A Michigan man could be facing criminal charges after he wiped his nose on a Dollar Tree employee’s shirt after being told he needed to have a mask on. USA Today reported that the 68-year-old Michigan resident was caught on video surveillance walking past door signs that stated all customers were required to wear a face mask upon entering the store. After an employee reminded him that he needed to have a mask on as per their new store policy, the man became upset. He was then seen in the video walking up to the employee and wiping his nose on her shirt.
Sources say the 68-year-old told the employee, “Here, I will just use this as a mask,” before wiping his face. Police said the man continued to be “loud and disruptive” before leaving the Dollar Tree store in a white van.
Officials were later tipped off to the identity of the man, who was later arrested. The news source says that his case was referred to the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office for charges. This incident occurred just one day after another happened in Flint, Michigan. The source reported that a security guard was gunned down “after turning a customer away for trying to enter a Family Dollar without a mask.”
With New Rules Come New Adjustments
In an effort to help curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus, new rules are being set all across the state of Michigan. Stores are requiring that customers wear face masks and the Governor expects individuals who do not live together to remain six feet apart. When a person breaks those rules or intentionally puts someone at a heightened risk of contracting the virus (i.e. sneezing or wiping their nose on someone else), they risk being criminally charged.
In fact, a North Dakota man was arrested back at the beginning of April after he coughed at a local Walmart, reports The Verge. The Walmart location the man had gone to was limiting the number of people inside the store and he “apparently wasn’t happy to hear that” so he “intentionally coughed on store employees.” But he isn’t the only one who has been arrested for coughing on another person. In fact, there is a growing list of people who have been arrested for intentionally coughing in public amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
To prevent from being criminally charged and potentially tainting your record, it is best that you make the necessary adjustments to ensure you are in compliance with all the new rules that are being set. In the event you were recently arrested in Lansing, Michigan and are facing criminal charges, Lansing, MI criminal defense attorney Stuart R. Shafer is here to help you understand your rights. The residents of Michigan are facing multiple hardships as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the last thing anyone needs is to have serious criminal charges recorded on their record.
You can reach the Law Offices of Stuart R. Shafer, P.C. at:
1223 Turner Street, #333
Lansing, MI 48906
Phone: 517-487-6603
Website: www.stushafer.com
