PORTAGE | Douglas E. Smith -- the man who calls himself "Otis the town drunk" -- was arrested Saturday on a public intoxication charge.

It was his 70th arrest.

Smith, 49, of Salt Creek Parkway in Union Township, was arrested shortly before 6 p.m. Saturday at Hidden Waters and Amanda in Portage. Police Sgt. Keith Hughes said officers arrested Smith after responding to a report of an intoxicated man stumbling around.

Authorities say if Smith is not the most arrested person ever in Porter County, he is right up there. Smith said in an earlier interview that he has been arrested for public intoxication so many times that people he sees at taverns occasionally approach him and ask for his autograph. He has spent about half his adult life behind bars.

Smith told The Times he began drinking when he was about 18. Smith brags that he can drink two cases of beer in a day, or can gulp down six bottles of wine or three fifths of hard liquor. He said he has walked around with a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.45, enough to put most people in a coma.

Court records show Smith has been treated for alcoholism numerous times, including at least three inpatient stays.

Prior to Saturday, Smith had gone more than a year without being arrested. His last arrest had been on a public intoxication charge on St. Patrick's Day in 2007. A vast majority of Smith's arrests have been on alcohol charges.