The previous news release identified one of the suspects as Matthew Cole, it should have stated Cole Matthew.
On May 11, 2024, at approximately 9:56 p.m. officers from the Ashland Police Department responded to a report of an armed robbery that occurred on Walker near East Main Street.
The investigation revealed the lone victim, an adult male, was walking home from work when he was approached by two people. One of the suspects produced a handgun, menaced the victim, and demanded his property.
The victim turned over property to the suspects who then fled the scene on foot. The victim walked to a nearby home and requested that the police be called.
Detectives from the APD Criminal Investigations Division were called in and tracked the suspects to a home in the 200 block of Tolman Creek Road within the City of Ashland.
On May 12, 2024, as the investigation and surveillance efforts continued, one of the suspects, Cluff, was seen leaving the home on Tolman Creek and visiting stores in the area. Several units from the Ashland Police Department, assisted by the Talent Police Department, contacted the vehicle that the suspect was in as it pulled into the Albertson’s parking lot at approximately 10:44 a.m.
A high-risk traffic stop was conducted in the Albertson’s parking lot and Cluff was detained without incident.
The second suspect was contacted shortly thereafter at the Tolman Creek house and also detained without incident.
Detectives applied for and were granted a search warrant for the residence on Tolman Creek. Upon execution of the warrant, evidence of the crime was recovered.
The suspects are identified as Matthew Cole, 18 years old, Medford resident and Seth Cluff, 24 years old, Ashland resident.
Both suspects were lodged on charges of Menacing, Theft 2nd Degree, Robbery 1st Degree, Fraudulent Use of a Credit Card and Conspiracy to Commit Robbery 1st Degree. Both remain in custody as of this release.
The investigation indicates that this was a targeted robbery, not a random occurrence.
On April 18, 2024 at 1:15 p.m. officers from the Ashland Police Department responded to the 700 block of Glendale Avenue for a report of an aggressive cougar. After speaking with residents, it was determined that an adult cougar had attacked at one least one domesticated animal, a cat, while the cat was under the control of its owner. Upon checking the area officers found evidence of other wild animals having been attacked and consumed as well.
The City of Ashland is a wildlife interface area, and having cougars present in many parts of the city is not unusual. However, cougars coming this deep into the community, during daylight hours, attacking domesticated animals, and not being appropriately wary of human interaction is not.
APD officers requested the assistance of the Oregon State Police Fish and Game Division, and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Both agencies responded to assist, and, upon conferring, all agencies agreed that the cougar was well beyond the statutory threshold calling for lethal removal of the animal.
APD, along with OSP and ODFW searched for the animal, locating it at approximately 2:45 p.m., still in the immediate area, in a residential backyard. The cougar was lethally removed, and the carcass will be turned over to the ODFW for examination.
During this incident an elementary school in the immediate area, the Siskiyou School, was asked to keep everyone inside. The distance from where the cougar was killed to the school is approximately 250 feet.
The APD never seeks to be put in the position of lethally removing an animal, however, given the circumstances noted above, this course was action was clearly the most prudent to safeguard human and domesticated animals’ lives.