Police say a homeless man who had been released from jail just hours earlier told officers he wanted to be put back in jail so he could have a meal and a place to sleep.

According to records at the Burleigh County Detention Center, Maynard Elkins had been in custody on Sunday on a criminal trespass charge filed in municipal court. He was released at 11:15 a.m. Monday and is scheduled to appear at a court trial on that charge on Feb. 14.

Bismarck Police Officer Pat Renz said Elkins, 52, was arrested Monday afternoon after employees at the Red Carpet Car Wash, 919 S. Washington St., called police at 5:26 p.m. to report a man shoplifting items.

When officers arrived, the man was waiting outside for them with $117 worth of convenience items taken from inside the store, Renz said.

"It was his desire, he told police officers, to be taken to jail," Burleigh County State's Attorney Richard Riha said.

Renz said an officer told him it was possible he would be released from custody after being booked at the police station for misdemeanor theft. He said Elkins then became violent and resisted police efforts to arrest him.

Elkins was charged Tuesday in district court with preventing arrest, a Class Amisdemeanor. He has not yet been charged in relation to the alleged shoplifting. That allegation would be handled in Bismarck Municipal Court on Thursday if he is charged.

Riha asked Surrogate Judge Benny Graff to impose a $1,000 cash bond as to "oblige" Elkins in his request to remain in jail. Riha said Elkins has "quite a record,"which according to court documents includes convictions for reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, preventing arrest, simple assault and indecent exposure.

Graff imposed the bond and said Elkins must have written permission to stay at a local address before being released. Elkins said he plans to apply for a court-appointed attorney.

Sue Martin, director of the Ruth Meiers Hospitality House, said her agency's 21-capacity men's emergency shelter has not been full in recent days since the temperature has warmed up slightly.

"The last couple of weeks, we were full," she said.

She said she could not say whether Elkins had attempted to stay at the shelter because of privacy concerns.

The hospitality house, Bismarck's only emergency shelter for men, has room for men in need, unless the person has a warrant for his arrest or breaks the house's rules, Martin said. The shelter has no tolerance for drugs and alcohol or threats to staff and other residents, and sometimes people may be asked to leave for a few weeks until they have gotten stabilized on their medications, she said.

"A lot of the people we deal with here have mental health issues," Martin said.

Even if a man has a warrant for his arrest, the shelter will accept him back if he has taken care of the matter, she said.

"The only people we will not take are registered sex offenders," she said.

(Reach reporter Jenny Michael at 250-8225 or jenny.michael@bismarcktribune.com.)