Margaret Cirko Hanover Pennsylvania woman charged in stunt which saw her cough on $35K worth of produce at Gerrity’s Supermarket – forcing the grocery to throw away items amid fears of coronavirus epidemic.
Police have arrested a woman alleged to have coughed on about $35,000 worth of food at a Pennsylvania grocery store earlier this week in what’s believed to be a ‘very twisted prank’ amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Margaret Cirko, 35, of Hanover was charged with threatening to use a weapon of mass destruction, making terroristic threats and disorderly conduct, Hanover Township Police Chief Albert Walker said in a Facebook release on Thursday.
Cirko visited the Hanover location of the small grocery chain Gerrity’s Supermarket before 2:20 p.m. Wednesday and coughed on fresh produce, a small section of the bakery, meat case and grocery items, Gerrity’s Supermarket co owner Joe Fasula told via WYOU.
Today was a very challenging day. At 2:20 PM today, I got a call from our Hanover Township store. The manager informed…
Posted by Gerrity's Supermarket on Wednesday, March 25, 2020
‘I have the virus, now you are all going to get sick.’
During the stunt, Cirko is alleged to have laughed before yelling, ‘I have the virus, now you are all going to get sick.’
Police said an employee stopped Cirko from stealing a 12 pack of beer when she was being chased out of the store. An employee managed to obtain the license plate of a 2008 Ford she drove away in.
During a preliminary arraignment, bail was set at $50,000 and Cirko was transported to the Luzerne County Correctional Facility, the TimesLeader.com reported.
Testing to see whether our collective hero tests positive for COVID-19:
Walker would not confirm whether Cirko in fact had COVID-19. Fasula said she is not believed to be infected, but authorities ‘will make every effort to see that she is tested.’
‘While there is little doubt this woman was doing it as a very twisted prank, we will not take any chances with the health and well-being of our customers. We had no choice but to throw out all product she came in contact with,’ Gerrity’s Supermarket stated in a Facebook post.
Of note, Fasula described Cirko as being a ‘chronic problem’ in the community. Not immediately clear is whether there had prior ‘episodes’ at Gerrity’s?
A regard of social media revealed Cirko appearing to have multiple Facebook pages, including one in which her bio describes that she ‘works at IM A F***ING HUSTLER BABY !!’
Welcome to a brave new apocalyptic coronavirus world ….
