WI man pleads guilty in assaulting security officer
Salem Lake WI July 27 2021
A Salem Lakes man pleaded guilty to battery Monday for punching a Woodman’s Food Market employee who asked him to put on a COVID mask.
Benjamin Kunz, 54, was charged with battery and disorderly conduct for the Feb. 6 incident at the grocery store, 7145 120th Ave. A security guard at the store had asked Kunz to put on the mask, required by the store for customers at that time because of the COVID pandemic.
The incident escalated with Kunz beginning to swear at the security worker and then punched the worker when the employee took out his phone and began recording Kunz’s behavior.
At a hearing Monday in Kenosha County Circuit Court, Kunz pleaded guilty to the battery charge as part of a plea agreement. Kunz was accepted into the Behavioral Health Jail Diversion Program, and the court on Monday withheld sentence for six months to allow him to complete the program.
