Woman Who Coughed On Brain Tumor Patient Amid COVID-19 Pandemic Gets 30 Days In Jail

KEY POINTS

A Florida woman will serve 30 days in jail after she coughed on and threatened a mask-wearing shopper last year
Debra Hunter, 53, was also sentenced to six months of probation and ordered to participate in a mental health evaluation
Hunter was also ordered to take an anger management class and to pay for her victim's previous COVID-19 test

A Florida woman who admitted to intentionally coughing on and threatening a masked shopper—who was also a cancer patient—at a home decor store has been sentenced to serve time in prison.

Debra Hunter, 53, received 30 days of jail time after she coughed on a mask-wearing customer at a Pier 1 store in Jacksonville last year, court records obtained by The New York Times said.

Hunter was also sentenced by a judge in Jacksonville to six months of probation and ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation along with anger management, the Associated Press reported, citing an email from David Chapman, the communications director for the state attorney's office in Jacksonville.

The shopper, Heather Sprague, was filming Hunter arguing with employees at the retail store in June 2020 over an item she wanted to return when she was approached by Hunter and coughed on.

"I think I'll get real close to you and cough on you, then, how's that?" Hunter, who was not wearing a mask, said in the video before coughing on Sprague.

Hunter was charged with misdemeanor assault over the confrontation.

Sprague later revealed that she was an immunocompromised brain tumor patient who had undergone surgery 10 months prior to the incident and was still receiving treatment.

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"The defendant's act of coughing in my face at the height of a pandemic was an act that was calcualted to attack me at my weakest point, physically and psychologically," Sprague told the court, according to a recording of the online hearing uploaded by First Coast News.

"I was stunned in the moment and increasingly fearful," Sprague said, adding that while she ultimately tested negative for the virus after the incident, she still had difficulties finding a test.

A judge ordered Hunter to cover the expense of Sprague's COVID-19 test and pay a $500 fine.

Hunter described the incident as "one very poor decision" that affected her relationship with her family and community.

"The reality is that my family has been permanently scarred," Hunter told the court, adding, "Although that scar might fade over time, it will never completely disappear."

She appealed for her family to be spared from the consequences of her actions.

"My kids should not have to pay the price for my mistake," she pleaded in court. "I can overcome the ostracization... I deserve it. My children do not."