The Ross County Grand Jury met on Friday, July 25th, 2025. From one of the cases,* according to the Ross County Prosecutor’s Office:
On May 1st, a Sheriff’s deputy noticed an unlit license plate an a vehicle that had just been pulled into a closed business. The driver, 56-year-old Patrick Stuart Jackson of Portsmouth, said he had pulled over because he saw the deputy.
But the deputy saw that Jackson had signs of impairment: bloodshot glassy eyes, slurred speech – as well as a strong odor of alcohol and marijuana.
She arrested him for OVI. In an inventory of the vehicle, a loaded handgun in a black bag was found on the passenger floorboard.
Jackson is not under disability for firearms, but since he was charged with OVI, the firearm became a felony.
For indictments on misdemeanor operating a vehicle while intoxicated, and fifth-degree felony improperly handling a firearm in a motor vehicle, Jackson could get up to 12 1/2 months and $2,500 in fines.
*The investigators in the Prosecutor’s Office provide law enforcement reports on alleged offenses to the Grand Jury, which then deliberates on each case in secret. After each Grand Jury has adjourned, the investigators then offer a discussion of the law enforcement reports to news media in the cases that are open to release to the public.
Patrick Stuart Jackson of Portsmouth