MEXICO — A Mexico man who gained national notoriety in October 2007 by jumping off a third-story balcony in Lewiston only to be tackled by Sun Journal photographer Russ Dillingham is back behind bars in Paris.
Norman Thompson, 42, of 9 Oxford St., was arrested Tuesday by Oxford County Lt. Chancey Libby on charges of theft by unauthorized taking and unlawful possession of tizanidine, a muscle relaxant, according to a police affidavit.
Thompson made his initial court appearance on the charges in Oxford County Superior Court in Paris on Wednesday. Bail was set at $1,000 cash or $10,000 real estate. Unable to pay bail, he was remanded back to Oxford County Jail in Paris. He is to be arraigned July 7.
Thompson was back before the judge Thursday on a probation violation charge from a Monday arrest by Mexico police Chief Roy Hodsdon.
Hodsdon said Wednesday that Thompson had been released from prison three months ago. He had served 19 months of a 10-year sentence for convictions on May 15, 2009, on burglary and theft charges, a clerk in the District Attorney’s Office in Paris said Thursday.
Thompson could be returned to prison on Monday’s probation violation to serve the remainder of the 2009 sentence. Thompson’s criminal history dates back to a misdemeanor assault charge in 1990. He since has been convicted of more than a dozen crimes.
Sun Journal photographer Russ Dillingham photographed Thompson’s leap from a third-floor balcony to escape police and federal agents on Oct. 3, 2007, before Dillingham tackled Thompson at the behest of police. Thompson was living in Lewiston at the time.
Prior to that leap, investigators from Lewiston, Auburn, Maine State Police and the Maine Warden Service had been searching for Thompson in connection with the theft of several vehicles.
Six days later, Thompson held police at bay for more than 14 hours at his mother’s house in Mexico while getting high on cocaine, according to Sun Journal archives. His mother and 10-year-old daughter weren’t home at the time.
According to a report at the time by then-Sgt. Roy Hodsdon of the Mexico Police Department, Thompson broke into a nearby house and used a wheelbarrow to take away computers, a television, a DVD player and a stereo.
During the standoff, Thompson had retreated to a crawl space under the attached shed, where he remained as the deployed tactical team finally packed up to leave by nightfall. As Thompson smoked a cigarette, he was sniffed out of his hiding place by a police dog, arrested and jailed.
On Oct. 7, 2008, Thompson was found incompetent to stand trial and was committed to the Riverview Psychiatric Center in Augusta and his cases were postponed until he was deemed competent.
According to Lt. Libby’s affidavit on the new charges, on March 8, Thompson sold an Apple laptop stolen from a Telstar High School senior to a Mexico couple for $50.
Thompson was found on Main Street in Mexico. During a search, a pill bottle was found. The Mexico couple and a third man who said Thompson tried to sell him snow-boarding gear, picked Thompson out of a lineup, the affidavit stated.
Staff Writer Christopher Crosby contributed to this story.
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