A council chamber packed full of emotion and confusion was the scene of Monday night’s Zanesville City Council meeting as concerned renters of a former area landlord and their advocates sought answers.

Tenants from a list of roughly 40 properties owned by John Kemp, who pleaded guilty to a felony charge in connection to the murder of Kylee Lindell last month, are at risk of losing their homes as part of his plea deal.

The agreement shortens Kemp’s possible length of incarceration in exchange for his properties not encumbered with a mortgage.

According to Muskingum County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney John Litle, Kemp has acquired $816,000 in federal liens that have been applied to over 40 of his properties.

In his plea arrangement, those federal liens would be released and the properties forfeited to the City of Zanesville for demolition, which begged the question to many visitors and council members alike, why can’t the properties be salvaged?

The crime

On the evening of March 30, convicted murderer and leader of the prison gang “Real Riders,” Ryan Adams shot Lindell at point blank range in the face, according to case documents.

Many more in addition to Adams were convicted in the cover up to follow, including property owner Kemp.

On Oct. 17, Kemp pleaded guilty to his alleged involvement in the murder, accepting the third-degree felony charge of tampering with evidence since several of Kemp’s properties were used the night of the murder and in the aftermath.

According to Litle, Kemp entered into an arrangement with the Real Riders by providing his homes for the gang’s drug operation. As police caught on to the activity, Litle said Kemp would evict renters from another residence to relocate the gang members.

“The benefit he got from it was large amounts of revenue from servicing the drug industry in houses that shouldn’t be generating that type of revenue. So that’s what makes his real estate, all of his real estate, a criminal enterprise,” said Litle. “Just because somebody lived in one of these houses doesn’t mean they were a criminal. They are just caught up in a situation where the person who owns all their houses operates that whole enterprise as a criminal organization.”

The victims

With their future housing accommodations up in the air, multiple tenants from roughly 30 John Kemp Rental residences are at the heart of Kemp’s plea deal.

“I’ve said it a hundred times — these people didn’t do anything wrong,” said Litle. “They’re in this situation, and, unfortunately, the only way to get this criminal enterprise out of our city is to go through this process.”

Yet for many tenants involved, finding a new place to live is much more complicated.

“These people come from a very, very struggling background already, and they already have stresses and problems with finances and physical and mental problems that having this surprise come in was really traumatic for a lot of families,” Laura Landolt, who runs Zanesville’s Hope Innercity Ministries, said while advocating for the tenants during the council meeting.

According to Landolt, Kemp played an integral part in her ministry, oftentimes offering work and homes for those most in need.

“He is a key figure. He’s not this criminal that came in who’s this cold-hearted monster that wants to hurt people,” Landolt said of Kemp. “He really has connected with people who have gone through some tough times.”

Anita Ayotta, a tenant of Kemp’s on Putnam Avenue, echoed Landolt’s concerns, stating that many people live in Kemp’s homes due to his understanding of their struggles.

“A lot of these people don’t have the means to provide half (the rent) that’s why they’re in his houses because he’s the only person that would take them in,” Landolt said while addressing council. “There isn’t anybody else willing to do that.”

Seven people, four renters from Kemp, spoke at the council meeting about the Kemp properties to voice their concerns. One person who addressed council was Ashley Frank, the current property manager of John Kemp Rentals.

“I’m not happy about the fact that Mr. Kemp is being bashed in here and through the media,” Frank said. “There’s a lot of people that don’t know the real story and for everyone to base it off of just what he (Litle) says is not right, in my opinion.”

Prior to April, Frank managed Kemp’s properties during a stint from 2012 to 2015 while Kemp was incarcerated for crimes unrelated to the Lindell case.

The day after Kemp was incarcerated, Frank, who is a former girlfriend of Kemp’s, accepted a power of attorney to continue operating the rental properties. She said her role came into play the first of May when she began collecting rent from Kemp’s tenants.

According to Frank, of the potential properties subject to forfeiture, 27 are occupied homes with multiple residents.

Coming to Kemp’s defense, Frank disputed allegations made by Litle as he stated that Kemp was operating his real estate business in a criminal manner.

“Mr. Kemp simply rented to the wrong person,” Frank said. “There are other properties in Zanesville and everywhere else in this country that have tenants in them that are doing illegal activity and Mr. Kemp is being singled out.”

In addition to Frank, a tenant who rents one of the Kemp properties on Dryden Road argued that he has put a lot of his own time and money into the home he rents after it caught fire in 2014, which he said was an opportunity Kemp provided to him.

“It’s ours, you know what I mean,” Ryan Norman said. “It’s going to be torn down for no reason, there’s nothing wrong with it.”

In response to Norman’s claims that he was able to make improvements to his home, Litle said that Norman isn’t the only tenant of Kemp’s that was allowed to make many improvements to a property at their own expense.

“I’m very sensitive to all of these people who poured their own money into Mr. Kemp’s properties but convincing people to spend their own money on that is another unfortunate situation,” Litle said while addressing council Monday evening.

The arrangement

Bound by federal financial restrictions, Litle said the options available for plea bargaining were limited. The option of the city foreclosing on the Kemp properties is not viable because they come with $816,000 of debt.

“We’re not trying to target these people. The whole goal of this is not to make people think they’re going to lose their house and not have anywhere to live for Christmas or anything,” said Litle. “That is not what we’re doing, but the only way to get these houses out of Kemp’s control is to forfeit them. There’s no other way.”

The decision

There is one exception. As noted during the meeting by Jay Bennett, Director of the Planning and Zoning and Community Development departments, and confirmed by the city law director, David Tarbert, the ultimate decision regarding demolition will be the responsibility of Zanesville City Council.

“It’s more of a policy decision of, you know, you’d be displacing some tenants but quite frankly, some of these properties are not in the best shape,” said Tarbert. “On the other hand, if these properties have been used as part of a criminal plan in the past, is it worth displacing a few tenants to clean up some of these neighborhoods? And that’s the policy decision for council and the mayor.”

Any decisions made by the city in relation to Kemp’s properties are on hold until sentencing in Kemp’s case is finalized. A date of sentencing has not been set at the time of publication.

During a phone call Tuesday afternoon, Tim Smith, the Building Official and Inspector for the City of Zanesville, said that the city isn’t accepting responsibility for the properties and no decisions have been made thus far.

“We don’t want the houses,” said Smith. “We told the prosecutor that two months ago.”

As Litle stated before and during the council meeting Monday night, accepting the demolition of the Kemp properties will be a financial burden for Zanesville.

Tarbert concurred, saying that the estimated cost of demolition is between $300,000 and $400,000.

“They scrape up the money to tear down 10 to 15 a year,” said Tarbert. To get another 40 … I mean, we’ve got a list that’s already full for the next several years, so now you’re going to add 40 new houses to that. It’s going to present a logistical problem for the city.”

To assist with the costs, Litle is exploring state and federal funding possibilities.

“From my perspective in the criminal case, I can get the houses forfeited to the city, I can get the deeds quit-claimed to the city, but this is up to the city to accept the responsibility for helping deal with this problem,” said Litle. “And once I’ve done that, it will be up to the city to determine whether or not they are going to give the houses back to John Kemp.”

City Council President Daniel Vincent said much more must be considered before any final decision can be made.

“There’s a lot each council member needs to consider when making a decision, what’s best for the city as far as the citizens and financial matters are always a challenge, how can we afford to pay for it,”  said Vincent.

In order to clarify and further help tenants at risk of losing their homes, Litle plans to hold a public forum at a later date to allow people to voice their concerns and ask questions.