Wanted felon found inside Roseburg High School
Roseburg OR Oct 22 2017
A wanted felon who was later found to be in possession of 50 grams of methamphetamine was arrested at Roseburg High School after police say he snuck into the school’s faculty lounge Thursday morning.
Principal Jill Weber said a food service door was left unlocked to allow for a morning bread delivery that occurs at around 6:30 a.m. A few minutes later the wanted felon, later identified as 32-year-old Joshua Allen Templeton of Woodburn, slipped through the door and walked into the faculty room just a few feet away from the entrance.
The school’s security officer, Kenneth Fraizer, who had already made contact with Templeton earlier that morning and instructed the man to leave campus, soon found Templeton in the lounge and called the police.
An officer walked into the lounge, which was clearly labeled with a sign, and found Templeton sleeping in a chair with a plate of food on the table in front of him, which he allegedly took from the staff refrigerator, according to court documents. He was arrested at approximately 7 a.m. without further incident.
At the Douglas County Jail, staff searched Templeton’s wallet and found two plastic baggies that contained methamphetamine, according to police. Templeton’s backpack was also searched, and inside, police found a purple Crown Royal bag which was stuffed with four large baggies containing approximately 50 grams of methamphetamine. Both the methamphetamine and the scale were not found inside of the high school, Weber said.
Classes begin at 7:40 a.m., but Weber said most of the school’s buses arrive on campus between 7 and 7:10 a.m. to allow students an opportunity to eat breakfast. However, she said the school’s staff responded to the situation promptly, that Templeton was taken by police “very, very quickly,” and that “there was no incident.”
Weber said the arrest gives the school a chance to review protocol.
“We’re making some changes to ensure that where there are deliveries, someone is there to lock and re-lock the door until security is there at the door because we do take this very seriously and we want to ensure that our staff and students are always safe,” she said.
Templeton was arrested on suspicion of methamphetamine possession, methamphetamine delivery within 1,000 feet of a school, second-degree burglary and third-degree theft. He was also found to have a warrant out of the Oregon State Penitentiary on suspicion of escape.
Gary Klopfenstein of the Roseburg Police Department said Templeton did not climb over the prison walls and shouldn’t be considered an “escaped inmate,” although information about Templeton’s warrant was not readily available and calls to the Oregon State Police were not immediately returned.
“I would’ve let you know if an escaped convict was running around,” Klopfenstein said.
Templeton does, however, have a lengthy criminal history, with multiple burglary convictions from 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2015.
Weber said the term “escaped convict” can have different definitions and that people are assuming the worst.
“It can be that he was released from prison and he should be checking in with his parole officer and he didn’t,” she said. “People have this opinion that — and it can be sensationalized to a point — where it sounds like he escaped from prison and was here to do harm.
“Really, he just slid in and was asleep within minutes,” she said
