Arraignment set for next Thursday

A former Portsmouth Municipal Court judge will be the special judge in the arraignment of a Lawrence County Commissioner facing domestic violence charges.

The Honorable Richard Schisler was appointed to preside at the arraignment of commission president Les Boggs on Thursday in Ironton Municipal Court.

Boggs was arrested on Nov. 5 at his home following an incident where he was accused of domestic violence and disrupting public service.

A woman who said she had been living at Boggs’ house alleged that the incident followed an argument between the two.

According to the complaint the woman made to the sheriff’s office, the commissioner allegedly held her down on a bed, attempted to choke her and backhanded her in the face.

She also alleged Boggs prevented her from using her cell phone and threw it into a pond on the property.

Schisler spent 17 years on the bench in Portsmouth and 14 years as Portsmouth city solicitor prior to that.

Last week Common Pleas Judge Charles Cooper named Charles Kirby, Portsmouth attorney and former city prosecutor there, as a special prosecutor.

Kirby is currently a partner with Cole, Kirby & Associates.

Boggs was originally scheduled to be arraigned on Nov. 12. Multiple phone calls to Kirby’s office were not returned by presstime.