You can’t make this up — Scioto County deputies didn’t even have to leave their block to find their latest domestic violence case.
Just before 1 a.m., officers walking out of the Sheriff’s Office spotted a car stopped in the middle of Findlay Street. A man and woman, later identified as Jessica Jose and Ashton Sparks, were standing outside the vehicle. What looked like a fender-bender quickly revealed itself to be a domestic fight happening in plain sight, right outside the jailhouse doors.
Deputies called in Portsmouth Police and EMS. Both Jose and Sparks were taken into custody on domestic violence charges and booked into the Scioto County Jail — barely a stone’s throw from where they were first spotted.
The drama didn’t end there. In Portsmouth Municipal Court, Jose was declared indigent and appointed a public defender. A judge issued a temporary protection order (TPO) against her before releasing her on her own recognizance. Sparks, her co-defendant, received the same treatment — declared indigent, given a public defender, hit with a TPO, and then cut loose on his own recognizance.
Both now face domestic violence charges that will move forward in municipal court.
For deputies, the arrest was a reminder that crime doesn’t always happen miles away on county roads. Sometimes it shows up right on your doorstep — in this case, literally.