Getty Kim Zolciak-Biermann.
The estranged father of former “Real Housewives of Atlanta” star Kim Zolciak-Biermann has avoided a conviction in the domestic incident that led to his arrest in 2021, court documents show. Joseph Zolciak was arrested in November 2021 and accused of battery against Zolciak-Biermann’s estranged mother, Karen Zolciak, according to Escambia County, Florida, court records.
Documents obtained by Heavy reveal the case was closed in 2022 after Joe Zolciak agreed to enter into a pre-trial diversion program. He did not have to enter a plea. Court records do not show if he hired an attorney who could comment on his behalf about the case, which drew international headlines because of his daughter’s celebrity. Zolciak-Biermann has said she has not spoken to her mom and dad for several years amid drama that has played out on and off the Bravo screens during her time on “RHOA.”
Joseph Zolciak Was Accused of Pushing Karen Zolciak Into a Table During a Domestic Dispute at Their Home in Cantonment, Florida, the Arrest Report Shows
Escambia County JailJoseph Zolciak in his mugshot after his 2021 arrest.
The arrest report, which can be read here, states that deputies from the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office responded to the Cantonment, Florida home of Joseph and Karen Zolciak on November 8, 2021, about 7:45 p.m. Joseph Zolciak was arrested and charged with battery, touch or strike, domestic violence, a misdemeanor. He was taken to the county jail and released the next day on $1,000 bond, court records show.
According to the arrest report, Karen Zolciak told the deputies that her husband pushed her, causing her to fall and hit her head on an antique table. She was taken to a local hospital for evaluation, according to the arrest report. A deputy wrote in the report that the couple had been arguing over Joseph Zolciak “talking to a female neighbor before he left in his vehicle to drop off HOA paperwork at another neighbor’s residence.”
Karen Zolciak told deputies she slammed the front door of their home because she was upset that her husband was talking to the neighbor, according tothe arrest report. She said that after the argument, Joseph Zolciak was watching TV and ignoring her so she went to take a bath. When she was done, she told deputies she tried to talk to her husband “about the situation but he then got up and went to the living room for the night.” She told deputies she followed her husband there and tried to talk to him again.
“Karen Zolciak stated that is when Joseph Zolciak pushed her, causing her to fall and hit the right side of her head on an antique table,” the arrest report states. She then got up and called 911. She told deputies she had two glasses of wine, but a deputy wrote in the report that he could tell she was “highly intoxicated.”
The deputy wrote that Karen Zolciak was bleeding from a minor cut on the right side of her head and complained of pain in her arm, according to the report. Joseph Zolciak confirmed his wife’s details of the evening, but told deputies that she “began yelling at him,” and “stood right in front of him blocking his view from the TV.” According to the report, he said he asked her to move out of the way and when she didn’t he, “slightly pushed” her out of the way so he could continue to watch TV.” She then fell, he told deputies. He said he didn’t realize she hit her head until after she called police, according to the report. He told deputies he believed she fell because she was intoxicated.
According to the arrest report, Karen Zolciak told deputies during a domestic violence questionnaire there is a “gun present” in their home or “accessible to the suspect,” that her husband “attempts to control” her activities, that he “abuses alcohol,” and he “threatens to kill” her.
Joseph Zolciak Will Remain Under Control of the Court’s Pre-Trial Diversion Program Until August 2022, Court Records Obtained by Heavy Show
According to court documents obtained by Heavy, Joe Zolciak will be under the control of the pre-trial diversion program until August 19, 2022. If he stays out of trouble and completes all conditions of the program, the case will be permanently dismissed.
According to the Escambia County Department of Community Corrections website, “Pre-Trial Diversion is an alternative to prosecution that diverts offenders from criminal court proceedings into a program of supervision.” The website adds that the domestic violence battery case program includes a $255 fee and lasts for six months. It is typically offered to first-time offenders.
During his pre-trial release, Zolicak was ordered to abstain from alcohol or drugs and to submit to random urine testing, accoridng to court records. According to court documents, Karen Zolciak asked for a low bail and said she would submit bond for her husband. She also asked for the no alcohol and drugs requirement. A judge did not issue a no contact order, but ordered Joe Zolicak to have “no violent contact” with his wife, records show.
Zolciak-Biermann said about her parents during a 2019 appearance on “Watch What Happens Live,” with Andy Cohen, “I don’t talk to my parents. But I talk to my brother and no, my brother doesn’t talk to them either … so that was comforting to find that out.” She didn’t comment about her father’s arrest, but did post a cryptic social media comment possibly referencing it.
In a 2017 episode of her show “Don’t Be Tardy,” Zolciak-Biermann said, “You can only do so much to a human being. I took it for 34 years until I finally said it’s not worth it to me.” In 2012, her parents sued for grandparents’ rights, seeking visitation with Zolciak-Biermann’s children, but the case was eventually dismissed, according to court records.
In 2020, Zolciak-Biermann learned her father had a health scare. Her reaction was captured during the season premiere of “Don’t Be Tardy,” in 2020. Her aunt told Kim’s daughter, Brielle Biermann, that her “grandpa had some medical stuff going on. He had cancer.”