A Whitehall man is facing a charge police say they rarely file because of the circumstances necessary to file it.

Aaron S. Earley, 33, of South Williams Street, was charged Sept. 21 by village police with first-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, a felony, after he was pulled over on Poultney Street at 1:04 a.m.

Upon being stopped, Earley reportedly told police he had no driver’s license and expected to be arrested because he had 18 scofflaw violations for failing to respond to other charges. Police subsequently discovered he had 28 scofflaw violations on 11 different dates.

The number of incidents led to the felony charge, which Whitehall Police Chief David Buxton said he had never before seen in 28 years in law enforcement. State Vehicle and Traffic Law elevates unlicensed operation to a felony after the person charged accumulates “ten or more suspensions, imposed on at least ten separate dates for failure to answer, appear or pay a  fine.”

After being processed on the felony charge and three additional Vehicle and Traffic Law violations, Earley was released on an appearance ticket.