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May 18, 2008
 
Portsmouth Theatre Owner Hires Columbus Attorney to Sue City for Harassment
 
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
 
Portsmouth, OH (HNN) -- The owner of the gutted Columbia Music Hall in Portsmouth, Ohio, has hired a Columbus, Ohio, counsel to sue the city for harassment by the police department -- in particular Chief Charles Horner.
 
The latest in a string of events occurred Wednesday, May 14, 2008, involved a vehicle that sat parked on Fourth and Market Street while Lee Scott attended an auction. Two detectives apparently watched the unattended vehicle, then, hours later when Scott returned, asked to search it. Scott locked the truck and demanded that a search warrant be first obtained.
 
Scott has written on a forum that the vehicle search “is/was never in my name” and had been “unattended for 6.5 hours.”
 
According to a release by the Portsmouth police as printed in the Portsmouth Daily Times “officers had reason to believe the vehicle was being used for drug activity, and the police K-9 unit was called to conduct a search on the scene and alerted to the presence of drugs. After the search warrant was obtained, officers were given permission to tow the vehicle to TST Towing in Portsmouth, where they would enter the vehicle to conduct their search. During their search, officers reported finding parts of a cigarette believed to be marijuana, two packs of rolling papers and a green leafy substance also believed to be marijuana.”
 
The vehicle was returned to Scott and no charged were filed.
 
Witnesses at the scene revealed that representatives of the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms and Portsmouth Fire Department were also on hand.
 
Scott told the Times, “ This makes five documented cases that Police Chief [Charles] Horner has come after me, he’s harassed me, he’s towed my vehicles away, he’s put tickets against me and not one of them have ever made it to court.”
 
One of the citations concerned failure to obtain a permit for a dumpster in which to place debris from the Columbia fire.
 
Scott has been fighting the governmental establishment in the city for years, including during the time of the renovation of the Columbia Theatre and re-opening of it as the Columbia Music Hall. He and others had been active in a group that successfully recalled then Mayor Greg Bauer from office. The group had opposed acquisition of the Marting’s Building by the city and has suggested that petitions with 300 names will be gathered to implement citizen directed action on city charter alterations.
 
The vehicle search came just hours after Scott had spoken with current Mayor Jim Kalb about plans for the future of the Columbia site. After removing the rear wall, he had relented and decided to rebuild from the front façade which includes the previous balcony, but had stated that any interference from the city would lead to the whole site becoming a parking lot.
 
A previous city beat reporter for the Daily Times, Jeff Barron, had been fired by the paper after writing stories concerning council, the Columbia, and a specific drug arrest which resulted in complaints to the newspaper.
 
Scott has stated that James Banks of Columbus, Ohio, will file the complaint. Banks is not a stranger to Portsmouth litigation. He represented convicted murder John Adams in an appeal where the court determined that the defendant did not receive a fair trial due to the court reporter filing four different transcripts (all different) with missing, incomplete and possibly inaccurate portions . Adams had previously worked as a psychiatrist at Marshall University. He had been convicted of murder related to the husband of a patient he had treated.
 
Banks also represented an officer in a dispute with Chief Horner that eventually made its way to the Ohio Supreme Court.
 
Scott has maintained that certain city officials, most under the direction of Horner, have harassed him before and after the Columbia fire. The fire occurred about 12 hours after Scott had been quoted in the Times as declining to pay Horner extra money for security/protection of the business. Almost immediately after the fire, Scott was cited for not obtaining a permit first before bringing in a dumpster to haul off debris.
 
Following a multiple agency investigation of federal, state and local law enforcement officials, the fire at the theatre was determined to be arson. No arrest has been made.
 
The Columbia restoration had been one of the keys to redevelopment of downtown Portsmouth, Ohio. The nearly 100 year old theatre had a family friendly atmosphere for its music performances.
 
(Claudette Ferguson and Joe Ray, Portsmouth freelance writers, contributed to this report.)

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Lookin...you forgot...you posted it was the wacked out blackeyed black hair long legged (walking funny) girl you saw coming out of the court street house that dropped the bag according to your post back then ...

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One other thing for Lookin-----Why did the dog hit on my truck? Maybe he was hungry and smelled the open dog food on the right rear side where he scratched? After all, is that not what they do...give them a piece of food for finding anything as a reward?

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lookimnaround... what is your take on basis of the actual law suit filed?

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Do you feel the PPD over stepped its boundary performing this search?

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What about the other agencys who showed up to assist processing a Reefer Roach Warrant?

What does the AFT & E, State Fire Marshall, and City Fire Department have to do with impounding a vehicle looking for "drug activity" ???

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