LEWISTON – Police Chief William Welch is not one to say, ‘I told you so.’ But with Norman “Bo” Thompson engaged in a standoff with Maine State Police on Thursday, it was difficult not to note the irony.

Less than a week before, Lewiston police had captured Thompson and sent him to jail, only to see him released without bail two days later.

“It’s obviously easy to judge after the fact,” Welch said. “But by the same token, everyone else in the world knew last week that this guy was a flight risk.”

The District Attorney’s Office was criticized last week for not arguing more strenuously for high bail after Thompson was captured. He was being sought as a suspect in a series of thefts. Thompson had skipped out on bail at least twice in the past and was considered erratic and dangerous by police.

“This is the kind of guy jails are built for,” said Androscoggin County Sheriff Guy Desjardins, who was following news of the standoff late Thursday afternoon. “Last week, my chin just hit the desk when I heard he was being released.”

Thompson, 35, of Lewiston was caught two weeks ago after initially eluding police following a foot chase. He was arrested a day later, jailed and then freed. A week after that, Thompson was captured again after jumping from a third-floor balcony in an attempt to escape police.

Thompson was released again Oct. 5 without bail. On Thursday, six days later, police captured him once more after a long standoff in a Mexico house.

“It’s just very disappointing that we put people in jeopardy that didn’t need to be put in jeopardy,” Welch said. “We’re utilizing resources that could have been utilized somewhere else. Neighbors have been put in fear and it could all have been prevented. It’s a shame.”

Police from almost every department in the region had critical words last week for the justice system that allowed Thompson to be freed yet again. District Attorney Norm Croteau said at the time that Justice Joyce Wheeler had made her decision and they had to abide by it.

However, others faulted the prosecutor in the case for not familiarizing himself with Thompson’s criminal history and for not demanding that bail be set.

“There are 10 or 15 people in our jail right now that should not be here, in my opinion,” Desjardins said. Those people include a man who has been sitting in jail because he can’t afford to pay a $150 fine. That man has no history of street crime or of running from police, as Thompson does.

“To have (Thompson) released, to have him walk right out the front door, was just unbelievable,” Desjardins said. “It’s a matter of public safety.”

It was not only police who expressed shock last week that Thompson had been released. Readers in online forums expressed equal outrage, and one of Thompson’s brothers said he was bewildered and angry that he had been released from jail yet again.

“He’s hurting a lot of innocent people,” Richard Wilbur said. “He should never have been released on personal recognizance in the first place.”

Personal-recognizance bail is essentially a defendant’s promise that he will appear for a later court date.

“I’m troubled,” said Russ Dillingham, the Sun Journal photographer who gained national attention last week after helping to capture Thompson. “It seems to me he might have come out of this if they had kept him in jail.”

Oxford County Sheriff Wayne Gallant, a former Rumford and Wilton police chief, voiced frustration from the scene late Thursday.

“Even his family said he should have been in jail, and (the court) bailed him,” Gallant said. “It’s amazing. If this guy had been incarcerated none of us would be out here. It’s certainly a situation that will create a lot of dialogue.”

Mexico Police Chief Jim Theriault said his officers have been looking for Thompson in connection to three car thefts and five car burglaries.

“He got out of jail last Thursday, and he stole a car Friday,” Theriault said.

Local police were waiting Thursday night to see how things would turn out in the standoff in Mexico. With Thompson wanted by several police departments, Desjardins was aware that the suspect could end up again in his county jail.

“Let’s just hope nobody gets hurt,” the sheriff said. “Let’s hope that this time, he ends up in jail for a longer time.”

Sun Journal Regional Editor Scott Thistle contributed to this report.