Man Arrested For The 154th Time

A New Hampshire man's rap sheet just got a little longer. Police arrested Paul Baldwin of Portsmouth on Monday in Kittery, and it is not the first time that he saw the inside of a jail cell.

Paul Baldwin got out of prison just a few weeks ago. He's been arrested again, for the 154th time.

"This individual is definitely a menace to society. He's taken up way too much time and money," says Kittery, Maine Police Chief Edward Strong.

On Monday Baldwin and a friend were sitting on a rock outside a Kittery funeral home, drinking beer on private property, in public. Police stopped and asked where the beer was from.

"As I left they were just talking with him, bringing him in the police car," says J.S. Pelkey Funeral Services owner Jeff Pelkey.

The three packs of Bud turned out to be stolen from the Circle K across the street.

"They played back their surveillance video and definitely saw him picking up beer and walking out the door with it without paying," says Chief Strong.

Baldwin was shirtless at the time of his arrest and officers say he appeared to be inebriated. He didn't give them any trouble. After all he'd been through this 153 times before, most recently in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

"It was from May of 2009 that was an assault case," says Portsmouth Police Captain Corey MacDonald who's prosecuted Baldwin on several occasions.

Most of his arrests have happened in the granite state. Chief Strong was stunned when he printed out Baldwin's 20-page record.

"I haven't gone through them all to tell you the truth but he's got several felony thefts. We charged him with a class c felony for theft because he's been convicted so many times."

Since 1984, Baldwin's racked up 75 citations, and dozens of convictions for theft, receiving stolen property, arson and criminal mischief. He's used 4 social security aliases and given at least 18 different names to police.

"I've seen people with a lot of serious offenses, but this has been the lengthiest criminal record that I've ever seen anybody have," says Chief Strong.

And, Captain MacDonald says, "based on his most arrest in Maine, we're gonna be looking at possibly bringing any suspended fines or charges that he has here in Portsmouth."

Back at the spot where Baldwin was picked up Monday, Pelkey shrugs off his notorious guest with a half-smile.

"I just thought, you know, he'd taken a few steps closer to where he'd eventually be if continued this course of conduct."