LEWISTON – Patrick Pennington blinked a few times in confusion at all the cameras pointing at his face on Ash Street. Then he simply hung his head and allowed himself to be walked to the back of a police cruiser as cameras continued to flash.

Pennington, 31, was one of several fugitives being sought by police Monday night on charges that he failed to pay fines on convictions for a slew of burglaries and thefts.

Pennington was found easily enough. Through a series of tips generated through the Sun Journal and news station WGME, it was quickly learned that Pennington was drinking at The Cage, a bar on Ash Street.

The bad news for Pennington was that his arrest was heavily covered by the press. The good news: all he had to do was pay a $50 fine to be released from jail. According to officials at the Androscoggin County Jail, Pennington was expected to be released early this morning.

The police and media program called “The Fugitive File” got under way just after 5 p.m. Monday. By 6 p.m., Pennington was in custody. He was the only suspect from the police most wanted files arrested during the three-hour sweep through the Twin Cities.

But while fielding phone calls, tips and leads, police learned that another man wanted on felony weapons charges might be staying at an apartment on Court Street in Auburn.

Several teams, made up of Lewiston and Maine State Police as well as the U.S. Marshal’s Service and the Central Maine Violent Crimes Task Force, swarmed on the apartment. Minutes later, 23-year-old Juan Sanchez of Massachusetts was led out of the apartment in handcuffs. Again the media cameras were waiting and photos were snapped as he was led away. Sanchez made a short comment to a photographer and partially hid his face under a sweatshirt hood.

“That one was kind of a bonus,” Chris Clifford of the U.S. Marshal’s Service said of the arrest.

Police said Sanchez was wanted for stealing at least nine guns in Massachusetts. He was taken to the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office on Monday night and was expected to be extradited later this week.

For three hours, the different teams of police and federal agents went from one address to another, mostly in downtown Lewiston. They did so acting on tips that came in as residents were invited to phone in information about some of the most wanted suspects in the area.

In one police vehicle, Officer Matt Vierling fielded well over a dozen calls on his cell phone as he prowled the downtown area. The conversations were short and occasionally frantic.

“OK. Is that the one on Horton Street? OK, we’re heading there now.”

Within minutes, several others arrived at the same address and teams of officers climbed from their vehicles.

About 5:45 p.m., a woman on Ash Street rapped on Vierling’s cruiser window. She had heard about the “Fugitive Files” and had information to share. Vierling passed along the tip to other officers and the teams fanned out.

The same course of action continued throughout the night. Friends or family members of suspects were questioned. Strangers on the street approached officers to provide what information they had. And with each new tip, the officers rushed to addresses on Oak Street, College Street, Bartlett Street and other locations in search of their fugitives.

“It’s too bad we didn’t catch more, but it was a very productive night,” said Lewiston police Sgt. Michael Parshall. “The search for wanted persons doesn’t stop. It’s going on every day and we’ll keep at it.”

A similar operation conducted by the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Department, Lewiston and Auburn police last month rounded up a handful of wanted persons, several of them sex offenders who failed to register with the state.

Police from all the involved agencies say more roundup operations are planned and the media will likely be invited again.

“The media really does help generate some tips on some of these people who do not want to be found,” Parshall said.

Sanchez was being held without bail Monday night. While Pennington was expected to be freed, police have described him as someone who needed to be caught.

Pennington was recently released from prison for two dozen burglaries in which he broke into businesses and used company telephones to access sex lines.

In total, he is suspected of committing 37 burglaries since 1997.