During and investigation by Officers from the Grants Pass Police Department initiated by reports from a citizen of a hit and run in downtown Grants Pass Saturday after noon, July 9th, dispatch learned the suspect vehicle had been stolen earlier from another part of town.
The victim of the stolen vehicle reported that the victim’s two young children were inside the vehicle when it was stolen. A family member was following the stolen vehicle through town when the suspect, later identified as 30 year old Brittany Alire of Grants Pass, struck an uninvolved vehicle before continuing to flee in the stolen car. The motorists in the collision were not injured, and the family member continued to follow the stolen car.
Fearing for the safety of the children, the family member blocked the stolen car on NE F Street. Alire stopped the car in the middle of the roadway and fled on foot, leaving the young children unsupervised in the car.
Another citizen, observing the incident, followed Alire into a nearby clothing store where she was taken into custody without further incident by arriving police officers.
The stolen vehicle and the two minor children were turned over to the mother at the scene. Fortunately, the children were not injured.
Brittany Alire was turned over to detectives with the Grants Pass Police Department and was later lodged in the Josephine County Jail on multiple charges, including Kidnapping, Reckless Endangering, Unlawful Use of a Motor Vehicle, Reckless Driving, and DUII.
