One Red Oak Man has cost the county more than $46,738

Kim Jack Douglas Trost has been arrested here a total of 43 times in the last 11 years, serving nearly 18 months in county jail during that period for a slew of disorderly conduct charges, driving offenses, and other petty misdemeanors –– and he’s only 29.

The Red Oak repeat offender has already cost the county nearly $14,000 in jail costs, and more than $33,000 in court fees.

“He’d go from burglary, to driving offenses, to disorderly, contempt of court… several thefts,” said Jon Spunaugle, first-deputy with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, of Trost’s long criminal record. “He’s violated probation at least four times.”

At least 18 times Trost hasn’t paid his court-mandated fines –– one as high as $2,702 –– records show. Spunaugle said while the man has been in jail he’s racked up additional expenses for doctor visits, transportation and law enforcement labor costs, which are nearly impossible to calculate.

“He’s a constant drain to the judicial system,” said Montgomery County Sheriff Joe Sampson, while thumbing through the man’s 11-year county jail log, which is more than an inch thick.

Red Oak Police say they maintain an equally impressive file on Trost, who was first arrested here in March 1998 on domestic charges, according to court records.

Trost’s most recent arrest was May 18, when deputies charged him with receiving stolen property and detained him on a $5,000 bond.

On Tuesday morning, a handcuffed Trost –– who officials have dubbed a “regular” –– joked with jail workers from his cell, before they ushered him to the adjacent courthouse.

Trost wore an orange jump suit and jail-issued sandals and showed off scrapes, cuts and bruises on his knees and elbows.

It’s unclear when –– or how –– he got them, but Montgomery County Jail Administrator Mike Sanchez said the county could incur more costs if Trost needed to be treated for those medical conditions.

Sanchez said it costs at least $25 minimum each day just to house a prisoner in the jail. More costs are incurred for those who require medical treatment, counseling or have other special needs. That money comes from taxpayers who support the county facility, and officials say Trost –– and other repeat offenders –– can easily become financial burdens on the system.

“Not only does it cost us, but it costs the state,” Sampson said, when officers must send suspected narcotic samples to be tested in Des Moines laboratories or transport detainees to other facilities.

What can the county do to curtail costs from repeat offenders?

Not much, Sampson said.

“Someone can be arrested everyday for a simple misdemeanor and still not be sent to prison,” where Sampson says the most hardened offenders just become a drain on state or federal taxpayers.

Local law enforcement officers described Trost as unrepentant for his crimes, but not especially difficult to deal with. He usually cooperates with everyone,

“It’s a meal and a warm bed for a day or two,” said Spunaugle of Trost’s frequent jail visits. “They keep dumping this kid out.”

He’s usually released within a few days from each initial visit, officials said, before he finds his way back to the jail.

Trost did serve about 18 months in prison for a felony offense between 2001 and 2004, court records show, but most of his criminal record consists of numerous misdemeanor crimes. Since he was released from prison in 2004, officials said he’s been lodged in the Montgomery County jail an average of 50 times each year.

“He’s got a helluva record, that’s for sure,” Sanchez said.

A small group, presumed to be Trost’s family and friends, waited outside a Montgomery County court office Tuesday morning, where Trost pleaded not guilty –– as he nearly always does –– to receiving stolen property.

That means he’ll eventually get his day in court –– most likely at the expense of a county-retained defender. A preliminary hearing for Trost is scheduled for June 2.

Trost tried to conceal his face from cameras Tuesday as jail officials escorted him from the courthouse to his cell.

There, he’ll likely remain –– on the taxpayers’ tab – until someone posts bond.

General assignment reporter Michelle Lingle contributed to this story.