DILLINGHAM: On Tuesday afternoon Jim Bingman, Jr., 42, was arrested for trespassing at the apartment complex formerly owned by his father James Bingman, Sr. Last month the city finished its foreclosure and took ownership on all Bingman properties, citing more than $300,000 in unpaid back taxes and fees. KDLG's Dave Bendinger has more:
Audio transcript:
Dillingham Police say Jim Bingman, Jr., had been served an eviction notice and was not allowed to be in any building other than his residence in one of the apartment buildings on Fairview Drive. When a public works employee found Bingman in the basement of the apartment, allegedly denying the city entrance, police were called.
They found that Bingman had cut a hole through the floor of his apartment to the basement to gain access. At his arraignment Wednesday, Bingman said he cut the hole a long time ago and since considers the basement to be the lower floor of his apartment.
He also claimed the police had kidnapped him, “under color of law."
"All of my clothes have been taken from me, including my underwear," he said. Bingman objected to wearing the yellow jumpsuit, saying it identified him as an "inmate," whereas he claimed to have been kidnapped. He identified himself as a "represenative of James H. Bingman,Jr.," a tactic often used by sovereign citizens in court proceedings.
Bingman requested a restraining order against future "molestations" by police while he retrieves the rest of his and his family's belongings from the apartment. When advised that he will need a police or city escort to be in any part of the building other than his apartment, the hole notwithstanding, Bingman said that may require 30 or more hours of time.
Magistrate Judge Tina Reigh set bail on the trespass charge at $750.
Bingman was convicted of felony coercion at a 2012 trial in which he represented himself.