A Butler man with 11 convictions for shoplifting is back in prison after his weekend arrest for allegedly stealing merchandise from two city stores.

John E. Kurtz, 63, is charged with two counts of felony retail theft. He is in the Butler County Prison on $10,000 bail.

Butler police said Kurtz was arrested about 10 a.m. Saturday a short time after he shoplifted 15 items valued at $48 at the Dollar General store on North Main Street.

He is accused of tossing away most of the merchandise when a clerk tried to stop him.

When police caught up to him at McKean and North streets, they found a new container of Old Spice deodorant in his jacket pocket, according to court documents.

Officers searched the area near the store and found other merchandise including a toothbrush and more deodorant. Still other store items were found in a nearby book bag, which had Kurtz’s name on it, police said.

Also in the bag were six items worth a combined $55 that police suspect he shoplifted earlier that day from the Rite Aid store on South Main Street in Butler.

Police noted that Kurtz has 11 convictions for retail theft. Court records showed those prior convictions were all in Allegheny County between 1993 and 2007.

Meanwhile Kurtz is awaiting trial on yet another charge of retail theft, according to court records, stemming from his April 4 arrest for shoplifting in Butler.