Colorado Man Gets Probation For Coughing in Woman’s Face
A Colorado man has received six months of probation for coughing in a woman's face. The Aspen man coughed in a woman's face after she asked him to move over on a hiking trail.
A few months ago, police were called after an incident happened on a hiking trail. According to the Aspen Police Department's report, a 68-year-old woman was hiking with her husband and friend on the Rio Grande Trail.
They came across a man, Tom Patierno, who was walking in the middle of a trail so the woman asked if he could move to give them some room. As Tom was passing by, he got closed to her and intentionally coughed in her face, according to the Aspen Times.
She became frightened that she would become sick and called the police. The man says that the incident occurred at a bad time. According to the Aspen Times, he stated that he was stressed from losing his job, aggravated at how people are reacting during the coronavirus pandemic and someone yelled at him for smoking a cigarette right before the incident.
The incident was back in March and now over six months later, Tom Patierno has been sentenced due to this incident.
According to KJCT, he pled guilty to 'violating a county coronavirus health order' when he coughed in the 68-year-old woman's face. Tom is now on supervised probation for the next six months, but that's not it. He must also perform community service, write an apology letter to the woman, and attend mental health counseling, according to KJCT.