Key Largo man charged with multiple attempted murder counts

 

A Key Largo man who beat his wife with the stock of a shotgun then shot repeatedly at law enforcement officers is in custody at the Monroe County Detention Center.

 

57 year old Robert Schminky has been charged with attempting to murder his wife, three counts of attempting to murder law enforcement officers, aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, discharging a firearm in public and fleeing and eluding a law enforcement officer.

 

Deputies Angelina Lubin and Diosvel Fumero responded to 52 Buttonwood Drive in Key Largo just before midnight after receiving a call about a domestic dispute involving a firearm. When they arrived, they could hear a woman’s voice calling for help. They found Schminky in the front yard of his home. He was walking away from the deputies and failed to comply with their orders to stop. That is when they saw he had a shotgun in his hands, pointing it at the ground. They ordered him to drop the weapon, but he fired it twice into the ground, then got into a white Lexus and drove away from the scene.

 

His wife, Honour Schminky, was found covered in blood in the front yard of the home. She had been severely beaten. She later told detectives he beat her repeatedly with the stock of the shotgun. The stock of the shotgun was broken during the beating. She sustained severe injuries including a broken arm, a broken wrist, broken ribs, a head injury and other internal injuries. She later told detectives she believes he would have killed her if deputies had not arrived when they did.

 

Sgt. Sydney Whitehouse pursued the Lexus northbound on U.S. One, then onto State Road 905. Suddenly, at Valois Drive, the suspect did a U-turn and, as he passed the patrol car in the other direction, he fired a gun at the sergeant who returned fire from his vehicle.

 

Sgt. Whitehouse turned around and continued the pursuit southbound, back to Highway U.S. One where the suspect pulled into the parking lot of the Circle K store at that location. Florida Highway Patrol Trooper C. Gracey was in her marked car in the parking lot. Schminky rammed the trooper’s car with his Lexus, then fired several gunshots into her vehicle. Sgt. Whitehouse got out of his patrol car to take a tactical position to engage the suspect. He heard a gunshot and felt pain in his upper right leg. A bullet from the suspect had grazed his leg. Trooper Gracey sustained a minor arm injury from the collision.

 

Schminky then pulled out of the parking lot southbound. Deputy Nestor Argote pursued him to Saint Justin Church at the 105 mile marker of the highway where the suspect pulled off the highway. Schminky pointed his gun at Deputy Argote, who fired several shots at him. Schminky fled the area on foot with deputies chasing him. He dropped his weapon along the way. He was apprehended by Deputy Argote and Detective Barney Sajdak.

 

Investigations revealed a Smith and Wesson .44 magnum revolver with six fired shell casings in the suspect’s vehicle. Six .40 caliber fired shell casings were also found in the car and the gun dropped by the suspect when he fled on foot was a .40 caliber Springfield semi-automatic handgun.

 

Schminky was transported to the plantation key jail and later transferred to the Key West jail where he is currently being held.

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