Posted on: October 16, 2019 01:00 PM

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Far Rockaway man convicted of murder in paint can bludgeoning death of Queens resident

Acting Queens District Attorney John M. Ryan announced today that a jury has found a Far Rockaway resident guilty of murder, assault and other crimes for the 2016 beating death of a man and the wounding of his mother inside of the victims? Richmond Hill, Queens home. The victim was repeatedly knifed and bludgeoned with various items found inside the home, including paint cans that splattered white paint all over the victims and their home during the attack.

Acting District Attorney Ryan said, ?The defendant in this case relentlessly beat and battered the victims in their home with whatever objects he could grab from inside the residence. After the attack, the house was a torrent of violence with white paint and blood splattered everywhere with one man literally beaten to death and his mother severely injured. The jury weighed all the evidence and found the defendant guilty of these heinous crimes. He now faces a very lengthy term of incarceration for his actions.?

The District Attorney?s Office identified the defendant as Sahquane Jones, 35, of Far Rockaway, Queens. Following a nearly six-week-long trial, a jury late yesterday found the defendant guilty of seconddegree murder, first-degree assault, and 4 counts of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon. Queens

Supreme Court Justice Ira Margulis, who presided at trial, set sentencing for November 1, 2019, at which time Jones faces up to 50 years to life in prison.

According to trial testimony, shortly after 1 a.m., on August 14, 2016, Jones entered the 113 Street home of Kenneth Schemitz and his mother, Vivian Schemitz. The defendant, with the help of an unapprehended male, pummeled and stabbed the son with two cans of paint, a weed whacker, a lamp and knives. After the attack, Jones and his accomplice were seen on video surveillance fleeing the area covered in white paint.

Continuing, said Acting DA Ryan, according to trial records, despite being badly beaten, Mrs. Schemitz, then-68, managed to call 911. Upon entering the home, police found Kenneth Schemitz?s lifeless body behind a door. The 37-year-old victim?s body showed signs of blunt force and sharp force trauma to both his head and neck. Mrs. Schemitz sustained numerous facial fractures and a concussion and was transported to a nearby hospital, where she underwent surgery.

Furthermore, according to trial testimony, the defendant?s right pinky finger was a match to a fingerprint left in white paint at the home of the victims. (From Queens DA's Office)