A 24-year-old man was arrested July 23 and accused of being involved in an afternoon laptop theft from a Ball Square computer business.

He was arrested again two days later in East Somerville, pepper sprayed, and charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

The same man, Christopher Hicks, was also arrested on May 10 (and charged with violating an open container law and resisting arrest) and again on July 13 (when he was charged violating an open container law).

In regard to the alleged laptop theft, according to a police report Hicks and another man walked into AngelTronics, a computer repair shop, at 735 Broadway at about 2 p.m.

According to an account in the police report, Hicks and the other man asked the owner of AngelTronics if he wanted to buy a laptop, and the other man handed over a laptop that had a sticker indicating it was property of NSTAR.

The report says this about what happened:

The owner of AngelTronics asked if it was that man's computer, and he said it was. The owner asked if the man had ID; he didn't. The owner said he needed to call the phone number listed on the NSTAR sticker, and as he was on the phone the other man grabbed an Apple laptop from the counter and fled the store with Hicks.

The owner of AngelTronics chased them toward Boston Avenue, and police ultimately took Hicks into custody, the report says.

Hicks was arrested and charged with larceny and receiving stolen property.

As it turns out, the NSTAR laptop was also stolen, according to the report.

Two days later

Two days later, Hicks was arrested again, this time in East Somerville.

At about 3:30 p.m. on July 25, an officer was at the corner of Pennsylvania and Minnesota avenues writing a citation for a moving truck when he saw a "suspicious male" on Connecticut Avenue looking into driveways, according to another police report.

The officer, who "previously had at least two encounters with him," recognized the man as Hicks, who had just been arrested two days earlier and in June and May.

The officer wrote in his report: "Based on Mr. Hicks' suspicious behavior, I believed him to be scouting the neighborhood for criminal purposes. In fact, earlier in the afternoon I saw Mr. Hicks acting very suspicious as he walked back and forth [on] Broadway in East Somerville."

When the officer tried to question Hicks, the 24-year-old tried to flee and push the officer away, according to the report.

The officer brought Hicks to the ground, Hicks continued to struggle, and the officer used a short burst of pepper spray to subdue him, the report says.

Hicks was arrested again and charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

Please remember that allegations contained in police reports do not indicate a conviction.