An Arizona man who sprayed a bug killer on produce as a social media prank has been arrested and is facing multiple charges.
Police arrested Charles Smith on Saturday after seeing a video of him spraying items with the product. According to police, Smith went to a Walmart in Mesa to pull pranks but changed his mind when he took a bottle of Hot Shot Ultra Bed Bug and Flea Killer and began spraying various items in the store.
In the since-deleted video, which has been shared all over the internet, Smith shows his face and the can of pesticide before spraying it over fruits, vegetables, meat, and more. A Walmart representative said employees removed the sprayed items and sanitized the section of the store where Smith pulled the prank.
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“The health and safety of our customers and associates is always a top priority,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “We have removed all directly impacted products and have cleaned and sanitized the affected area of the store. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused our customers as we work to resolve this issue. We will continue to work closely with law enforcement during their investigation.”
Smith shared two videos on his Instagram Story where he put the infected items into a cart and placed them into a truck. One of the captions stated he allegedly threw away the items. Authorities in Mesa collaborated with the Tempe Police Department to investigate the incident and found Smith to be the suspect.
Law enforcement contacted Smith, who turned himself in. During the interview, Smith said the comments online showed him how “horrible” the prank was, so he made an effort to return to the store to collect the contaminated items.
According to court documents, Smith sprayed $931 worth of items at the Walmart. He is being charged with Introducing Poison (Class 6 Felony), Criminal Damage (Class 1 Misdemeanor), Endangerment (Class 1 Misdemeanor), and Theft (Class 1 Misdemeanor).
* Original Article:
https://www.complex.com/life/a/markelibert/arizona-man-arrested-produce-bug-spray
