The issue with addicts and homeless individuals at the Speedway on Gallia is so bad that corporate security complained to Portsmouth Police about it a few months ago. However, the problem doesn’t seem to be letting up. Just before 11 am, employees reported a man digging through the trash.
An employee told Portsmouth Police he has been warned several times to stay off the lot, but he’s often spotted digging their dumpster. The employee said the man goes by the name “Insane” and has a shopping buggy full of trash with him.
An officer caught up with the man at the Save A Lot parking lot and warned him not to return to Speedway.
Officers continue to spend a great deal of their time dealing with Portsmouth’s homeless situation all over the city. Just after 1:30 am, two units stopped by Tracy Park to check in on four people sleeping in the park.
Officers had previously warned the individuals they would be cited for trespassing if they were caught in the park after hours. Police advised the two women and two men to leave the park.
Police responded to a report of a man lying in the grass at 9th and Court Streets just before 8 am. The caller said he was wearing a hoodie and had a bicycle next to him.
When police responded to the scene, their siren woke the man up. He told officers he was fine and that he was homeless and just taking a nap in the grass.
At 11 am, officers checked under the Front Street Railroad Bridge after multiple complaints of homeless individuals leaving trash in the area.
Just after 4 pm, police responded to a report of a suspicious man at the Holiday Inn. The man urinated in the back lot of the hotel and attempted to get in the door. Officers took him into custody for public indecency. He was released on a $250 bond.
*Law Enforcement does not determine bond amounts, jail terms, or release dates. Those are determined by the courts.