An Alabama woman is in hot water with the authorities after she hosted a party while Alabama was under a stay-at-home order during the coronavirus outbreak, and coughed in a police officer’s face, police said.
Police arrested and charged Melanie Chambers, 39, for violating the stay-at-home order in addition to possession of a controlled substance, marijuana possession, and drug paraphernalia possession, WIAT reported.
Andalusia, Alabama, Police Chief Paul Hudson said the department received a noise complaint Monday evening.
“When officers arrived, they found a party of about 40 to 50 people,” Hudson said. “They also smelled an odor of marijuana.”
Officers got in contact with the person currently renting the house, whom they believe to be Chambers. That person quickly acted irate in front of officers, allegedly coughed in an officer’s face, and said something about the coronavirus, Hudson said.
Officers obtained a search warrant of the home and found drug paraphernalia, including marijuana and other narcotics.
Chambers’s bond was set at $23,500. Hudson said her arrest was the first time the police department had to arrest someone for violating the state’s stay-at-home order.
Other people who have violated specific rules enacted during the coronavirus pandemic have also faced criminal charges.
A New Jersey man was arrested for allegedly coughing on a Wegmans employee on purpose and charged with making a terroristic threat, and a Missouri man accused of licking deodorants in a Walmart aisle was also arrested and charged with making terroristic threats.