ASHBURNHAM (CBS) – Ashburnham police arrested a man who they thought spat on two hikers and told them “I have COVID” during an incident recorded on a mobile phone. He was identified as 71-year-old Hale Powell of Westale.
It happened on November 15 at the Hudson Lookout along the Midstate Trail.
Hale Powell (Photo: Via Ashburnham Police)
Ashburnham Police said the man was with an older woman when they approached two young women and slid them in because they were not wearing a mask. The man allegedly claimed to have COVID and began to spit on the women. A photograph of the man was released in hopes of identification.
Police said Powell told them he had no coronavirus, even though he had told the women.
He was charged with a false threat against a biological agent, as well as an attack and a battery. He did not plead guilty and was released by a judge who also ordered him to undergo a COVID test and quarantine for 14 days.
