Greg Risling
NEWPORT BEACH -- Surpassing the century mark in nearly any field or
category is considered an accomplishment.
But not when you have been arrested 100 times for the same offense -- in
one city.
Dating back to 1985, Newport Beach police have consistently encountered
the same weather-beaten face covered with sun-drenched locks sitting in
the doorways of stores along the peninsula. Sometimes he is belligerent;
other times, he can be charming. Either way, he is usually stone drunk.
This is the story of Mark David Allen.
Only 38 years of age, Allen has amassed an astonishing record of public
intoxication arrests in California and Hawaii. Over a 15-year period,
Newport Beach police have arrested him 106 times, a dubious distinction
that has landed Allen the title of the city's "All-Time Leader in
Arrests."
"No one has come close," said Newport Beach police Sgt. Mike McDermott.
"We've had a couple of guys who racked up a lot of arrests, but nothing
like this that we can remember."
Allen could be dismissed as a hopeless case, a degenerate alcoholic that
has been bounced from jail to halfway houses and back onto the street.
But those who have dealt with Allen want to intervene before the booze
takes his life.
It hasn't worked before. And, it might not now. They know the road to
sobriety starts with himself.
"He's got more than a problem," said Stephen Bartol, a deputy public
defender who represents Allen. "We are going to try our best to see if we
can get him in a comprehensive rehabilitation program.
"In most cases, the people who are ready to get recovery do. Those who
aren't ready don't."
No one really remembers when Allen took his first drink -- only that his
stepfather died from a bout with alcoholism. Allen grew up in Newport
Beach, attending Newport Harbor High School. His need to be near the
ocean is obvious, becoming a talented surfer at one point. He is also
handy with the brush, an amateur artist who likes to draw glassy waves
and sandy beaches.
Allen has survived multiple near-death experiences. He was involved in a
serious car accident when he was a teenager and several years later,
recovered from another traffic accident that required doctors to put a
steel plate in his head. He has been revived by paramedics after he
nearly drowned off the Newport coast.
He's been known to pound an entire bottle of vodka and still remain
coherent. His blood-alcohol level has peaked well past .25 -- nearly
three times the legal limit -- and hasn't stumbled.
