A Far Rockaway man will spend decades in prison for knifing and bludgeoning a man to death with a can of paint, prosecutors announced Wednesday.
Sahquane Jones, 35, was convicted of second-degree murder, first-degree assault, and four counts of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon last month. He was sentenced to and indeterminate term of 25 years to life in prison for the murder conviction and 15 years for the assault — to run concurrently — to be followed by five years’ post-release supervision.
“The sentence of the court is more than justified as punishment for the heinous actions of this defendant, who entered the victims’ home and used whatever objects he could grab to senselessly kill the male victim and seriously injure the man’s mother,” said acting District Attorney John M. Ryan. “Our hope is that the family receives a measure of solace knowing that this individual will never walk the streets of Queens County again.”
According to trial testimony, Jones entered the home of Kenneth Schemitz, 37, and his mother, Vivian Schemitz — who was 68 at the time — with an unapprehended male accomplice at 1 a.m. on Aug. 14, 2016. Jones and his accomplice proceeded to stab Kenneth with two cans of paint, a weed whacker, a lamp and knives. Vivian was also beaten during the altercation.
Following the brutal attack, Jones and his accomplice were seen on surveillance footage fleeing the area covered in white paint.
Vivian called 911 and when police arrived, they found Kenneth’s lifeless body, which showed signs of blunt force and sharp force trauma to both his head and neck, behind a door. Vivian sustained numerous facial fractures and a concussion. She was taken to a nearby hospital, where she underwent surgery and was ultimately hospitalized for five weeks.
Trial testimony stated that Jones’ right pinky finger matched a fingerprint that was left in white paint at the home of the victims.
