A string of frantic calls sent Portsmouth Police racing to Alexandria House Apartments around 6:30 p.m. after multiple witnesses reported a young child locked alone in a room while the grandmother was allegedly “cracked out on the couch,” and the child’s mother had been gone for hours.
Dispatch contacted Children’s Services as officers rushed to the scene.
When police arrived, they say they found enough evidence to take Patricia Shaw into custody on child endangerment charges. Shaw was booked into the Scioto County Jail and later released after posting a $2,500 cash bond.
Just two days later, Shaw appeared before a Portsmouth Municipal Court judge, waived her right to an attorney, and entered a no-contest plea.
The judge scheduled sentencing for February 18, returned $1,500 of her bond immediately, and said the remaining $1,000 would be released after sentencing.
The child’s condition has not been released, and the investigation now continues with CPS involvement.