Kenosha robbery, Racine couple pleads guilty
Joshua Ziminski; Kelly Ziminski
KENOSHA, Wis. - A Racine couple pleaded guilty Tuesday to several charges related to a 2022 Kenosha robbery. They had previously been charged in connection to unrest that followed the 2020 police shooting of Jacob Blake.
Joshua Ziminski, 38, and Kelly Ziminski, 32, each pleaded guilty to burglary and robbery with threat of force. Additional charges were dismissed as part of a plea deal and, in Joshua's case, all charges related to the 2020 unrest were dismissed.
Case details
According to a criminal complaint, Kenosha police spoke to a man during the early morning hours of Aug. 26, 2022 who said three people tried to rob him. The man said he knew one of the people, later identified as Kelly Ziminski. Joshua Ziminski was eventually identified as one of the other two.
The complaint states Joshua Ziminski, armed with a knife, ordered the man out of his apartment to a truck. They drove the man to several ATMs, trying to force him to withdraw money, but his account would not release any funds. Eventually, the man got free at a gas station and asked employees there to call 911. During the encounter, the man said the two men "threatened to kill him and bury him in a basement where no one would find him."
Surveillance video from a gas station showed the truck pull up around 1:40 a.m. on Aug. 26. It showed the Ziminskis get out and try to use an ATM with the victim's card.
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Ziminskis' statements
Once arrested, the complaint states Joshua told police Kelly had agreed to clean the man's apartment three days a week because they needed money and had children. He said she went to the man's apartment around 1:30 a.m. on Aug. 26 to clean, which was "common" because the man worked "odd hours."
Joshua told police, per the complaint, that Kelly came outside from the man's apartment and said the man had sexually assaulted her – which the man denied. Joshua said he then went inside to confront the man and demanded the money for cleaning his apartment.
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The complaint states Joshua then admitted to driving the man around to multiple ATMs to get the money, but denied having a weapon. He said he had a friend with them, but refused to identify that person. Joshua said he drove off after the man got away because he, Joshua, was out on bond and Kelly was on probation.
Kelly also told police, per the complaint, that the man offered to let her clean his apartment for $200 per week. She said she was often there late at night because the victim worked "weird hours." She said the victim hit her and sexually assaulted her, and she went outside to tell her husband – who then went inside and came outside with the man, who was now bleeding. She said they then drove around to ATMs. She said no one had a weapon.
Kenosha unrest
The Ziminskis were previously charged in connection to 2020 Kenosha unrest that followed the police shooting of Jacob Blake. In that case, Joshua was charged with arson and two misdemeanors, and Kelly was charged with two misdemeanors.
According to the criminal complaint, the Ziminskis "participated in protests and riots in downtown Kenosha" after the shooting. A review of cellphone video showed they tried to "block law enforcement vehicles that were clearing the area" south of 56th Street on Sheridan Road because of a curfew that was imposed at the time.
The complaint indicates Kelly took a video on her phone that showed Joshua "lighting a dumpster on fire." The video showed Joshua tossing a lit match into the dumpster and then asking people for lighter fluid to help the fire spread. Then, the video showed him pushing the dumpster onto Sheridan Road as police vehicles moved toward him. Kelly was seen in the video "adding flammable material to the fire to increase the flame."