Florida

Shopper who coughed on a cancer patient at Florida Pier 1 arrested on assault charge

A cancer patient had a scary shopping trip in Jacksonville in June. In a widely shared video, Heather Sprague shot video of a fellow Pier 1 shopper deliberately coughing on her without a mask.

“I think I’ll get real close to you,” said Debra Hunter, before coughing on Sprague, who is being treated for a brain tumor and has a compromised immune system. Hunter had been arguing with a cashier about returning an item that was not in her possession, Sprague said.

The victim, a mother of 10, told the Miami Herald that she filed a police report a few days after the incident report.

According to Duval County court records, Hunter was arrested, on July 22.

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The 52-year-old New Jersey native is charged with assault.

She was released on $753 bond and is set to have a formal court appearance on Aug. 19.

Sprague told her Facebook friends she was going to get tested for coronavirus after the incident.

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This story was originally published August 3, 2020 at 2:39 PM.

Madeleine Marr
Miami Herald
Celebrity/real time news reporter Madeleine Marr has been with The Miami Herald since 2003. She has covered such features as travel, fashion and food. In 2007, she helped launch the newspaper’s daily People Page, attending red carpet events, awards ceremonies and press junkets; interviewing some of the biggest names in show business; and hosting her own online show. She is originally from New York City.
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