On a Tuesday evening, February 13, 2001, in Centreville, Maryland, a noise complaint led to a tragic and fatal encounter for 28-year-old Deputy Sheriff Jason Charles Schwenz. A male officer with the Queen Anne's County Sheriff's Office for 18 months, Schwenz, along with Centreville Police Officer Michael Nickerson and a Maryland State Trooper, responded to a disturbance at a mobile home on Hammond Street.
The officers had been given permission to enter the residence by the suspect's mother, who lived nearby.
Upon their arrival, the three officers were on the screened-in porch of the trailer and identified themselves. A male voice from inside, later identified as Francis M. Zito, warned them not to enter or they would be harmed. When the officers proceeded to open the door, Zito opened fire with a shotgun. Both Deputy Schwenz and Officer Nickerson were struck by the gunfire. Deputy Schwenz died at the scene, becoming the first deputy from the Queen Anne's County Sheriff's Office to be killed in the line of duty.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, the state trooper managed to pull Officer Nickerson from the porch and was attempting to render aid when Zito attacked him. The trooper was able to subdue and arrest Zito at the scene. The investigation that followed led to Francis M. Zito being charged with the murders of the two officers and the attempted murder of the state trooper.
On May 24, 2002, Francis M. Zito was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder. He subsequently received a death sentence for the murders and a sentence of life without parole for the attempted murder of the trooper. Zito died in prison on November 17, 2002. Jason Charles Schwenz, who had previously served as a seasonal police officer with the Ocean City Police Department, was survived by his fiancée, parents, and brother.
