Facing a raft of charges, including armed robbery, larceny and car theft from multiple incidents earlier this month, a Gloucester man was ordered held without bail at Middleton Jail after a dangerousness hearing in Gloucester District Court on Friday, Sept. 26.
Police allege Evin Durgin committed a number of offenses from Sept. 14-16.
He was arrested by Lynn police Sept. 16 on a warrant after he was spotted in that city after police say he stole a white GMC pickup truck in front of a dry cleaners on Washington Street in Gloucester.
Durgin, 38, appeared via Zoom from jail during his Friday court appearance, defense attorney Grace Edwards said. He was also arraigned on a new charge that morning — threat to commit a crime — in connection with allegedly making threats to a person at an ice cream shop on Pleasant Street on Sept. 14, which preceded the other two incidents for which he is facing charges. A plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf on the new charge.
Durgin was initially arraigned before Judge Michael Patten on Sept. 17, where a plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf. At the time, he was ordered held without bail pending a final dangerousness hearing, which was held Friday.
Police reports outline numerous interactions with Durgin starting on Sept. 14.
At 5:08 p.m. that day, police went to Holy Cow Ice Cream for a report of a customer making threats.
An employee said a customer, later identified as Durgin, asked if he could pay by check. He was informed the shop doesn’t accept checks. After an employee refused multiple times to take the check he (Durgin) allegedly threatened to shoot the employee. The report said he did not show a gun, stayed at the take-out window briefly and walked away.
Police were able to view security camera footage from the take-out window. The officer recognized Durgin from a previous interaction with him earlier in the day.
The next day, police spoke with a woman who alleged Durgin came home with a blank signed check. The woman told police she ripped it up to prevent him from using it. Police said it’s likely Durgin attempted to use this check during the ice cream shop incident.
A report of armed robbery
Another incident at 6:35 p.m. on Sept. 14 has Durgin facing two felony counts of armed robbery, larceny of a vehicle, also a felony, and using a car without authority.
The woman who reported the blank check called police to say Durgin took her black Jeep Grand Cherokee from her apartment downtown.
At 6:49 p.m., dispatch received a report of an armed robbery and a stolen car on Cobblestone Lane.
Witnesses described a black Jeep Grand Cherokee parked and running in a parking lot near the crime scene. Police allege Durgin drove off in a stolen red Nissan Murano.
Police spoke with a man whose Nissan was stolen. He told police he worked delivering medication for a company in his personal car. He told police he had parked on Lepage Lane and went into an apartment on Cobblestone Lane, leaving his keys in the car and his vehicle unlocked.
When he came out, he saw his car was missing, along with his cell phone, wallet, with cash and credit cards and medication deliveries.
Police spoke with a couple who described being victims of an armed robbery. They said they came home to find the red Nissan parked in their assigned spot and parked next to it. They gave a description of Durgin as being 6-feet tall with dark hair, a beard, and wearing shorts, a short-sleeve T-shirt and a baseball cap, matching a description of him from earlier incidents that day.
The couple told police the man approached their car from the driver’s side, knocked on the window and brandished a pocket knife. He demanded they give him everything they had on them, including two cellphones, a wallet, purse and keys. He drove off and the couple were able to get the plate number, which matched the stolen Nissan.
Police were able to ping the three stolen cellphones and locate them at a mobile home park on Route 1 in Peabody. State Police later found the red Nissan unoccupied on East Coast Road in Danvers. Some of the medication from the Nissan appeared to be missing, the report said.
Third incident involves stolen pickup
Durgin is also facing charges of attempted larceny, unarmed robbery, witness intimidation, use of a vehicle without permission, and larceny under $1,200, stemming from a report of a theft of a red Toyota Prius from a pizza delivery driver in the area of Washington Street and Washington Square around 1 p.m. on Sept. 16.
Police arrived and were able to locate the Prius in Washington Square with the keys in the cup holder. The report said the car was found near where Durgin was reportedly staying.
Police went to a second-floor apartment to check for him and found the door had recently been forced open. Officers didn’t find anyone inside, but they did found evidence someone had just cut their hair in the bathroom.
While leaving the apartment, officers were informed a white GMC pickup was just stolen from DeMarco’s Cleaners on Washington Street, with a description of the suspect being a man over 6-feet tall. The pickup was seen heading down Washington Street toward Route 128. Police couldn’t locate the vehicle on the highway.
Police spoke with the pickup’s owner, who said he had left his truck running, parked out in front of the cleaners to grab his laundry, when a man got in and drove off. Police were able to get an image of this man.
Police spoke with the pizza delivery driver, who told them he was delivering pizza to a Washington Square address, and when he got no answer at the door, he called the number of the delivery slip.
A man reportedly matching Durgin’s description opened a door at a nearby address and said he had ordered the pizza. The delivery driver said he walked across the street and handed the man a pizza, and the man handed him what appeared to be a $100 bill, the report said.
The delivery driver said he knew instantly it wasn’t real. When he questioned this, the man put the pizza on the ground inside the doorway, grabbed the driver’s phone and jumped into the driver’s vehicle, but was unable to get the car into drive.
The driver, fearing the man had a weapon on him, fled toward a nearby store to call police. The delivery driver saw the man get out of his car, but was unsure which direction he fled. The driver reported his wallet was missing, which contained up to $150 in his own cash and that of the pizza restaurant.
Officers were later notified that Lynn police located the white pickup near 270 Union St. in Lynn. Lynn police saw a man matching Durgin’s description driving the vehicle and later took him into custody. He was picked up at the Lynn station by Gloucester police officers and taken back to the Gloucester for booking.
Lynn police also planned to summons Durgin to court for receiving a stolen vehicle and possession of a Class A drug, after a detective found a small twist of white power believed to be fentanyl in the right coin pocket of his jeans, according to the police report.
Ethan Forman may be contacted at 978-675-2714, or at eforman@northofboston.com.