A homeless Portsmouth man known for causing a lot of problems kept police busy in the last week, the most serious issue being a threat to castrate a coffee shop employee.
Back on Wednesday officers responded to a report he had a fire going next to the dumpster behind the First Stop Market on Harding. Police had him put out the fire, pick up his belongings, and leave the scene.
On Thursday, an 11th Street business contacted police to complain the same man had built a camp next to their business. An officer advised him to leave the scene and not return.
Saturday morning, a 4th Street business reported the same man lying on the sidewalk in front of the door. An officer advised him to move on.
About 30 minutes later, a caller from Coffee at the Lofts said the same man had threatened an employee with a knife. The caller said the man had a knife out on a table, and they asked him to put it away.
The man then attempted to sit with some other people at an outside table, and they asked him not to. When an employee suggested he leave, the man said, “I’ll cut your balls off.”
Police documented that incident so the shop could ban the man from the property. Police spoke to the homeless man and advised him to stay away from The Lofts.
On Sunday, the man contacted officers to complain that someone had taken his shopping cart full of belongings from the Save A Lot parking lot.
Police informed him they would not do a theft report on the shopping cart since he had stolen it from a local business.