SKOWHEGAN — Ramon Roderick Rodriguez, an 89-year-old homeless man charged with failure to appear in court on a trespass charge, was released from jail on Christmas Eve and headed for parts unknown despite authorities’ efforts to place him in a shelter.

Officials at the Somerset County Jail said that before releasing Rodriguez on Wednesday they contacted several homeless shelters between Brunswick and Bangor, but all of them refused to take him because of previous encounters. Jail staff were told that he refused to abide by shelter rules.

Rodriguez had some money, so officers at the jail said they ended up placing him in a taxi Wednesday afternoon without knowing where he was going.

Somerset County Chief Deputy Dale Lancaster, who takes over as sheriff next week, said Rodriguez’s behavior has alienated people who have tried to help him, and he also has refused accommodations at homeless shelters.

“It’s a sad case,” Lancaster said.

Rodriguez previously has refused to go to the men’s homeless shelter in Skowhegan that is run by Trinity Evangelical Free Church because he didn’t want to follow its rules.

In court Wednesday, Rodriguez had to use a hearing device provided by the court to hear the proceedings and could not read the complaint against him because of his failing eyesight. He was offered a 48-hour jail sentence, with full credit for time already served since his most recent arrest. He declined the offer, opting instead for a trial, which he said was his constitutional right.

Because he is not charged with a felony and will not face jail time on the misdemeanor charge, he cannot be issued a court-appointed lawyer, Judge Andrew Benson told him. Rodriguez will have to defend himself at his next hearing set for Feb. 2 in Somerset County Superior Court in Skowhegan.

Rodriguez is well known to central Maine law enforcement for his messy campsites, his aggressive Rottweiler, Butchie, who since has died, and his appearance and attitude. He first came to Skowhegan and set up a blanket camp near downtown in 2006 and returned in 2010, when local police attempted to find him legal places to camp.

Before Skowhegan, he crossed paths with police in Farmington, Waterville, Madison and in Oxford County, according to published reports. Residents complained about his sudden outbursts and said he often appeared confrontational.

Rodriguez was arrested by Maine State Police on Oct. 24 after he refused to remove a camper from the property of the Wal-Mart in Palmyra. He was released Oct. 29 on personal recognizance and a promise to show up in court Nov. 26 to face a charge of criminal trespass. He did not show up and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

According to the complaint filed in court, Rodriguez remained at the Wal-Mart in defiance of the store manager’s order to leave.