The repeat offender who caused a standoff on Dorman Drive is facing a slew of new charges to add to his already lengthy criminal record. The Scioto County Grand Jury indicted Aaron Armstrong, 30, of Portsmouth on 43 criminal counts during its latest session and taxpayers will pick up the tab for his defense.
The homeless man faces charges of:
- Breaking and Entering
- Receiving Stolen Property
- Tampering with Evidence
- Disrupting Public Services
- Obstructing Official Business
- Resisting Arrest
- Aggravated Possession of Drugs
- Possession of Heroin
- Possession of a Fentanyl-Related Compound
- Aggravated Trafficking in Drugs
- Trafficking in Heroin
- Trafficking in a Fentanyl-Related Compound
- Receiving Stolen Property
- Having Weapons While Under Disability
- Grand Theft of a Motor Vehicle (3 Counts)
- Grand Theft When the Property is a Firearm or Dangerous Ordnance (4 Counts)
- Theft (14 Counts)
- Misdemeanor Theft (8 Counts)
Armstrong already had more than 20 arrests to his name, including two previous ones in 2023 before his three-hour standoff with Portsmouth SWAT. Police had to drag the repeat offender, who has more than 20 arrests, to his name out from under the porch of a Grandview Avenue home after he ran from them last spring. Just a few months later, they arrested him after witnesses spotted him going into an abandoned house at Robinson and Summit with a cutting instrument.
Despite a record of crimes including obstructing official business, multiple counts of probation violation, violating a protection order, aggravated menacing, drug paraphernalia, falsification, multiple counts of domestic violence, criminal trespass, carrying a concealed weapon, vandalism, and contributing to the delinquency of a child, the court released the homeless man back onto the streets.
The court found Armstrong indigent in a hearing earlier this month and appointed Shawn Stratton as his public defender. The court waived the $25 application fee to obtain council.
Read more on our coverage of Armstrong.
