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Lealman Man Dead after Deputy-Involved Shooting

Police | Crime | Investigation

The incident began as a domestic disturbance. Neither deputy was injured.

LEALMAN – One man is dead after being shot by Pinellas deputies Saturday (Nov. 5) night, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.

John F. Zemola, 49, was dead at the scene. His wife, Cammy, 45, was not injured, deputies said.

The incident began about 10:30 p.m. when Deputies Jake Guathier and Jonathan Segrete were called to Zemola’s home at 5198 64th St. N in the unincorporated Lealman area for a domestic disturbance. Investigators said Guathier and Segrete parked their cruisers along 64th Street. At the scene, the deputies said they saw Zemola ramming his wife’s car and their house, knocking a front pillar down, with his pickup truck.

Investigators said said Mrs. Zemola had been out with friends and arrived home to find Zemola destroying the home. Zemola had history of mental health issues and had been drinking, after a year of sobriety.

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

The deputies tried to retreat and back up. But, they said, Zemora kept moving towards them. When he was about 3 feet to 5 feet away, the deputies fired several rounds at Zemora and struck him in the upper body. He fell and was dead in the roadway.

“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,” Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said.

Guathier and Segrete will be placed on routine paid administrative leave while the investigation is ongoing. Guathier has been employed with the sheriff’s department since April 2013. Segrete has worked there since May 2012.

For information about the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, go to pcsoweb.com. For a video of Gualtieri’s press conference, go to youtube.

Pinellas County Sheriff | Deputy-Involved Shooting | Lealman | TB Reporter

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