JENKINSVILLE - The mayor of a small midlands town says he was wrongfully arrested after he was taken to jail for trespassing, in what has become a year-long dispute between neighbors along a dirt road on Lake Monticello.
On April 18, Gregory Ginyard was charged with "trespassing, entering premises after warning or refusing to leave on request" and taken to the Fairfield County Detention Center.
Ginyard is the mayor of Jenkinsville, a town situated on the Monticello Reservoir - population somewhere around 80 people. His family has lived along Lakeview Drive for generations.
Until 2023, Lakeview Drive was maintained by the county. The road is considered an "easement" - a property right that allows for a public right-of-way on private land.
Last April, the town said it was in an "escalating public safety and infrastructure crisis" after an out-of-town developer placed a shed in the middle of Lakeview Drive, blocking access to several homes further down the road.
That sparked a legal fight between the town, the developer, and Fairfield County. The developer, Todd Jacobs, was supposed to appear in court last summer, but the county quietly dropped the charges against him shortly before the trial was slated to begin.
Half of Jacob's land is in Fairfield County, and half is in the Town of Jenkinsville. According to the mayor's attorney, Columbia's Tyler Bailey, he was arrested after traveling up the easement in his official capacity to see if the work being done on the land had the proper town permits.
"This should have never happened," Bailey said. "He's arrested under 'trespass after notice' - I don't even believe that applies in this case. I don't believe that he could even be considered trespassing if he's inquiring about work being down in the town, when he has a reason to believe there's no legitimate permits or whatever compliance is needed for the work to take place."
Why was the mayor arrested?
The Saturday of the arrest, Ginyard was doing yard work at his home, two houses down from Jacobs’ property. Bailey said that the mayor saw a crew working on Jacobs’ land and traveled up Lakeview Drive to inquire about whether or not there was a work permit for the construction. According to Bailey, Jacobs was not on the property at the time.
"I believe he has a right to be on the private road," Bailey said. "On top of that, I believe there's a right, as the mayor, that he has to see if work is being done on town property without a permit. That's not trespassing."
Ginyard returned to his home after speaking with the crew. Shortly after, deputies from the Fairfield County Sheriff's Department showed up at Ginyard's door to arrest him, according to Bailey.
Bailey said it's "highly unusual" for someone to be arrested and taken to jail for trespassing, especially since Ginyard was not on a formal notice from the landowner and had already left the property on his own accord when police arrived.
"Mayor Ginyard wants his day in court to prove his innocence," Bailey said. "Nothing short of a dismissal or 'not guilty' (verdict) is going to help restore his credibility."
Why was there a shed in the middle of the road?
The conflict arose when Jacobs bought a parcel of land in 2010 on the shore of Lake Monticello belonging to a Ginyard family member.
A Jenkinsville town ordinance passed in 2008 says that any new homes built on the lake must sit on at least 1 acre of property. However, pre-existing homes on the land can be renovated.
When Jenkinsville Mayor Gregory Ginyard learned Jacobs planned to knock down an existing house to build a new one, the mayor said he informed Jacobs he'd be in violation of the ordinance because his parcel of land was less than an acre.
Jacobs knocked down the house anyway. Then he placed a shed on it.
Jacobs also purchased a parcel of land across Lakeview Drive, which sits squarely in Fairfield County. Documentation provided by the county shows that Jacobs obtained a building permit to move a "pre-built tiny home" to the county land.
Because that parcel exists outside of town limits, the restriction on building new homes wouldn't apply.
However, a stop work order sent on March 26 claims Jacobs put his structure on a "location outside of what was designated on the submitted site plan."
An attached violation photo shows the shed in its original location -- sitting on his lakefront parcel, property Ginyard said is in Jenkinsville.
The county ordered that Jacobs take "corrective actions" by moving the shed back onto the site he was permitted, across the road.
Fairfield County Administrator Vic Carpenter said after the stop work order was issued, Jacobs moved the shed into the middle of the road, which -- he said -- is still not where the site permit says it should be.
Jacobs previously maintained that he has a legal right to keep the structure in the middle of the road, calling any challenges by the town the result of a "personal vendetta" and claims the Ginyard family is trying to "steal (his) property."
The shed has since been moved, but a large log still blocks the road, Bailey said.