A 50-year-old man whom police have described as a "well-known scam artist" was arrested again Thursday after he allegedly approached a woman in Minneapolis with a pitch for emergency cash.

Mark C. Bell told the woman that his car broke down and was about to be towed, according to charges filed Friday in Hennepin County District Court.

Versions of the same story, with an accompanying plea for cash, have led Minneapolis and Golden Valley police to issue crime alerts about Bell and his alleged activities.

He is scheduled to be at court Monday in connection with Thursday's incident near Nicollet Avenue and 18th Street E., plus several others dating to earlier this year.

ANTHONY LONETREE