Home Scandal and Gossip Florida man spits in boy’s face after refusing to take off mask

Florida man spits in boy’s face after refusing to take off mask

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Jason Copenhaver Florida man
Pictured, Jason Copenhaver Florida man.
Jason Copenhaver Florida man
Pictured, Jason Copenhaver Florida man.

Jason Copenhaver Redington Shores, Florida man arrested for spitting in boy’s face after demanding he take off his face mask after walking into restaurant barefoot & drunk.

A Florida man has been arrested after confronting a child wearing a face mask at a restaurant and spitting in his face when the boy refused to take it off, police said.

Jason Copenhaver, 47, of Redington Shores approached the child’s table Sunday and asked the boy if he was wearing a mask, according to Treasure Island police.

The man who was drunk and barefoot, had wandered in from the street moments earlier, allegedly demanded the child take off his mask. Copenhaver then grabbed the stunned boy’s hand and spat in his face, telling him; ‘You now have coronavirus.’ 

Jason Copenhaver was arrested by police in Treasure Island soon after confronting the boy inside Ricky T’s Bar and Grille Restaurant on Sunday, WTSP reports.

Authorities did not release the boy’s age.

Jason Copenhaver Florida man
Jason Copenhaver Florida man. Image via social media.

Spit particles land on boy’s face

‘Victim stated that (Copenhaver) was in such close proximity that spit particles from (Copenhaver’s) mouth landed in his face,’ an officer wrote in the police report.

A police report said the drunk man had also tried to hit an employee.

Following the incident, one of the workers at the restaurant took Copenhaver outside and held onto him until police arrived, according to WTVT-TV

Copenhaver has since been charged with simple battery and disorderly conduct. 

He was freed after posting $650 bail. 

Police said Copenhaver told them he didn’t know if he had coronavirus and has never been tested. It remained unclear why he targeted the boy who was unknown to him. 

The episode comes as Florida this week became the second state in the country to surpass 500,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus.

State health officials have also reported record highs of more than 600 hospitalizations per day in recent weeks.

Florida now has 510, 389 infections, just second to California, which has more than 536,000 cases.

Florida’s weekly death average is now 185 people per day, the largest rate on record.

According to the Florida Department of Health, 225 new deaths were reported, bringing the total to 7,627. 

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