalk in a school zone adjacent to Hedrick Middle School where speeds are posted 20 MPH. Fine amounts double for traffic violations that occur within a school zone.
These operations are to raise pedestrian safety awareness through enforcement of pedestrian right of way laws with the use of a decoy pedestrian operation at targeted locations. Violators may be cited for failure to stop and remain stopped for a pedestrian in a marked or unmarked crosswalk or passing a stopped vehicle at a marked or unmarked crosswalk. Both violations carry a presumptive fine of $265.00. Drivers should be reminded there is a crosswalk at every intersection, regardless if it is marked or unmarked.
Drivers are reminded of the Oregon laws that require a driver must stop and remain stopped if a pedestrian is walking in your lane of traffic or the lane adjacent, remembering this applies on single and multi-lane roadways. Oregon law also prohibits passing a stopped vehicle at a marked or unmarked crosswalk at an intersection if the vehicle is stopped to permit a pedestrian to cross the roadway. Medford Police Dept.
We want to keep you informed about COVID-19 in Oregon. Data are provisional and change frequently. For more information, including COVID-19 data by county, visit our dashboard: http://ow.ly/yACL50J0K0N
Oregon DMV Offices Short Staffed
Oregon’s DMV has been hard hit by a lack of workers, leading to long lines in urban offices and closures in some smaller towns, including Lakeview. Madras and Prineville have also had closures during business days.
ODOT’s David House says the DMV is recovered from pandemic slow-downs but now faces another setback in its effort to return to normal operations House says 20% of the positions at DMV field offices remain unfilled, statewide.
Lakeview reported their DMW offices closed three days last week. Prineville’s DMV was closed Tuesday and Madras shut down for the day on Wednesday. Coquille’s DMV, on the southern Oregon coast, has been closed the last
two days, and House says the situation is most dire in Medford – a larger office that has less than 50% of its needed staffing. House says many transactions can be completed on the DMV2U website. He suggests checking there to see if your request can be completed without waiting in long lines at an office.
Road Work Continues On Hwy 138e
Crews with the Oregon Department of Transportation will continue safety and maintenance work on Highway 138E through September, in the wake of the 2020 Archie Creek Fire.
Matt Noble of ODOT said travelers on the road between Glide and Steamboat should expect daytime single lane closures, flagging and delays of up to twenty minutes, on weekdays. Noble said work will pause overnight and on weekends.
Rock scaling, where crews remove rocks, dirt and vegetation before it tumbles on the road, is at the top of the to-do list. Scaling work began last week and will continue through July at over a dozen locations.
Other work will include:
*Remove hazard trees near the road
*Remove wood, rock and dirt debris from the side of the road
*Repave some road sections and repair potholes
*Replace faded lane and shoulder stripes
*Repair guardrails
ODOT interim district manager Glen Pederson says the goal is to restore Highway 138E to the way it was before the Archie Creek Fire.
Drivers are asked to slow down in work zones, and give workers and equipment the space needed to work safely. To learn more about ODOT’s continued wildfire recovery work, go to: https://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/Pages/Wildfire.aspx
Homeless Count in Portland
The Point-in-Time Homeless Count for the Portland area found more than 6600 people were homeless on one night in January. That included 36-hundred unsheltered people, more than two-thousand people in shelters and 800 people in transitional housing.
It’s always considered an undercount because it’s done by interviewing people. Portland City Commissioner Dan Ryan says Multnomah County adds interviews to the process, which makes it more complex and less accurate.
He wants a real-time list of homeless people by name. He’s calling on the Joint Office of Homeless Services to change the process.
Oregon is seeing dangerous increases in fentanyl use as counterfeit pills containing the dangerous opioid proliferate the region.
A new analysis medical testing and laboratory firm Millennium Health shows a 58% increase in fentanyl positivity in Oregon drug tests during the first quarter of 2022 compared to last year.
Fentanyl can be 100 times stronger than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin. It is frequently used in counterfeit oxycodone pills or is mixed with other hard drugs. Fentanyl is linked is the vast majority of deadly drug overdoses in Oregon and nationally. The report also found fentanyl’s positivity rates in Oregon drug tests has increased 163% since 2020.
The dangerous opioid is showing up more in with users of methamphetamine and other illegal drugs. The San Diego-based company said positivity rates for fentanyl were up 197% in Jackson County, 88% in Umatilla County and nearly 60% in Lane and Multnomah counties from March 2021 to March 2022.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control projects a 36.2 % increase in fatal drug overdoses in Oregon between November 2020 and November 2021 (791 versus 1,077).
Klamath County Sheriff’s Office Asks for Public’s Help in Search For Trucker Suspect
The first real clue to come in on all the missing person cases in the area. Help Klamath Falls Oregon Sheriff Office ID this trucker. He was the last to see this woman alive and could be the key to not only solving this woman’s disappearance but a number of the hundred other women missing in PNW. IF you have any information, please call (541) 883-5130
https://www.facebook.com/pg/Have-You-Seen-Me-Southern-Oregons-Missing-People-161249961222839/posts/