UPDATE @ 9 p.m. Oct. 1: A 59-year-old man arrested more than 200 times for panhandling tried to hide his sign in his pants when police were called to a begging complaint.
Police responded around 4 p.m. to the area of Riverside Drive and East Siebenthaler Avenue, where callers said a man was walking into traffic, asking for money.
A Dayton officer said he "immediately recognized" Clayton James Peck even though Peck had his back to the officer. Peck was holding a cardboard sign that read "Homeless Anything Will Help." When he spotted the cruiser, he put the sign down his pants as he tried to briskly walk away, according to a Dayton police report.
Peck was arrested on suspicion of panhandling in a prohibited place and without a panhandling registration. He was originally told of the new panhandling law in July 2011, and has since been arrested more than 200 times, Dayton police said.
Peck is being held in lieu of $5,000 bond in the Montgomery County Jail, online jail records show.
UPDATE @ 1 p.m. Oct. 1: Clayton Peck was arrested at Riverside & Siebenthaler on a complaint of panhandling. He's in Montgomery County Jail awaiting his Wednesday afternoon court appearance.
REVIOUS STORY FROM June 1, 2012
A 57-year-old man who has been arrested nearly 200 times in Dayton was arrested Thursday night, a day after being released from jail.
Clayton J. Peck was returned to the Montgomery County Jail after he was arrested around 10 p.m. for allegedly panhandling at the North Main Street exit ramp for Interstate 75, according to Dayton police records.
Police said Peck was holding up a sign that stated, "Homeless, anything will help, God bless," and approaching motorists who were stopped at the light.
The arresting officer noted in the report that Peck has been arrested 197 times by Dayton police, including nine under two false social security numbers.
Dayton Municipal Court records show there are 386 criminal cases against Peck dating back to 1996, a court official said.
Dayton municipal law prohibits panhandling using a sign or without a license.
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