SHERIFF: Gold Hill Off-Roader Shot When Confronted on Man's Mining Claim

A 53-year-old Gold Hill man's arm was shattered by a shotgun blast following a confrontation Sunday on another man's mining claim on U.S. Forest Service land near Kerby, the Josephine County Sheriff's Office reported.

At 12:39 p.m., the Josephine County Sheriff's Office responded to a call of a shooting in the Tennessee Mountain drainage area of the Illinois Valley.

Gregory Glen Graybill, of Sardine Creek Road in Gold hill, was found severely injured from a shotgun blast to his arm. Investigators believe 62-year-old Ronald Eugene Spears confronted and shot Graybill on Spears' mining claim.

Spears was arrested on a charge of first-degree assault.

Graybill was part of a group of off-road vehicle operators in the area when the confrontation occurred. Graybill was not armed, the sheriff's office reported. He suffered a broken arm from the 12-guage shotgun blast and was last listed in stable condition at Rogue Valley Medical Center in Medford, the sheriff's office reported.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff's office Major Crime Unit at 541-474-5153 or the confidential tip line at 541-474-5160.