National Champion Arrestee

NH man arrested for the 153rd time to plead guilty

Jun 02 2009 08:11PM CDT

Paul Baldwin Claims to Have Been Arrested more Times Than Any Other American

A man has been arrested for the 153rd time, this time after he was accused of punching someone in the face over the weekend. Paul Baldwin, 49, told a judge Monday he plans to plead guilty to the assault, along with trespassing and alcohol charges. He said he's had a long battle with alcohol and was trying to correct the problem during his most recent one-year jail term, which ended last week.

The Foster's Daily Democrat newspaper said Baldwin's record dates to 1984 and includes 152 other arrests, eight trespass orders, 75 citations, four Social Security aliases and 17 name aliases.

Prosecutor Rena DiLando said she didn't have time to read Baldwin's full criminal record because it's so long.

In an interview following his arraignment, Baldwin said he did not begin with any intention of becoming the most arrested man in America. "It just happened," he said.

"And then, after a while it sorta became my ambition. I thought to myself, Hey man, this is something you really do well; this is your expertise, your life calling. I didn't want anyone to get arrested more times than I; it was a competition, and I was determined to blow my rivals away. I'm 49 now, and if I can just maintain this pace a while longer no one will be able to catch me."

When asked if it was possible that he liked to be in jail because he was fed regularly, had his own cell, and didn't have any financial responsibilities, Balwin said, "Oh, no. I much prefer to be on the outside. If I staid in jail most of the time then I couldn't get arrested. You make one little mistake, and kill someone, and you get sentenced to 25, 40 years, maybe even for life. You can't get arrested when you're already in prison, so there goes any chance at a world record."