PORTSMOUTH, Ohio — A Portsmouth man was arrested on felony drug charges after Scioto County deputies responding to a reported disturbance Saturday night found methamphetamine and drug-related items during a search of the man and his vehicle, Sheriff David Thoroughman said.
Deputies were sent about 8:08 p.m. Dec. 27 to 52 Clayton Court in West Portsmouth after Scioto County’s 911 center received a call reporting a disturbance involving a man banging on a door and yelling at a woman, the sheriff said. When deputies arrived, they found a man trying to leave in a silver Nissan Sentra and attempted a traffic stop. The driver tried to go around deputies but was blocked in and could not leave, according to the sheriff.
The suspect, identified as Jason E. Blair, 33, of Mabert Road in Portsmouth, was detained and searched, the sheriff said. Deputies reported finding drug paraphernalia and a substance later identified as methamphetamine. Blair then consented to a search of the vehicle, where deputies said they found eight bags of prepackaged drugs inside a safe, along with scales, three cell phones, and cash. Authorities said the drugs were identified as methamphetamine and totaled 65 times the legal “bulk amount.” Blair was taken to the Scioto County Jail without incident, the sheriff said.
Blair was charged with aggravated trafficking in drugs and aggravated possession of drugs, both first-degree felonies; hidden compartments in a vehicle, a second-degree felony; possession of criminal tools, a fifth-degree felony; and possession of drug paraphernalia, a second-degree misdemeanor, according to the sheriff. He was being held on a $73,250 bond and is scheduled to appear in Portsmouth Municipal Court on Monday, Dec. 29, the sheriff said. Thoroughman credited Washington Township deputies and other responding deputies with making the arrest and said the seizure removed a large amount of drugs from the streets.