Who:
Pinellas County Sheriff's Office
Patrol Operations Bureau
Investigative Operations Bureau
-Robbery/Homicide Unit

Deputies Involved:
Deputy Jake Guathier
Hire date 4/21/13

Deputy Jonathan Segrete
Hire Date 5/7/12

Suspect:
John F. Zemola (Deceased)
DOB: 6/10/1967
Address: 5198 64th Street North, St. Petersburg

Cammy J. Zemola (Uninjured, wife of suspect)
DOB: 4/7/1971
Address: 5198 64th Street North, St. Petersburg

What:
Detectives assigned to the Robbery/Homicide Unit are investigating a shooting involving two deputies after they were called to a home for a domestic disturbance in unincorporated St. Petersburg.

Where:
The incident occurred at 5198 64th Street North in unincorporated St. Petersburg.

When:
Deputies were called to the home at approximately 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 5, 2016. The shooting occurred shortly afterward. 

How/Why:
Detectives assigned to the Robbery/Homicide Unit are investigating a shooting involving two deputies after they were called to a home for a domestic disturbance in unincorporated St. Petersburg.

According to detectives, at about 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 5, 2016, deputies were dispatched to 5198 64th Street North in unincorporated St. Petersburg after a 911 call came in for a domestic disturbance.

Detectives say that Deputy Jake Guathier and Deputy Jonathan Segrete responded and parked their cruisers along 64th Street.  At the scene, the deputies observed John F. Zemola ramming his wife’s car and their house, knocking a front pillar down, with his pickup truck.

According to detectives, Cammy had been out with friends and she arrived home this afternoon to find Zemola destroying the home. Zemola had history of mental health issues and had been drinking, after a year of sobriety.

Deputies say that when they approached Zemola, he put the truck in reverse and pulled onto 64th Street where his vehicle became disabled. He then exited the truck with a knife in his hand. The deputies saw it and ordered him several times to drop the knife. Zemola made the statement, “You’re going to have to kill me.”

The deputies tried to retreat and back up, all-the-while Zemola kept moving towards them. When he was about 3 to 5 feet away, the deputies fired several rounds at Zemola and struck him in the upper body. He fell and was deceased in the roadway.

Sheriff Gualtieri held a press conference near the scene. "We are very fortunate that the deputies are safe and that they were able to do what they did to protect themselves because he was clearly coming at them," Gualtieri said.

Deputy Guathier and Deputy Segrete will be placed on routine paid administrative leave.

Visit our YouTube page for press conference video here: https://youtu.be/0O2NPX_U4Uw

The investigation continues.