(UPDATE: Man faces felonies for threatening to spread coronavirus at grocery store)
GENESEE COUNTY, MI – A man accused of touching several items at a mid-Michigan grocery store while claiming to have COVID-19 may face additional charges.
The 26-year-old Mt. Morris man is charged with harmful substance-personal falsely exposed, malicious destruction of police property, and assaulting, resisting, or obstructing police tied to an incident at a Genesee Township grocery store.
If it turns out he really has coronavirus, the man could also be charged with domestic terrorism, Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said Sunday.
Genesee Township police responded shortly before 11 a.m. Friday, March 27 to the Kroger store at 7811 N. Saginaw Road following reports of a disorderly person.
A store employee had called 911 saying a man was walking around the store with his hands down his pants and touching and pushing around shopping carts, all while saying he was infected with COVID-19, Leyton said.
Police arrest man on charges he tried to spread coronavirus in Flint-area grocery store
MLive is not disclosing the suspect’s name until he is arraigned in Genesee County District Court.
The man was also verbally aggressive toward store employees and was grabbing shopping carts from customers in the store parking lot after they were done using them, Leyton said.
When police arrived, they saw the man matching the suspect’s description in the parking lot. After a brief discussion with the man, an officer arrested him and took him to the Genesee County Jail where he remains lodged.
The man kissed a window in the police vehicle while officers were taking him to the jail, leaving visible residue in a seeming attempt to further spread the virus, Leyton said, calling it “a very disturbing incident that has placed many people in fear for their health and safety and has disrupted an already stressed situation as residents attempt to carry on with essential, everyday routines.”
He told MLive-The Flint Journal on Sunday law enforcement officials are working with Hurley Medical Center to determine if the man is positive or negative for the virus.
“If positive, we’ll consider (a) domestic terrorism count,” said Leyton.
Rachel Hurst, a spokeswoman for Kroger in Michigan, said Sunday that the store underwent a “deep cleaning, with a focus on potentially affected areas” following the incident.
“Additionally, we have another deep cleaning of our carts and overnight deep cleaning scheduled again today,” she added.
The case rings similar to a March 25 incident at a Pennsylvania grocery store where a 35-year-old Margaret Cirko is alleged to have intentionally contaminated by coughing and spitting on meat and produce while stating she has COVID-19.
She was charged with terroristic threats, threats to use a “biological agent,” criminal mischief, disorderly conduct and criminal attempt to commit retail theft, according to a PennLive.com story.
Pennsylvania grocery store throws out $35K in food after woman purposely coughed on items