WPBN: As he boasted to police about his prank videos, a self-described social media “villain” from Arizona was detained after reportedly filming himself spraying bed bug killer on food inside a Walmart.
Around 8:30 p.m. on December 19, 27-year-old Charles Smith is charged with snatching a can of Hot Shot Ultra Bed Bug and Flea Killer and sprinkling the insecticide over a number of perishable goods in the megastore in Mesa, Arizona.
The influencer filmed himself at the store, which is in a neighborhood southeast of Phoenix, spraying the toxin on bananas, acorn squash, potatoes, lemons, green apples, and Roma tomatoes while sporting a black hoodie and a pink bandana. The video has since been removed.
According to police, the TikTokker, nicknamed WolfieKahletti, purposefully visited the store to record practical jokes for his channel.
According to court documents that Az Family has seen, Smith describes himself as an online “troll.” On TikTok, he has over 300,000 followers.
“I make between $6,000 and $10,000 a month filming my provocative prank videos,” the troublemaker allegedly told police.
“I think social media has got people doing crazy things out here,” Walmart shopper Xavier Griego stated. “It’s unfortunate that somebody would mess up their whole life, potentially, for something on social media for views.”
On December 21, Smith willingly surrendered himself to the police.
He is charged with three crimes, including theft, endangerment, and criminal damage, in addition to the felony of introducing poison.
According to a Walmart representative, staff members cleaned the contaminated parts of the store and took out the immediately impacted merchandise.
It’s unclear if any patrons suffered any harm as a result of consuming the tainted food.
Are Costco, Walmart, Target, and Dollar Tree Open This Christmas? Holiday Schedules Inside
The Mesa Police Department released a statement saying, “This incident highlights the potential dangers of reckless actions disguised as social media pranks.”
Smith also shared recordings of himself locking people inside a different grocery shop and apparently adding eggs and bacon to a stranger’s load at the laundromat.
According to HotShot’s website, the spray is “toxic if swallowed” and “long or often repeated skin contact may cause allergic reactions in some individuals.”
If found guilty of tampering with consumer goods, suspects could spend five to twenty years behind bars.
Migrant Arrested After Allegedly Setting Woman on Fire and Watching Her Burn on NYC Subway
A man from Arizona was found guilty in 2022 of putting dangerous chemicals in food at multiple retail establishments in the Phoenix area, and he was given a 10-year probationary term.
In addition to being mandated to take part in a mental health assessment and any further suggested therapy, David Lohr was also forced to reimburse a grocery chain $390.42.
Prosecutors stated that no illnesses or injuries linked to the altered merchandise were reported during the 2018 incident.
Lohr was sentenced to 51 months in prison and three years of supervised release with mental health services after being found guilty of tampering with merchandise at businesses in California a year later.
