A homeless woman who is a registered sex offender drew police attention twice in the same day after callers reported bizarre behavior and possible weapons.
The first call came around 9 a.m. near Save A Lot on Gallia Street.
A caller reported a red-haired woman with a shopping cart near the wall across from Wendy’s, waving something around. Someone nearby thought she might be waving a gun, though the caller wasn’t sure.
Portsmouth police quickly located the woman.
There was no gun.
Officers spoke with her, advised her, and cleared the call.
Then, about six hours later, police were called again.
This time, officers responded to the area of Young and Harmon streets after a report of the same woman with a knife and a possible firearm on the ground.
Shawnee Mental Health was called to the scene, and officers collected items for safekeeping.
The woman was then taken to Southern Ohio Medical Center, where police said she was being held for a psychiatric evaluation.
No arrest was reported in either incident.
She Has Been in the News Before
The woman is also a registered sex offender with a history of homelessness and previous trouble complying with registration requirements.
Three years ago, SCDN reported that the State of Ohio was looking for her after she allegedly failed to register as a sex offender.
Her registration requirement stems from a 2009 conviction for disseminating matter harmful to juveniles.
Police later found her while responding to a suspicious-person call near 11th and Washington streets.
At that time, officers confirmed she had an open warrant for failing to register.
She was living on the street and had garbage bags filled with clothing beside her. Officers arranged for a relative to pick up those belongings.
Back on the Streets, Back in Crisis
The latest calls did not result in criminal charges.
But they do show the same difficult pattern Portsmouth police encounter again and again: homeless people with serious legal, behavioral, or mental-health histories drawing repeated calls from businesses and residents until officers, probation, hospitals, or mental-health workers have to step in.
In this case, one caller thought the woman might have a gun.
Hours later, another caller reported a knife and possible firearm.
By the end of the day, she wasn’t headed to jail.
She was headed to the hospital for a mental-health evaluation.
For people living and working along Gallia Street and nearby neighborhoods, though, the troubling behavior had already brought police out twice in a matter of hours.