CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — A Chillicothe man was arrested late Monday afternoon following an hours-long series of disruptive incidents that spanned multiple local businesses and prompted repeated law enforcement responses across the city.
Thomas Robbins was taken into custody by Chillicothe Police outside a Certified gas station at 5:44 p.m. and charged with persistent disorderly conduct. He was transported and booked into the Ross County Jail without further incident.
According to a police report filed by Officer Lance Canterbury, law enforcement first began receiving calls regarding Robbins at 3:00 p.m., when employees at Seven Brew Coffee reported a shirtless, skinny man with long hair blocking the drive-thru and acting erratically. Deputies with the Ross County Sheriff’s Office responded twice to the coffee shop to handle complaints involving him.
Less than an hour later, at 3:59 p.m., police were dispatched to Panera Bread on North Court Street after receiving reports of a screaming customer matching Robbins’ description. While searching the area, officers were flagged down by an employee at a nearby Five Below, who stated a man was acting similarly inside their store. Officer Wright located Robbins in the store, observed him concealing items in a sweatshirt, and escorted him outside.
Officers advised Robbins to cease causing disruptions and offered to transport him to Adena Regional Medical Center for a voluntary mental health evaluation, which Robbins refused.
The disturbance calls continued shortly before 5:00 p.m. when dispatchers received reports that Robbins was causing problems at Aldi, walking over to Harbor Freight, and subsequently entering Red Lobster. Callers at the restaurant reported that Robbins was behaving erratically, banging on windows, and recording patrons inside. Officers made contact with Robbins at the scene, warning him that continued disturbances would result in his arrest before releasing him once more.
The final call came at 5:44 p.m. from Frisch’s Big Boy at Bridge and Marietta streets, where staff reported that Robbins was cursing at customers and causing a disturbance, prompting employees to request that he be formally barred from the property.
Noting that Robbins appeared to be in an altered mental state or under the influence of narcotics, Officer Canterbury and Officer Davis located him nearby and placed him under arrest, citing the totality of his behavior and his refusal to comply with multiple prior warnings.
