Man fatally shot female friend’s teenager son who stole his reptiles worth $28k: ‘He took that boy under his wing’

The mother of a teenage boy and one of her close friends that took care of him were charged with homicide in connection with his death.

Bill Zelenski, 44, shot and killed the 18-year-old victim on Monday after accusing him of robbing his rare reptiles worth $27,850.

The victim’s mom, 34-year-old Tiffany Powell was also involved in the dispute and charged with first-degree intentional homicide.

Zelenski told detectives that he identified the teen as one of two burglarizers that stole his valuable reptiles, including Mexican bearded lizards, and confronted him.

The dispute turned physical between the two men, as surveillance footage showed.

At one point, Zelenski handed the victim’s mom a firearm that she pointed at him before giving it back to Zelenski who pulled the trigger.

“He took that boy under his wing,” an acquaintance of the suspects said. “He was good friends with the boy’s mother. The boy, he took him on jobs. He worked at a tree service with him. He got him other odds and ends jobs in places. I thought they were pretty tight.”