Steubenville police

Money pit: Tennessee residents who’d hired a Pennsylvania contractor to work on a house they own in Steubenville said he “strung them along and continued asking for money … for work, materials and other supplies,” Tuesday. They said the Wilkinsburg contractor had wanted them to pay him through money apps but they’d refused, choosing to send him money through the Wal-Mart money center so they’d have official receipts for the nearly $2,000 they paid him. He eventually demanded that they come to Steubenville to meet him at the property but then he started “giving them excuses” for not being there himself and said once they got to the house they saw “fresh trash that was dumped in (the) driveway and the contractor “pulling out and causing a disturbance and threatening to put a lien on their house.” Once inside, they said they discovered graffiti had been painted on windows and walls inside the residence. Police told the couple they’d have to pursue legal action or restitution through civil court and suggested that, if they choose, they tell the contractor he is not permitted on their property.

Parenting 101: A Rosswell Avenue father told police he’s having issues with his daughter, Tuesday. He said the girl is already on probation and “constantly talks back and refuses to listen to him.” The girl said her father “does not permit her to do as she wants” and told police since she’s been on probation she’s “lost her phone privileges, along with other things.” Police told her that “her father makes the rules due to her being underage” and if she doesn’t do what she’s told her probation can be revoked.

Suspicious minds: A Grandview Avenue resident said her electric bill showed 500 additional kilowatt hours used that she couldn’t account for and thinks a neighbor is hijacking her service, Tuesday. She said it happened once before in 2022 and the apartment in question isn’t metered but has power. She’s convinced someone either “dug under her yard to steal her electric or is stealing her electric from her garage.”

Identity theft: A city resident told police he opened an envelope delivered by FedEx only to find a drivers license inside with his name and information but someone else’s face, Tuesday. He said he didn’t notice any unusual activity on his credit cards but wanted a report on file.

Edgy: A female caretaker said she took a patient for a ride to calm him down but instead he “became irate and began to scream,” Tuesday. She said he began to “pull her hair and attempted to mess with the gear shift” in her vehicle, so she pulled into a parking lot and got out of the vehicle to call a supervisor. When he arrived, they decided the man was calm enough to return home so he drove the man back to his home.

Campers: Police were asked to check the area around the Market Street bridge “for subjects camping out in tents,” Tuesday. Police told three people they would have to find somewhere else to pitch their tents.

Fraud: A woman who’d been shopping at the Fort Steuben Mall said she dropped her credit cards at the checkout counter and didn’t immediately realize one of them was missing, Tuesday. She said she froze the card but less than 90 minutes later received alerts that someone had tried to use it at another store.

Ruckus: Police were called to a North Fifth Street residence because of a disturbance, Tuesday. Upon arrival they said they could “clearly hear an adult female and an adult male yelling at each other” inside a residence. A male who came to the door refused to identify himself and was “uncooperative and interrupted” police, and when the female appeared she wanted to know why they were there. After she went back inside the man told them they “were just arguing when she began to break things in the house.” He said he was trying to keep her from breaking anything else when police arrived but there and insisted there had been no physical violence. She confirmed they’d been arguing and admitted breaking a few things, but also insisted it never escalated to a physical altercation and she didn’t want him to leave.

Long walk home: Police said a man they’d spotted with a cut on the side of his head told them he fell while walking home, Tuesday. They said the man’s speech was “slow and slurred,” so after making sure he didn’t have anything illegal in his possession they gave him a ride home. Police said when he was walking to the cruiser he “stumbled and could not keep his balance” and said he smelled of alcohol. Since he admitted drinking, had fallen and appeared highly intoxicated, Steubenville firefighters were asked to take him to the hospital for evaluation.

Theft: A Weirton business owner told police someone went to an automotive store and fraudulently charged $5,800 worth of merchandise to his company’s account, Tuesday.

Move out day: A South Fifth Street resident told police she wanted her mother to leave her home, Tuesday. Police said mom packed her things and left without a problem.

A resident reported hearing “fireworks or a gunshot” in the vicinity of Bryden and West Carlton roads, Tuesday. A pedestrian reported hearing something, but pointed them to the Aberdeen Road area. Police said they checked the area but found nothing amiss.

Vandalized: Someone threw a rock through a front window of a residence in the 500 block of Franklin Avenue, Tuesday.

Jefferson County Sheriff

Tantrum: Toronto area residents said a child in their care was “throwing rocks at (them)” and trying to break windows to their vehicles and their residence, Tuesday.

Fraud alert: An Irondale woman said she was contacted about a job by someone claiming to be associated with an online job listing, Tuesday. They invited her to a Zoom meeting and afterward, offered her a job and said they sent her a check for $2,450 to cover equipment and instructed her to deposit it and purchase $1,500 in Apple gift cards to cover the software, then give the rest of the money to the person who delivered the equipment. She said she was unable to get the Apple gift cards so they told her to substitute whatever she could get, and she grabbed cards for Giant Eagle, Amazon and Target. By the time she realized she was being scammed she said they’d redeemed the Target card, but she was able to block them from getting the money on the other two.

Cited: Merrisa Lian Wedlake, 155 Talbott Drive, Wintersville, running a school bus stop sign, Tuesday.

Follansbee Police

Charged: James A. Starr, 64, 213 Wildflower Way, Follansbee, breaking and entering and petit larceny, Sunday.

Weirton Police

Charged: Tammy L. Yeater, 48, 153 Beverly Ave., grand larceny, Tuesday.

Brooke County Sheriff

Charged: Michael S. Wild Jr., 36, 969 Clifton St., Follansbee, driving while license suspended, Friday.

Charged: Nathaniel Kimball, 19, 1837 Morton Hill Road, Colliers, domestic assault and child neglect creating risk of injury, Tuesday, for allegedly throwing a pill bottle at a woman known to him who was holding a baby at the time.

Charged: Megan E. Gillespie, 39, 224 May Road, Follansbee, domestic battery, Monday.