Shoplifter Spits In New York Store Manager's Face After Being Caught Stealing

A shoplifter spat in a store manager’s face after she caught him stealing a pair of swim goggles. The incident took place at the Dollar General in N.Y., on Thursday, July 28.

The manager, Jenni Lee, who has been working at the store for six months, caught 35-year-old Chad Alden smuggling a pair of goggles into his backpack. As soon as she caught him, the man pulled down his face mask and spat in her face before fleeing the scene.

"I said, 'Give me back the goggles or I’m calling the police,' and he ripped his mask off and spit in my face," Lee told the Post Star.

Police responded to the scene and found the accused just down the street. He was taken into custody and charged with harassment. The accused is scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 17.

Meanwhile, speaking to the outlet, the manager said she was told to undergo tests for HIV and COVID following the incident. Lee added that she felt the harassment charge wasn’t enough especially in the time on coronavirus. She felt he should have been charged with assault.

However, Warren County Undersheriff Terry Comeau said the accused wasn’t charged with assault because the woman wasn’t physically injured.

"It just doesn’t fit under the assault section," Comeau told the outlet.

In another incident in Oregon last week, a drunk suspect coughed and spit on a police officer while he was being arrested. The suspect later tested positive for COVID-19.

Officers responded to a scene after receiving reports that an intoxicated driver had fallen asleep at a McDonald’s drive-thru. The officers found the accused, later identified as 24-year-old Miguel Hernandez-Cuesta, passed out inside a vehicle with the engine running. When the officers tried to place him under arrest, the man began coughing and spitting at them.

He was arrested and booked into the Washington County Jail. He then tested positive for COVID-19.