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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us April 29, 2005 Grand Jury clears police in fatal crash Investigation continues to search for adult who provided alcohol to Thatcher-Stevens By Sarah Lemon For the Tidings A Jackson County grand jury has ruled police acted appropriately during a February high-speed chase in Medford that ended in two deaths. The ruling exonerates Jackson County sheriff’s Capt. Joe Puckett and Talent police Officer Jeff Price of any criminal wrongdoing in trying to pull over 17-year-old Kevan Thatcher-Stephens as he sped recklessly through Medford and crashed, killing himself and another man. The panel’s findings were released Thursday. Puckett, however, remained on paid administrative leave pending completion of the sheriff’s department’s internal review of his actions that evening, according to a prepared statement the sheriff released Thursday. Puckett was escorting a rider, 31-year-old Talent reserve officer Michelle Gideon, as he followed Thatcher-Stephens on the night of Feb. 11. However, Gideon filed no application to ride with the captain, as is typically required by the sheriff’s department. Price has remained at work since the collision. Thatcher-Stephens’ Jeep Cherokee nearly hit Price’s patrol vehicle when the teen turned east onto Barnett Road from Riverside Avenue that night, said Josephine County District Attorney Stephen Campbell in a prepared statement. Price was in Medford on a meal break, Talent Police Chief Bob Rector previously said. Speeding at more than 100 mph, Thatcher-Stephens eluded Price in part by blacking out his vehicle lights and darting down a side street. But the officer again saw the vehicle about eight minutes later straddling Barnett’s westbound lanes and weaving between traffic. Price again attempted to stop the Jeep, but the teen ran a red light at Barnett Road and East Stewart Avenue. A camera at that intersection clocked Thatcher-Stephens’ speed at 78 mph and Price’s at 61 mph. Puckett joined the pursuit at the Interstate 5 off-ramp at Stewart. Thatcher-Stephens turned right onto Riverside Avenue from Barnett and continued to speed toward downtown, where he crashed into a Chevrolet Blazer at Jackson Street after running the red light there. Evidence presented to the grand jury showed Thatcher-Stephens’ vehicle was traveling at about 102 mph when it struck the Blazer, driven by 26-year-old Shady Cove resident Charles Ashley Bench, who died at the scene. Puckett and Price pursued the Jeep for only about one minute prior to the 9:32 p.m. collision, the grand jury heard. "The weight of the evidence revealed that officers Price and Puckett had fallen well behind Thatcher-Stephens by the time of the collision," Campbell said in a prepared statement. Thatcher-Stephens’ blood-alcohol level was at least .13 — almost twice the legal limit for those of drinking age — the grand jury heard. He also had ingested marijuana sometime prior to the crash, Campbell said. The source of the alcohol consumed remained under investigation. Wednesday’s grand jury hearing attempted to determine "what adult if any" had a role in providing alcohol to Thatcher-Stephens, Campbell said. However, police are continuing to investigate that aspect of the case, he added. Police officials previously said criminal charges of furnishing alcohol to a minor could be filed. Several Ashland High School students were called to testify Wednesday in addition to local criminal defense attorney David Orf. Orf’s teenage son Drew was entertaining Thatcher-Stephens at his parents’ DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Free Musick Downloads Slippers Women's & Men's Slippers Ceramic Piggy Banks heloc Calenders 2005 Calender 2005 Accelerate Weightloss Products Memory Foam Mattress tcg student loan consolidation home equity loans teleconferencing W2 Forms cortisol weight loss Tatoos website design & marketing student loans African Safari Conference Calls - $50/Month Security Systems diamonds Currancy Exchange Online Casinos Community Student Loans Tatoo Poker Games Homeschooling Click Here .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams