Showing up under the influence in court is not a good idea, but it looks like a 41-year-old Portsmouth man needed to learn that the hard way, even though he’s been in court close to 50 times over the years.
Michael P. Smith had a hearing in Portsmouth Municipal Court on Monday for charges of driving when his license was suspended. The court set a hearing date and let him out on bond.
That’s when things took a turn. According to the police log, Smith passed out in the courtroom, and officers found drugs on him.
Officers read him his rights, the court revoked his bond, and he was booked into the Scioto County Jail on both the driving without a license charge and for drug possession. He was arraigned on the drug charge Tuesday without incident, and the court scheduled his preliminary hearing for Thursday, August 29.
Smith is no stranger to Portsmouth Municipal Court. He’s appeared in court almost 50 times in the past 23 years on multiple charges, including driving without a license, criminal damaging, receiving stolen property, petty theft, obstruction of official business, possessing criminal tools, receiving stolen property, open container, drug abuse, theft, criminal trespass, failure to control, violating a protection order, speeding, domestic threat, menacing and speeding.
