An early-morning traffic stop on Gallia Street ended with a woman arrested on a drug paraphernalia charge, a guilty plea, and another period of probation.
Portsmouth police pulled over a vehicle in the 2700 block of Gallia Street shortly before 4 a.m.
Officers received permission to search the vehicle and detained a woman during the investigation.
Police eventually took Michelle Burnheimer into custody, impounded property from the vehicle, and arranged to have it towed.
Before taking Burnheimer to jail, officers dropped off some of her belongings at a nearby home.
She was then booked into the Scioto County Jail on a charge of possessing drug paraphernalia.
Pleads Guilty in Municipal Court
Burnheimer later appeared in Portsmouth Municipal Court, waived her right to an attorney, and pleaded guilty to the charge.
The court sentenced her to 30 days in jail, with 29 days suspended, and placed her on probation for three years.
Because she received credit for the time already served, she was released from jail.
Previous Heroin Trafficking Case
Court records show Burnheimer has a long history of arrests involving drugs and other offenses, including drug trafficking, driving under suspension, domestic violence, and child endangering.
In 2018, she was convicted in a heroin trafficking case and sentenced to 18 months in prison.
The court later allowed her to enter treatment instead of serving the full sentence. However, records show she failed to complete the treatment program and admitted using heroin again.
She was later placed on three years of probation in 2021.
After multiple probation violations, the court sentenced her to 205 days in prison in 2022.
The latest Gallia Street traffic stop has now resulted in another drug-related conviction and another three-year probation term.