Here is the top story on CBS Channel 10 tonight:

http://www.ktvl.com/shared/news/top-stories/stories/ktvl_vid_2064.shtml

In Grants Pass, for the month of July through 7-26-12, there have been 80 crimes reported (excluding disturbing the peace calls).  Here’s what the map looks like in July:

[note the only local agency reporting to this system is the Grants Pass Police.  A lack of symbols out in the County does not mean a lack of crime in the County]

Due to new lack of Josephine County funding we have officers to respond in the City of GP, but practically no jail to house offenders and limited DA services.  Go to http://www.crimemapping.com/ to change the dates or see what each of these symbols mean for your neighborhood.

Crime Beat – July 19, 2012

By David Smith

In an apparent case of attempted vigilante “justice,” a 42-year-old Grants Pass resident was apprehended on the afternoon of Saturday, July 14 for allegedly threatening two men with a firearm.

The accused, who was in his vehicle at the time, pursued the two men (who were on foot) down 6^th Street in the downtown area, pointing a handgun at them out of the window of his car. When the men fled toward 5^th Street, he continued to follow them. Apparently he had been the victim of a previous theft, and believed the men he was chasing were the perpetrators.

Because of the reported use of a firearm, officers from the Grants Pass Department of Public Safety conducted a “high risk” traffic stop and apprehended the man. He was cited and released on charges of Unlawful Use of a Weapon and Second-Degree Disorderly Conduct. Charges of Pointing a Firearm at Another and Menacing were referred to the District Attorney’s office for prosecution.

The two men he was pursuing fled into a residential area and disappeared.

A reminder: regardless of any prior offenses an individual has perpetrated against you, it is against the law to point a firearm at another person, with or without malice. The use of a handgun in a densely populated area also carries significant risks to innocent bystanders. Vigilante “justice” is a serious violation of Oregon law, which does not justify the use of a firearm except in cases of self-defense where there is serious and immediate risk of death or grievous injury.