Coronavirus Update: Dallas Salon Owner Gets 7 Days In Jail For Reopening During Lockdown

A salon owner in Dallas has landed in jail for seven days after she refused to follow the government's stay-at-home orders and restarted her business ahead of the reopening plans for Texas.

Shelley Luther, who owns Salon À la Mode in Far North Dallas, was in the custody of the Dallas County jail Tuesday (May 5). She was also fined $7,000 for keeping her business open amid the coronavirus lockdown safety measures and for violating the judge's temporary restraining order.

Salon À la Mode closed March 22 after both the state and the county enacted the stay-at-home orders and only allowed essential businesses to serve the public. Luther, however, decided to resume her business on April 24, even as the orders were still in place.

Luther also participated in an April 25 protest of about a hundred people in front of the Frisco City Hall, after she received a cease and desist letter, which she ripped in public.

Court documents showed that Dallas County Judge Eric Moye cited Luther for her "flagrant and intentional" violation of the social distancing measure to stop the spread of coronavirus. The judge also took note of the fact that the salon owner had "no remorse or regret" for what she did, even as she was given a chance in court to apologize for her decision.

"When you say that I'm selfish because feeding my kids — is not selfish," Luther responded to the judge. "I have hair stylists that are going hungry because they'd rather feed their kids. So sir, if you think the law is more important than kids getting fed, then please go ahead with your decision but I am not going to shut the salon."

Luther's lawyer Warren Norred said that they would file an appeal. He argued that his client reopened her salon with safety protocols in place, such as putting stations six feet apart, allowing only a few workers to come in while they wear a face mask at all times, and asking customers to wait their turn outside of the establishment.

The attorney for the city, Kristen Monkhouse, however, said that Luther committed contempt of court as soon as she defied the orders. This comes as that the state of Texas will finally allow salons to resume their business Friday (May 8).

Meanwhile, the state of Texas has 33,369 positive coronavirus cases and 906 deaths as of Tuesday. Dallas has 4,370 with 114 deaths, while the county jail has 248 inmates positive for COVID-19.