A woman reporting blood on her face after an alleged assault by her landlord triggered an urgent police response in Portsmouth—only for the call to take an unexpected turn once officers arrived.
According to Greenup County 911, dispatchers transferred the call to the Portsmouth Police Department after the woman claimed she had been assaulted and possibly sexually harassed. She told dispatchers she was trying to clean blood from her mouth.
Dispatchers attempted to gather more information, but the woman disconnected the call. A brief callback was answered and then abruptly ended. Further attempts went to voicemail.
Police and EMS Sent to Summit Street
Officers and EMS were dispatched to a residence on Summit Street to check on the woman’s welfare. When police arrived, they detained both a man and a woman while determining what had occurred.
During the investigation, officers discovered the woman had an active warrant out of Lawrence County. She was advised to contact that court regarding the warrant. Despite the initial report of blood and injury, she did not require medical treatment and was not transported to the hospital.
Second Arrest Follows
Officers also took Timothy Skaggs into custody after learning he had an outstanding failure to appear warrant. Skaggs was booked into the Scioto County Jail.
Court records show Skaggs failed to appear for an August court date tied to an assault charge. He had previously been released on his own recognizance, but after missing that hearing, the court ordered him held in jail under bond.
Skaggs is scheduled to appear in court again on January 8.
When Calling for Help Gets Complicated
Cases like this illustrate a difficult reality: while calling 911 for help is always encouraged, officers are legally required to act on any active warrants they encounter during a response—regardless of who made the call or why.
