A woman in Florida who was seen in a video last summer intentionally coughing at a buyer at a store 1 at Pier 1 at home because of fears of the pandemic was sentenced to 30 days in prison on Thursday, it appears from the court register.
The woman, Debra Hunter, 53, was charged with assault in June after she piled up and coughed at the buyer, Heather Sprague, who recorded video of Mrs. Hunter’s dispute with employees in the store in Jacksonville.
Me. Sprague said in court that with the recording of Ms. Hunter started, after watching her employees from reputable stores for 15 minutes in an argument over an article that Ms. Hunter wanted to give back.
Me. Sprague said she underwent surgery ten months earlier to remove a brain tumor and that she was still undergoing treatment when Hunter saw her pick up and make an obscene gesture.
“I think I’ll really get close to you and cough you, how are you?” Me. Hunter says in the video as she approaches the phone and then coughs. Mrs. Sprague, who at the time said she was wearing a mask, testified that Mrs. Hunter left a spit on her face.
“The accused’s act of coughing in my face at the height of a pandemic was an act calculated to attack me in my weakest place, physically and psychologically,” Sprague told Judge James A. Ruth of the Duval. County Court said, according to a recording from an online sentencing hearing posted by First Coast News. “I was dumbfounded at the time and increasingly scared in the aftermath.”
After the meeting, Ms. Sprague said she struggled to find a Covid test as diagnostics were not widely available at the time and were eventually tested negative.
The episode took place during a period in the pandemic when authorities responded to violent confrontations across the country over masks and other precautions, and some of the disputes led to criminal charges for people haunting or coughing at drivers, shops and police officers. Retail workers also reported being subjected to verbal abuse – and even threats of guns – for applying mask rules.
Me. Hunter said she has remorse and guilt over ‘one very poor decision’ that cost her three children almost all of their friends and made her feel like a pariah in her community. She said her children were greatly affected by the hundreds of text messages, emails, phone calls, threats on social media and even letters she delivered by hand, after the video of her coughing on me. Sprague received wide attention.
“The reality is that my family is permanently teased,” she said. Hunter told the judge. ‘And while the scar may fade over time, it will never completely disappear. My kids do not have to pay the price for my mistake. ”
“I can overcome the extinction,” she said. Hunter added according to First Coast News. “I deserve it. My children do not.”
Me. Hunter told the judge that the video showed her in the “worst possible light on my worst possible day” and said she felt like a balloon going to appear at the time. Her husband, Doug Hunter, told the court that a fire forced the family out of their home, including the hardships they endured.
“Everything piled up and piled up and piled up, and I was just trying to push it down,” she said. Hunter said. ‘That day, the pen just stuck in the balloon, and unfortunately for Mrs. Sprague, you know, she was the recipient, and I apologize for that. ‘
Judge Ruth heard the testimony of Mrs. Hunter denounced and said she expressed more concern about her family than for Mrs. Sprague.
“She talked about how it changed her world, and you know she’s getting the nasty grams on Facebook and stuff like that, and they can not go to the outdoor club or anywhere, and can not play football either,” he said. “I understand that. But I have yet to see any expression – or a significant expression – about her regret about the impact it had on the victim in this case. ”
In addition to 30 days in prison, Mrs. Hunter sentenced to six months probation and ordered to pay a $ 500 fine. Judge Ruth also ordered her to take an anger management class and undergo a mental health assessment and, if appropriate, participate in the follow-up treatment.