A Seacoast man who has been arrested153 times was arrested again in Maine.
Paul Baldwin, 49, has an extensivecriminal history in Portsmouth, N.H, and wasreleased 12 days ago after completing a oneyearsentence at the Rockingham County Jail.
Baldwin is now facing a felony theftcharge out of Kittery, where, police said, hestole two 18-packs and a 12-pack of beer from a convenience store.
Police said Baldwin and another man were sitting on a rock across thestreet from the store drinking the beer when they were spotted by a passingcruiser.
“We were able to determine that this individual was arrested 153 timesthat I’m aware of,” said Chief Edward Strong. “Through his record, he usesseveral aliases. He’s been arrested under different names.”
According to authorities, Baldwin’s arrest record dates back to the1980s, but Stone said this is the first time Kittery police had contact withhim.
“In such a short period of time, I’ve never seen an individual arrestedthis many times,” Stone said. “I’ve been here 32 years, and I’ve never seenanyone with an arrest record this long.” Baldwin lists a Portsmouth address,and that’s where the majority of contactswith police have come.
“I can tell you we’re very familiarwith Mr. Baldwin,” said PortsmouthCapt. Corey MacDonald. “Based on hisrecent arrest in Maine, we may have someadditional charges we may be bringing forward.”
MacDonald said the additional charges could include suspended finestied to his most recent jail term for simple assault.
Authorities said this type of repeat offender is a drain on the police,court and corrections systems.
“We don’t deal with many people this often,” MacDonald said. “Whenyou look at people who have reoccurring contact with law enforcement,you start to look at the strain it has on our resources just to deal with themover and over again.”
Baldwin is being held at the York County Jail and is scheduled toappear in court on Aug. 9.
