Man charged over Chick-fil-A sauce upset also smeared spit at Dillons pharmacy: affidavit
.JPG "Chick-Fil-A sauce for sale at a Dillons in Wichita.")
Five months before a Wichita man allegedly lashed out at Dillons employees and threw punches over Chick-fil-A sauce out for sale on grocery store shelves, he reportedly told pharmacy workers at another Dillons location that he had COVID-19, spit on his hands and smeared saliva all over a counter, credit card machine, computer monitor and a keyboard.
During both incidents, the grocery stores had to halt at least part of their operations, according to police and court records.
On the day of the Chick-fil-A sauce upset, the entire Dillons at 31st South and Seneca was on lockdown for more than two hours, records say.
An affidavit released Monday by a Sedgwick County District Court judge says James A. Hirsh acted out on Jan. 8 and claimed he was infected with COVID-19 because he “was upset” that pharmacy staff at the 47th South and Broadway grocery store couldn’t find his Medicaid records while their computer system was down.
One person who was reportedly sprayed with Hirsh’s spittle as the 37-year-old yelled during his fit “went to get a Covid shot … as a precaution” after the incident, the affidavit says.
The Dillons store also took steps to mitigate employee and customer risk after Hirsh’s announcement, including disinfecting the pharmacy area and everything else that Hirsh touched, according to the document.
Store video footage shows Hirsh pulling in front of the store, 4747 S. Broadway, during the late afternoon on Jan. 8, and entering the pharmacy area. Once inside, he “is seen licking his hand then pushing away the plastic barrier and rubbing his hand on a computer monitor” before “confronting pharmacy staff” and “licking his other hand and rubbing it on a computer keyboard,” the affidavit says.
“Pharmacy staff had to avoid the work station until the area had been disinfected causing a disruption in service to other customers,” the affidavit says.
Just shy of five months later, police arrested Hirsh after he reportedly “went ballistic” at the Dillons store at 31st South and Seneca after seeing Chick-fil-A sauce for sale on the store shelves.
On June 2, Hirsh reportedly became physically violent and threatening after the store refused to take bottles of the sauce off of the sales floor following his demands that they be removed.
After a loss prevention officer tackled him to the ground in the self-checkout lanes, Hirsh told store staff that he “was going to get his AR15” gun from his car and “come back and protect himself from them,” according to the affidavit.
He even threatened to shoot the store manager, the affidavit says one witness told police.
After going outside, Hirsh drove his car toward the entrances, causing customers “to hide behind store pillars to avoid being hit” and staff to secure the sliding doors, the affidavit says.
Some customers fled from the store in fear, while staff ushered others inside.
In all, the June 2 threats left the store, 3211 S. Seneca, on lockdown for two and a half hours. Staff told police they were scared and worried over Hirsh’s actions but also because Kroger facilities in Colorado and Wisconsin had been the site of recent shootings, according to the affidavit.
Hirsh was arrested during a traffic stop on June 3. He has been charged with aggravated criminal threat and misdemeanor battery over the Jan. 8 hand-licking and virus-claim incident at the 47th and Broadway Dillons and with aggravated criminal threat and two counts of aggravated assault in connection with the June 2 upset over the Chick-fil-A sauce at the 31st and Seneca Dillons store.
His next court date is scheduled for Sept. 3. Hirsh’s defense attorney declined to comment on the charges or the allegations contained in the affidavit Tuesday.
Hirsh did not immediately return a phone message from an Eagle reporter on Tuesday afternoon.
This story was originally published August 17, 2021 at 1:03 PM.
