Jefferson County Sheriff

Lightning strikes: A woman who a week ago reported two strangers entered her home while she was taking a bath said it happened a second time, Monday. She said she was in the tub again when she heard voices and initially thought it was her children, but when she got out of the tub she saw the men in her house and reports one of them asked her, “How you been” followed by a descriptive term. She said her dog attacked the intruders, biting their hands, arms and thigh until the man struck the dog, causing it to loosen its grip on him. She said she got her gun but by then the men were fleeing in a “fire engine red pickup with rounded edges” that she said seemed to be well-maintained. She told police one of her children has been in trouble with the law had “threatened to choke her” and she is fearful of that child, though they haven’t spoken since she stopped giving that child money. She said that child lives with her mother, from whom she’s also estranged, and that she’s also estranged from her husband, who she claims told her he would “bury her before he divorces her.” She said the men in her home had tattoos on their face and arms, were wearing jeans, T-shirts and ball caps.

Steubenville Police

Kicked out: A woman in the 100 block of North Fourth Street reported being assaulted, Sunday. She said her boyfriend had driven her home but “he was being rude” and they argued, admitting she “got angry and kicked out the window of his truck.” She claimed he “pulled her out of the vehicle and struck her” and knocked a tooth out. Police said her lip and eye were swollen but when they talked with her boyfriend, he told them they were arguing and “she was being rude” so he took her home and when they got to her building he broke up with her. He said she “became angry and kicked out the window of his truck” and got out of his truck but left her keys in it so he went back and “threw her keys out to her.” He told police he didn’t lay a hand on her and that “she was the one kicking and hitting his vehicle.” Police said he had no injuries to his hands or face. Police said when they spoke with the woman a second time she “was unable to explain injury on her hand” or explain how her ex-boyfriend could have hit her “without any signs on his hand (that) he’d struck her,” then told them “it happened fast and she did not know.” The incident remains under investigation, police said.

Up a creek: A homeless woman who allegedly fled Kroger with merchandise that she hadn’t paid for was found behind a nearby practice field, Sunday. Police said a store employee told them the woman he’d followed was lying in the creek bed. They said when she realized they’d spotted her she ignored commands to stop, claiming that instead she jumped up “and attempted to walk up the hill” carrying a purse and several Swiffer products. Police said Jiah Minnifield, 28, no fixed address, was booked for misdemeanor theft and obstructing official business and served with a warrant (Steubenville Municipal Court) for failure to appear.

Either-or: A homeless woman was taken into custody in the 300 block of North Court Alley, Sunday. Nicole A. Oxley, 42, no fixed address, was booked into the Jefferson County jail on a charge of probation violation. Police said Oxley originally identified herself as her sibling, and after finding herself under arrest told them at the time she said it she was unaware that her sibling had an outstanding warrant. Police said they realized she’d given them a fictitious name when a male companion with whom she’d been walking called her “Nicole” when he returned for her belongings.

Tagged: Employees at Wal-Mart allegedly saw a woman swapping price tags on meat products, Sunday. Police who were already at the store on another matter allegedly watched the woman “peeling a price tag off a package of meat and tossing (it) back into the cooler” before proceeding to the self-checkout where they claim she used the tag to scan some items in her cart and failed to scan others at all. Malaysia Crawford, 29, 725 Market St., Apt. D, Steubenville, was charged with theft.

Stolen: An employee at Wal-Mart reported his Carhartt jacket had been stolen, Friday. He said he left the jacket on the cart pusher on the side of the building and when he returned five minutes later, it was gone. Police said surveillance cameras showed a man grabbing the jacket and then jumping on a bus. The owner valued the jacket at $130.

Cleaned out: A man in the 200 block of South Third Street said he paid a neighbor to clean his apartment while he was gone for a day and when he returned, he discovered his vacuum, food, cell phone and extension cords were missing, Sunday. He said he texted the neighbor about his missing possessions but did not receive a response.

Disturbance: Callers reported a couple involved in a physical altercation in the 100 block of North Fifth Street, Sunday. Police located the female involved in the disturbance, who told them she was just “in an argument with her boyfriend but nothing physical happened.” She said he left on foot but she let police check her home to make sure no one else was there, then refused to provide any information on the male involved and said she didn’t need police assistance. Police said she didn’t have any marks on her, that suggested she’d been in an altercation.

Neighbors: A city resident said she’s being harassed by neighbors and roommates, Sunday.