James Durgin, the central figure of the NBC Bay Area streaming series "Saving San Francisco," has been on the run from law enforcement for roughly two weeks, but Monday evening he was arrested, once again.
Durgin, 55, estimates he’s been in and out of jail more than 100 times in San Francisco. His sordid criminal history and complicated life have long embodied many of the same social ills plaguing San Francisco, including struggles with homelessness, drug addiction, and the criminal justice system.
Durgin, a once well-respected private school teacher and fitness coach, has been convicted of a range of crimes over the past two decades relating to drug use and violence. While the court has repeatedly ordered him to attend rehab, he has often walked out, many times within just hours of enrolling.
Last month, both local and federal authorities obtained arrest warrants for Durgin, accusing him of separate crimes. After abandoning the transitional housing he was assigned to in March, Durgin became a wanted man for violating the terms of his probation. Just one day after San Francisco’s adult probation department obtained its arrest warrant, Durgin failed to appear in federal court for a hearing stemming from an unrelated vandalism charge, resulting in federal prosecutors obtaining their own arrest warrant.
The federal charge stems from an incident on Nov. 27, in which Durgin was caught on surveillance video writing cryptic messages on the front doors of homes in the Presidio, including “she’s mine” and “she’s my love.”
Neighbors believe the graffiti was meant for one of their neighbors, Ann Rea, who was also profiled in ‘Saving San Francisco.’ Rea, who says she had never known about Durgin until he attempted to break into her home, has had a restraining order against him since August 2017. Durgin, however, has been repeatedly captured on security video violating that restraining order by returning to Rea’s front doorstep at all hours of the day, once even naked.
Durgin remains in custody in San Francisco County jail and is expected back in court Thursday to answer for his most recent probation violation. Once that case makes its way through the court system, Durgin will likely be transferred into federal custody to face his pending vandalism charge.
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