On the evening of Tuesday, February 13, 2001, 28-year-old Deputy Sheriff Jason Charles Schwenz was killed while responding to a noise complaint in Centreville, Maryland. Schwenz, who had served about 18 months with the Queen Anne’s County Sheriff’s Office and earlier worked as a seasonal officer for the Ocean City Police Department, was on the screened-in porch of a Hammond Street mobile home with Centreville Police Officer Michael Nickerson and a Maryland State Trooper when they identified themselves and attempted to enter with permission from the suspect’s mother. A man inside, identified as Francis M. Zito, warned them not to enter and then opened fire with a shotgun as the door was opened.

Deputy Schwenz was struck and died at the scene; Officer Nickerson was also shot. The state trooper pulled Nickerson from the porch and subdued and arrested Zito after being attacked while rendering aid. Schwenz was the first deputy from the Queen Anne’s County Sheriff’s Office killed in the line of duty and was survived by his fiancée, parents, and brother.

Does anyone have memories of Schwenz or details about that night that could add to the record?