What would you do if you found a burly county agent in your bedroom, demanding that you cut your grass?
Erica Masters of Martinez in Columbia County, near Augusta, captured such an encounter recently on her home surveillance camera when code compliance officer Jimmy Vowell entered her bedroom to demand she come out to sign a summons.
"He let himself in and actually came through the house and into my bedroom and yelled at me to wake me up to let me know that I needed to come back outside and sign the violation notice," Masters told WJBF-TV News Channel 6 station in Augusta.
"I woke up, I didn't have my glasses on or my contacts in and all I see is this big burly figure standing in my doorway," she said. "A big huge guy with a grey shirt. It scared the mess out of me."
The video shows Vowell at the front door, then moments later walking slowly through the home and peering into rooms. Moments later Masters is seen nervously walking through the home.
Vowell, who first denied he'd entered Master's home, was fired Monday over the incident.
In a Facebook posting, Vowell said he called out to Masters several times before entering after he said he smelled something, according to the Columbia County News-Times.
"It was a violation of policy as it relates to entering a house without permission and making a false statement to a supervisor," Columbia County Administrator Scott Johnson told the News-Times. If a code compliance officer found cause to enter a home, a law enforcement officer would have to accompany him or her, officials said.
Masters, who plans to sue, said she called 911 after the incident but the operator did not alert the authorities after she found out Vowell was a compliance officer.
"I do understand that my yard needs to be cut," Masters, who plans to move, told the TV station. "I understand them having to serve a violation notice. But the way they handled it was completely unacceptable."
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