Shopper removes mask, spits in man’s face for going wrong way down aisle, CT cops say

A dispute over a one-way aisle at a Connecticut grocery store ended with one woman arrested, police say.

Police in Newtown received a call May 18 from a man who said he’d gotten into an argument with another shopper at a local Big Y supermarket, according to documents.

He said a woman had spit in his face after he’d gone the wrong direction in an aisle designated as one way due to the coronavirus pandemic, police said.

An investigation led police to Martine Shanchuk, 40, who told officers she’d seen a young man walking the wrong direction down the aisle and felt she needed to tell him to walk the other way and “enforce Big Y’s aisle rules herself,” according to police documents.

When the man didn’t turn around, Shanchuk told police she stopped in the aisle to prevent him from going any further in the wrong direction, documents said.

Police said Shanchuk repeatedly yelled at the man before eventually removing her face mask and spitting in his face, according to documents.

Shanchuk was arrested and charged with second-degree breach of peace, police said.

This story was originally published May 28, 2020 at 6:11 AM with the headline "Shopper removes mask, spits in man’s face for going wrong way down aisle, CT cops say."