Steubenville Police

Three’s a crowd: A Sixth Street resident told police her estranged wife came into the home and assaulted her partner, Monday. The caller said they’d been separated for several months and her ex isn’t on the lease. She said she’d gone to her car to find her ex waiting in the parking lot. She said her ex became “confrontational” and smacked the cell phone out of her hand, telling her she wasn’t going to let her go back in the house. She said she ran to the front door, but it had locked, though she was able to see her ex inside the house and witnessed her new girlfriend fighting with her ex. Her new partner said she heard a commotion downstairs and found the ex standing at the bottom of the stairs with a frying pan and a kitchen knife. The caller’s new partner said she feared for her safety and originally had a knife as well but got rid of it, though she did “hit the (ex) in the face … and the two (of them) began fighting.” During the altercation she said the ex “began scratching her all over and then hit her in the back of the head with the frying pan” before running out the door. Police said the caller’s new partner had scratch marks on both arms and one below her left eye lid, and they found the frying pan on a table and the knife in the sink. She said she wanted to pursue criminal charges and told police she only fought back “due to being in fear for her safety.” Police requested an arrest warrant for the ex on charges of aggravated burglary and felonious assault.

Drug, forgery charges filed: Employees at WesBanco told police a man was trying to get money from an account “but was unable to provide necessary and valid information,” Tuesday. They said they’d also been informed “about a West Virginia driver’s license being involved in other fraud incidents” and had concerns about the license the man provided. Police said the license the man produced had the name “Kevin N. Smith” but was valid, and was able to give them the correct birth date but not what “Kevin’s” middle name was. Police said he also claimed he couldn’t tell them the address on it because “he has only been (living) there for a year” and that he gave police a fictitious middle name “because he thought he had a warrant” before advising them “he was lying and (was ready) to tell the truth,” then allegedly told them “he became involved in the fraud … because he was threatened” by another man and claimed he had been “working with a detective from Pennsylvania.” Police said Kenneth Cupic, 59, Farrell, Pa., was booked into the Jefferson County jail on a forgery charge and served with the outstanding warrant, issued in Indiana. He also is facing drug possession charges after police allegedly found fentanyl and crack in his possession at the time of his arrest.

Charged, served: A woman was served with two warrants for misdemeanor theft and charged with a third count after allegedly trying to steal merchandise from Wal-Mart, Tuesday. Employees told police a woman tried to flee the store with a black bag filled with laundry products but when they confronted her, she dropped them and fled the store. Police said Tedra Franklin, 42, 1421 Oak Grove Ave., was charged with misdemeanor theft and also served with warrants for failure to appear in connection with alleged thefts on Sept. 21 and Oct. 4