By Delayna Earley
The Island News
Beaufort City Police arrested a local boater on Saturday after he docked his boat during a lighting storm to the day dock that is part of the promenade area that has been blocked off by the city as unsafe for the public.
Benji Gecy of Beaufort was arrested, jailed and issued a trespassing citation for what the police have said is a cut-and-dry trespassing case.
The Island News did not receive a response for comment from Gecy before press time, but in speaking with other media outlets he expressed that he feels that he was unjustly arrested as he was simply seeking safety during a dangerous lightning storm and there were no other options for places to dock at the time.
Gecy, along with 11 family members and friends, were on the Beaufort River at the Beaufort sandbar off of Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park when the lightning storm began.
There were two boats also tied up at the day dock, according to Gecy, and he did not see any no-trespass.
According to a spokesperson with the Beaufort Police, the day dock was clearly marked with signs letting the public know that entering the marked off area was trespassing, and all violators would be prosecuted.
Gecy said in previous interviews that Water Festival volunteers approached him to tell him that he couldn’t leave his boat docked on the day dock, but he responded that it was a matter of safety for him and the other 11 guests who were traveling with him on the boat.
Police located Gecy, his family and friends in Lost Local, a restaurant in downtown Beaufort, where they tried to give his wife a citation before turning to him as the self-proclaimed boat owner.
The local mortgage broker was arrested when he said to police that he does not believe he did anything wrong and thus would not accept the trespassing citation, according to previous interviews.
It was at that point that he was arrested as the interaction allegedly became more heated and spent almost a whole day in the Beaufort County Detention Center.
A court hearing for Gecy is scheduled for August.
Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.
