WAUPACA, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — William Zelenski will continue to be held without bond for allegedly killing a teen he believed was responsible for the theft of exotic reptiles.
Zelenski, 44, is charged with first-degree intentional homicide for the Oct. 19 incident. The victim has not been identified.
In court Monday, Judge Raymond Huber said the lack of a bond will continue until Zelenski’s initial appearance with counsel. That has not been scheduled, as Zelenski has not hired an attorney, or provided the court with enough financial information for consideration of court-appointed counsel.
Zelenski returns to court next Monday for another status conference.
The victim’s mother, Tiffany Powell, 34, is charged with party to the crime of first-degree intentional homicide, and recklessly endangering safety. She returns to court Dec. 10 for a preliminary hearing.
According to a criminal complaint, Zelenski called authorities Oct. 19 because he wanted to identify two teenagers who he was told burglarized his home a few days before. According to the complaint, “two handguns, alcohol and several reptiles including Alvarez Mexican Bearded Lizards/Heloderma Horridum Alvarezi valued at $17,000, a two-foot Nile Crocodile valued at $2,000, a red tail boa constrictor valued at $575 and a baby Burmese python valued at $7,000” were taken from Zelenski.
Not long after the phone call to police, Zelenski and Powell encountered Powell’s son, one of the alleged thieves, on Van Street. The criminal complaint says Powell’s son took off his shirt and said he wanted to fight Zelenski, who took out a shotgun.
According to the criminal complaint, a doorbell camera captured most of the altercation. At one point, the video shows Zelenski handing the gun to Powell, who pointed the gun at her son. Eventually she gave the gun back to Zelenski, but the complaint doesn’t say anything about the doorbell video showing actual shots being fired.
Zelenski then called 9-1-1 to report the shooting. “He stated to the 911 operator “he had confronted VICTIM, VICTIM had attacked him and he had shot VICTIM,”” the complaint states.
Another suspect in the reptiles theft, Ashton Tody, has also been charged. He returns to court Nov. 17.
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