19-Year-Old Charged for Walmart Coronavirus Prank

Victor Westerkamp
By Victor Westerkamp
February 9, 2020US News
share
19-Year-Old Charged for Walmart Coronavirus Prank
A Walmart logo is displayed outside of a Walmart store, in Walpole, Mass., on Sept. 3, 2019. (Steven Senne/AP Photo)

A 19-year-old boy from Illinois turned himself in after he and his 17-year-old companion walked up to a Walmart and started spraying Lysol on the merchandise, causing nearly $10,000 damage.

According to police, Tyler Wallace walked into the store in Joliet, Illinois, wearing a medical mask and a handwritten sign on his back reading, “Caution, I have the Coronavirus.” He then started spraying the disinfectant on the chain store’s produce.

The loss, according to a Joliet Police press release, was around $10,000—$7,300 for the damage done to the products and $2,400 for the cleanup—according to a news release from the Joliet Police Department, USA Today reported.

Walmart Corona Prank
Prank gone too far: Surveillance photos show two people who entered the Walmart in Joliet and sprayed Lysol throughout the store while wearing a sign inferring they had contracted the coronavirus (Joliet Police Department)

Joliet police Sgt. Chris Botzum said police don’t believe there was an actual virus threat at play. “It appears to have a prank that went too far,” Botzum said, The Chicago Tribune reported.

During an initial court hearing on Friday, Judge Brian Barrett told Wallace he would not be allowed to visit Walmart for a while. When Wallace asked whether this applied for all Walmarts, Barrett said, “Perhaps for a little while, you should just find a quiet place and stay there.”

Wallace is charged with the misdemeanor disorderly conduct, retail theft, and criminal trespass to property. He is currently held at Will County jail on a $10,000 bond, which Judge Barrett had lowered from $20,000. Wallace said he expects to be able to post bail. He is scheduled to appear for a second hearing in court on March 6.

france health coronavirus
Scientists are at work in the VirPath university laboratory, classified as “P3” level of safety as they try to find an effective treatment against the new SARS-like coronavirus, on February 5, 2020. (Jeff Pachoud/AFP via Getty Images)

His friend,a juvenile,  was also charged with misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct and criminal trespass and is scheduled for his first hearing for juvenile court on March 5.

The United States has confirmed 12 cases of the coronavirus. The latest confirmed case was in Wisconsin—also the first case in the state. Other coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Massachusetts, Illinois, Arizona, Washington state, and California.

The new coronavirus is in the same family of pathogens as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which caused hundreds of deaths in China in 2003, and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), which has killed more than 500 worldwide since 2012.

A senior official of a crematorium in the coronavirus epicenter of Wuhan says their intake has skyrocketed in recent weeks, suggesting more people are dying of the disease than officially reported.

ntd newsletter icon
Sign up for NTD Daily
What you need to know, summarized in one email.
Stay informed with accurate news you can trust.
By registering for the newsletter, you agree to the Privacy Policy.
Comments