A Florida woman could face up to 60 days behind bars after pleading guilty to deliberately coughing into the face of a cancer patient in a store – but is now asking a judge to consider the reaction she experienced.
Debra Jo Hunter pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault in the June 25 incident at Pier 1 at St. Johns Town Center in Jacksonville, where she berated officials and coughed at a woman who captured the incident on video, News4Jax reported.
The victim, Heather Sprague, told authorities that she observed Hunter scolding store employees while trying to return an item that was not in his possession, according to the news agency.
BIDEN’S CLAIM THAT “DOGS CAN HELP CURE CANCER” DESIGNS TWITTER REACTIONS
Sprague took out his phone and started recording the heated encounter – prompting Hunter, 53, to make obscene gestures in his direction.
“I think I’m going to get too close to you and cough at you then. What do you think?” Hunter, who was not wearing a mask, is heard saying before being seen coughing at the woman and leaving the store with her children.
Sprague, who described herself as a brain tumor patient and was wearing a mask, later reported to the police, saying she had not been feeling well since the incident, News4Jax reported.
On Monday, Hunter pleaded guilty after Judge James Ruth told her he was ready to choose a jury. She also agreed to plead guilty at two previous hearings, but the judge rejected them because it did not involve imprisonment.
(Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office)
Meanwhile, Hunter – who could face up to 60 days in prison on his sentence – said he was not seeking “mercy”, but asked the judge to take into account the reaction she has suffered since the episode.
CARCINOGENIC: HAND SANITIZERS USED TO COMBAT COVID-19, WHICH HAVE TOXIC CHEMICALS CAUSING CANCER
In a three-page letter, she said that her children “continue to suffer indignities caused by my mistake […] ashamed, punished and ridiculed by both peers and adults. Each of my three children lost almost all of the friends they had, “reported First Coast News.
She said her family went through several traumatic events in the months leading up to the incident, including a near-fatal boat accident and a fire that destroyed her home. On the day of the Pier 1 incident, she wrote: “My daughter was alarmed when she noticed a stranger recording the three of us with her phone.
“I admit that I was immediately furious and demanded that this client stop filming my children. In the heat of the moment, I overreacted, which ended up leading to my retaliation against this stranger, the victim,” she wrote, according to First Coast News.
“And that instinctive, highly regrettable, split-second reaction cost my family dearly,” she added.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP
Hunter also sent reams of scathing messages he said he received, including one that said, “Despicable, vile skank. I hope your whole family will take COVID and suffer immensely, then die.”