A man in Florida is being charged with disorderly conduct after police say he walked through a Best Buy intentionally coughing, sneezing, and spitting all while not wearing a mask.
According to police records, Alton Ashby, 51, went into the electronics store in Vero Beach without wearing the required mask to enter and approached the Geek Squad desk for assistance.
Several employees repeatedly asked Ashby to put on a mask but he refused to comply. One employee even provided him with a disposable mask when he did put on but quickly removed it.
The associate behind the counter told Ashby they would no longer be able to serve him unless he were to wear the mask.
At that point, employees say they witnessed Ashby “cough and spit” on the Geek Squad counter and continue to “walk around the connected department to do the same thing.”
As he was leaving the store, employees told police that Ashby grabbed a bottle of soda from the cooler at the front of the store “which he sprayed everywhere as he was walking out.”
Police later caught up with Ashby during a traffic stop.
At first, Ashby claimed that nothing untoward had happened at the store but he was angry with the service he received.
However, the cop did some investigating at the store and returned to arrest Ashby. He then admitted that he has been “going through a lot this year” and got carried away.
Employees say that because of the incident customers left the store and they had to clean and sanitize multiple areas of the store, most importantly the Geek Squad counter.
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