Judge orders Amissville man to vacate late mother’s estate

Property described as ‘apocalyptic’

A Rappahannock County Circuit Court judge ordered Christopher Demitry of Amissville on Friday to vacate his late mother’s estate within 24 days, or face further legal repercussions and possible jail time. 

The ruling comes after a year-long legal battle between Demitry and next-door neighbor Vincent Caporuscio over the condition of the estate at 395 Seven Ponds Road — a main point being a crater-like hole dug near the house — and its noncompliance with county zoning ordinances. 

Attorney David Konick, who represents Caporuscio, told Judge James E. Plowman at Friday’s hearing that last May, the court entered an injunction against Demitry, ordering him to apply for and obtain soil disturbance permits and an inspection, and prove that the property was brought up to code, none of which has been done.

In April of last year, the Caporuscio family sued the Demitrys and the Board of Supervisors over the soil and erosion ordinance violations.

Konick argued in court that the digging on the Demitry property is causing damage to the Caporuscios’ property, and “silting up” their pond when it rains. The Caporuscio property is listed for sale, and he said the state of the neighboring property is deterring potential buyers.

“From our perspective, we’re the adjoining property owner, and this is causing damage…the court ordered this to be done 51 weeks ago and it’s still not done,” Konick said. “This whole mess is creating a situation where whoever comes to look at [the Caporuscio property] says, ‘What’s going on with that next door?’”

Attorney T. Huntley Thorpe, who represents Demitry’s sister, Nicole Demitry, agreed with Konick that something needs to be done about the state of the property, which he described as “atrocious, like something out of Mad Max,” and “apocalyptic.” 

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In what Demitry says is an effort to “honor his mother’s memory,” he is renovating the property to be sold as well. 

Thorpe said the construction Demitry has completed includes a “hole the size of this courtroom,” and a long trench at the back of the 10-acre property. Various large metalworks are also scattered throughout the yard. 

Thorpe told the judge that Nicole Demitry is trying to get the property in compliance, but contractors and county inspectors refuse to step foot on the property out of fear of her brother. Thorpe said Christopher Demitry has made threatening social media posts and videos, and posted “what could only be described as a manifesto,” which have all deterred anyone from stepping foot on the property. 

“I think she’s done all she can do at this point, the question is what to do with Mr. Demitry,” Thorpe said. “The agents can’t carry it out, out of fear of Mr. Demitry…[There are] concerns of stability of the person who did this sort of stuff.” 

The siblings had co-ownership of the estate after their mother’s passing, but Demitry’s sister has since sued and won full control of the estate, according to Thorpe. Thorpe said Demitry was given notice by his sister to vacate the premises by the end of April, but has not done so. 

Demitry addressed the court, claiming that no erosion had taken place, and that he has an active appeal of the court’s ruling giving his sister sole control of the estate. 

Demitry claims that his sister “committed destruction of property” against him totalling $200,000, and that a verbal agreement was made between them giving him sole control of the property instead of paying him back or going to court over the damages. Now, he is pursuing a civil destruction of property case against her. He asked the court to delay proceedings and not force him off of the property until these other cases are settled.

Judge Plowman said the court cannot wait for decisions of other courts, and determined that legally, Nicole Demitry has sole control of the estate and decisions regarding it. Despite Demitry saying he would vacate the property when workers or county officials were present, Plowman ordered him to vacate permanently, and gave him until June 10 to do so. 

“The contractors are not willing to work when you’re there…we need a plan for you to be out of there so they can correct things that need to be corrected,” Plowman said. 

“You want to put a halt on this process for something that may not substantiate…that’s not fair to these parties who want this issue resolved…if we were to wait for appeals to work their way through the system, nothing on this level would ever get [resolved],” the judge said.

Plowman set a court date for June 10 to review the case and Demitry’s compliance with the order to vacate.