2 women charged by feds for Walgreens robbery, coughing on employees

Federal prosecutors have charged two women for a robbery at a San Francisco Walgreens, where they coughed on store employees while not wearing masks.

On April 6, 36-year-old Carmelita Barela and 32-year old Roserra Shabazz allegedly stole $92 worth of merchandise from the store.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office – Northern California District, they stated the two women entered the store with empty bags when the store manager approached them to offer assistance. They began to cough loudly and claimed to have COVID-19.

A store manager asked one of the women to leave if they felt ill. Both women bean coughing without covering their mouth saying, “We have COVID.”

The complaint stated the manager and a security guard did not want to go near the women, who continued to fill their bags with store items in fear of getting sick. The women left the store with paying, the complaint reported.

Two SF women have been charged with robbery by the feds for allegedly stealing $92 in merchandise from the Walgreens on Franklin and Post while coughing on store employees, saying “We have Covid," prosecutors say.

— Evan Sernoffsky (@EvanSernoffsky) April 24, 2020

“It is an unfortunate reality that there will be those in our community who try to take advantage of the current pandemic to prey on people’s fear of contracting COVID-19,” said U.S. Attorney David L. Anderson. “While many in our community can remain safe by sheltering in place, store managers and clerks are putting themselves out into the world for our benefit. They don’t deserve to be threatened and robbed. Everyone suffers from a crime like this.”