A serial shoplifter who has been arrested nearly 100 times was busted in Times Square after resorting to his old habits – the same day he was released from jail, authorities and sources said.
Christopher Dornfeld, 33, was released after his most recent arrest and was expected to report for residential treatment, but when he didn’t show up, police caught the repeat shoplifting offender Wednesday night stealing $267 worth of merchandise from an H&M in Times Square. police and prosecutors said.
Dornfeld was last arrested for burglary in 2022 – but his criminal record also includes 90 arrests dating back to 2006, police sources said.
Thirty-five of those arrests have since been voided or sealed, the sources said.
Dornfeld’s latest arrest came days after NYPD Chief of Crime Control Strategies Michael Lipetri announced that shoplifting crimes are being committed at an unprecedented rate. Police reported 21,000 shoplifting-related arrests this year, an increase of 2,000 from last year.
“And as we always say, shoplifting is a repeat offender crime,” he said.
“This year you have about 575 people [who] have been arrested for over 6,000 shoplifting arrests… That’s 30% of everything [the shoplifting] arrests.”
Those same 575 people have made a total of 16,000 shoplifting arrests during their criminal careers, Lipetri said.
“You look at their total arrests over their entire lifetime: 25,000 arrests.”
Dornfeld had pleaded guilty to the burglary in 2022 and was sentenced Wednesday to a maximum term of 15 months.
He was released and when he failed to report to the program, a warrant was quickly issued and he was rearrested.
Prosecutors said his guilty plea would have been withdrawn had he successfully completed the program and avoided another arrest — but now he faces a prison sentence of up to seven years.
Dornfeld is currently in police custody. He was charged with petit larceny and criminal possession of stolen property.
He has not yet been charged on the new charges.
