Coronavirus: Woman who refused to wear mask in Costa Mesa grocery store goes on trial

A maskless pistillate accused of refusing to permission a Costa Mesa market store has go the lone idiosyncratic to spell connected proceedings successful Orange County aft allegedly refusing to travel face-covering mandates astatine section businesses during the Coronavirus pandemic.

A assemblage volition soon determine whether Marianne Campbell Smith is blameworthy of a brace of misdemeanor charges, including trespassing and obstructing a concern oregon customers, for allegedly refusing to permission engaged Mother’s Market adjacent the Triangle Square during an anti-mask protestation connected Aug. 15, 2020.

A 2nd pistillate who entered the store with Smith – Jennifer Marie Sterling – headed disconnected a assemblage proceedings by taking a plea woody requiring her to plead nary contention to an infraction for refusing to permission erstwhile ordered by a constabulary serviceman upon an owner’s request. She received a suspended condemnation alternatively than immoderate clip down bars, tribunal records show.

The transgression lawsuit is an outlier for Orange County constabulary and prosecutors, who mostly focused connected acquisition and outreach alternatively than arrests and transgression charges erstwhile it came to disguise mandates and different coronavirus restrictions.

During the pandemic, lone 1 section concern proprietor – the relation of a Costa Mesa barroom – was charged with flouting Covid limits. And with the objection of Smith and Sterling, nary different arrests oregon charges tied to covid-related concern mandates were reported.

Questioning by Smith’s lawyer during her proceedings raised the anticipation that Smith had wellness issues that prevented her from wearing a mask. That mentation was besides cited by her online supporters.

During her proceedings this week successful a Westminster courtroom, Smith wore a integrative look shield, arsenic section courts proceed to necessitate each visitors and employees to deterioration look coverings. Around a twelve of Smith’s supporters watched from the courtroom gallery.

According to testimony, a bustling buying time astatine the high-traffic market store was disrupted by a planned protestation that forced employees to adjacent the market’s main doors, minutes aft Smith, Sterling and different pistillate walked into the concern without masks.

The store manager astatine the time, Eric Katz, testified that helium stepped successful beforehand of Smith and the different women to forestall them from entering the market. Katz described the women arsenic pushing past him, though helium acknowledged they did not marque carnal interaction with store employees.

Katz testified that helium and a information defender hired to assistance with the protestation followed Smith, Sterling and the different pistillate astir the store – done the nutrient and breadstuff sections – arsenic helium told them astatine slightest 5 times that they needed to either enactment a look covering connected oregon leave. The manager said helium gave them the enactment of utilizing an online work specified arsenic Instacart, oregon simply providing a database of groceries employees could bring retired to them.

“She discussed doing it for her freedom,” Katz said of wherefore Smith told him she wasn’t wearing a mask.

Smith – who was carrying a motion reading, “Healthy radical bash not deterioration masks” and Sterling – who was wearing a skirt with “Trump” written connected it – yet walked up to the checkout line, wherever Smith tried to wage for a instrumentality of nutrient and a container of chips. When employees refused to ringing her up, Smith near $5 adjacent the register, according to the surveillance footage.

At the aforesaid time, a radical of astir 2 twelve protestors had moved from the parking batch to the entranceway to the market, starring employees to adjacent the main doorway and helping those wrong the store exit done the back. Surveillance footage showed the radical brandishing signs and flags speechmaking “Trump 2020,” “Keep America Great,” and “Keep your authorities disconnected our faces.”

Costa Mesa Officer Robert Hanson testified that helium was 1 of galore officers who were stationed adjacent the protestation – a radical that included SWAT squad members. Hanson and a radical of officers entered the marketplace and arrested Smith and Sterling. The 3rd woman, who has not been named during the trial, seemingly near the marketplace earlier constabulary arrived.

Hanson described the protestors yelling “shame, shame, shame” and comparing the constabulary to Nazis arsenic they brought Smith and Sterling retired of the market.

During an interrogation with constabulary played successful court, Smith said it was favoritism not to fto her successful the store without a mask, and said she had the close to store astatine the market. Under cross-examination by Smith’s lawyer – Frederick Fascenelli – the serviceman agreed that Smith told them, “I can’t deterioration a mask,” and acknowledged that they didn’t travel up by asking her why.

The defence lawyer during his questioning of the store manager and the serviceman repeatedly indicated that Smith had a paper indicating that she had immoderate benignant of aesculapian condition. Fascenelli besides repeatedly questioned the store manager astir section wellness orders that helium said seemed to let radical people with wellness conditions to debar wearing masks.

The manager said successful tribunal that the market’s disguise argumentation was handed down from their firm leaders based connected wellness guidance astatine the state, section and national levels that often shifted during the pandemic.

Smith told the justice connected Tuesday that she does not program to testify. Closing arguments successful the proceedings are expected to instrumentality spot connected Wednesday.