Convicted kidnapper Norman Dickinson’s stay in Westbrook may end up being a short one.

Dickinson, whose recent move to Westbrook has angered some residents, is being held in the Cumberland County Jail on a probation violation and his landlord said Dickinson would not be returning to the apartment when he is released.

The landlord, who spoke to the American Journal Tuesday afternoon on a condition of anonymity, said he has told Dickinson’s probation officer and housing officer that he wanted Dickinson out of the apartment he had recently moved to at 622 Main St.

The landlord said a recent incident in which Dickinson was placed in jail on a probation violation caused him to change his mind about renting the apartment to him. He also said he spoke to neighbors, who said they were not comfortable having Dickinson in the neighborhood.

The landlord said he has only given a verbal notice that he wants Dickinson out, but he was prepared to give a written eviction notice if it were necessary.

Assistant Regional Correctional Administrator Scott Landry said he was not aware of any move by the landlord to break his lease with Dickinson. However, he added the landlord is within his rights to move to get Dickinson out of the apartment. “The landlord is welcome to take any formal procedures he wants to take,” he said.

Landry said he viewed it as a dispute between Dickinson and the landlord, and the state would not get in the middle of that dispute. However, absent a written notice of eviction, Landry would not rule out the possibility that Dickinson could return to Westbrook on his release. “We’re going to do what makes sense for Norman and the public,” he said.

In 1989, when Dickinson was 20 years old, he was convicted of kidnapping. He was never charged with or convicted of any sex crime, and he is on probation until 2010 for assaulting a corrections officer. As part of the requirements of his probation, Dickinson must wear an electronic monitoring bracelet and cannot leave his house without authorized supervision.

Dickinson, who was living in Westbrook for one day before his arrest on a probation violation on Dec. 13, appeared in court last Wednesday (Dec. 21) and he is being held in the Cumberland County Jail until a release contract can be worked out with Maine Pretrial Services.

Landry said he wasn’t sure when the contract would be worked out, and he added that Maine Pretrial Services could place additional bail restrictions on Dickinson as part of the contract.

Regional Correctional Administrator Lisa Nash called the incident for which Dickinson is being held “a very minor technical violation,” which took place on Dec. 13, the day after he moved to Westbrook.

While Nash said she could not discuss the specifics of the incident, she said it occurred at an agency in Portland where Dickinson left his escort and walked directly to his probation officer’s office. Since Dickinson is prohibited from being out of his house without an escort, he was taken to jail.

After Dickinson is released from jail, Nash said he would still have to appear in court for a hearing on the probation violation. She said that a date for that hearing has not been set.

Norman Dickinson