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Florida woman faces up to 60 days behind bars after pleading guilty to deliberately coughing in the face of a cancer patient in a store – but she has now reportedly asked a judge to consider backlash she suffered.
Debra Jo Hunter pleaded guilty to tortious assault in the June 25 incident at Pier 1 in downtown St. Johns in Jacksonville, where she berated employees and coughed on a woman who videotaped the incident , News4Jax reported.
The victim, Heather Sprague, told authorities she saw Hunter criticize store staff as she tried to return an item she did not have in her possession, the outlet said.
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Sprague pulled out her phone and began recording the fiery encounter – which prompted Hunter, 53, to make obscene gestures towards her.
“I think I’m going to really get close to you and cough then. How’s that?” Hunter, who was not wearing a mask, is heard saying before being seen coughing on the woman and then walking out of the store with her children.
Sprague, who describes herself as a brain tumor patient and wore a mask, then filed a police report, saying she has not been feeling well since the incident, News4Jax reported.
On Monday, Hunter pleaded guilty after Judge James Ruth told him he was ready to choose a jury. She had also agreed to plead guilty in two previous hearings, but the judge rejected them because it did not involve a prison sentence.
(Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office)
Meanwhile, Hunter – who could have up to 60 days in the slammer upon her conviction – said she was not seeking “mercy,” but urged the judge to consider the backlash she has. endured since the episode.
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In a three-page letter, she said that her children “continue to suffer from the indignities caused by my mistake. […] embarrassed, chastised and mocked both by their peers and by adults. Each of my three children has lost almost all of their friends, ”First Coast News reported.
She said her family had experienced several traumatic events in the months leading up to the incident, including a near-fatal boating accident and a house fire that destroyed their home. On the day of the incident at Pier 1, she wrote: “My daughter was alarmed when she noticed that a stranger was recording the three of us on her phone.
“Certainly, I was immediately furious and asked this client to stop filming my children. In the heat of the moment, I overreacted too protective, which ultimately led to my retaliation against this stranger, the victim, ”she wrote, according to First Coast News.
“And this very unfortunate knee-jerk reaction, in a fraction of a second, cost my family dearly,” she added.
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Hunter also submitted loads of vitriolic messages that she said she received, including one that said, “Despicable, vile skank. I hope your whole family gets COVID and suffers tremendously and then die.”
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