A woman who coughed and spat at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic will serve 1-2 years in prison and 8 years of probation in the incident in Hanover, Pennsylvania on March 25, 2020, and will be ordered to pay $30,000 in compensation, according to Morning call.
Nearly a year and a half ago, 37-year-old Margaret Ann Cirko (Margaret Ann Cirko) gained global attention When it was reported She coughed and spit on the produce at Gerrity Supermarket, while shouting to other customers that she was infected with the new coronavirus and would infect them. Although her virus test result was negative soon, she was still charged with making a false bomb threat, which is a second-degree felony charge, and pleaded guilty in June this year.
By pleading guilty to a felony, Cirko was able to drop several other charges, including criminal hoaxes, disorderly conduct, and terrorist threats. The lawyer representing her, Thomas Cometa, said his client had a history of alcoholism and mental health problems and was drunk at the time of the incident.He said it’s not “excuses, but [was] An explanation. “
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“I am sorry for what I did that day,” Cirko said in court. “I wish I could get it back.”
“Me too,” Lucerne County President Judge Michael T. Wolf responded. “This is completely shameless behavior.”
Due to Cirko’s actions that day, the supermarket was forced to dispose of products worth $35,000. Joe Fasula, the co-owner of the store, testified in court about the ordeal, saying it frightened customers and employees because it was not clear at the time whether COVID-19 would spread on the surface. At the beginning of the pandemic, there were no regulations for wearing masks in the region.
Cirko also recently pleaded guilty to a less serious but equally strange misdemeanor charge in April. She was accused of filming outside a church in Warrior Run, Pennsylvania, and refused to leave the property. The prosecutor said she was not a member of the church.
“I love God,” she was quoted as shouting. “God loves me. Jesus, won’t you walk with me? Jesus, won’t you walk with me?”
She returned to the church three times and was told to leave twice before. According to reports, during her last visit, she began knocking on the door of the building and shouting “Let me in, God. I love you.”
After submitting a confession, she was fined $276.
