One of Portsmouth’s most notorious repeat offenders is back behind bars.
On Sunday afternoon, Portsmouth Police picked up Arthur Swanigan at the Burger King on Gallia Street while investigating a traffic accident. Officers discovered Swanigan had an active warrant for a parole violation and took him into custody.
A Rap Sheet a Mile Long
Swanigan isn’t new to the system. He’s been arrested more than 40 times over the years on everything from probation violations to serious felonies.
Just last year, despite his lengthy history of parole and probation violations, Swanigan was granted judicial release. Not long after, he was arrested again for violating probation.
In spring 2024, he struck a plea deal on charges of kidnapping, assault, and domestic violence and was sentenced to two years in prison for abduction. At the time of that arrest, he was already out on parole.
Encounters With Police
Local officers have encountered Swanigan repeatedly in abandoned houses and on domestic violence calls, making him one of the city’s most familiar names in police blotters.
Why Does He Keep Getting Out?
Back in 2023, Judge Howard Harcha addressed community frustration over Swanigan’s frequent releases. Harcha said the decision often comes down to giving the court “some control” over offenders.
“You might say, why don’t you just leave him in there for the 24 months? But once I put them on judicial release, they are on community control and I have some control of them,” the judge explained. “If I let him serve the entire sentence… then the parole board and the State of Ohio are in charge of supervision.”
The judge also noted Ohio’s prison overcrowding crisis, saying the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction is constantly looking for reasons to release inmates early.
“There are so many reasons for them to let people out of prison. There’s no such thing as truth in sentencing.”
Back Where He Started
For now, Swanigan is once again sitting in jail, his long history of arrests continuing to raise the same question: how many chances is too many?