by Daniel Johnson
December 29, 2024
Videos show Phoenix Influencer Charles Smith spraying bug spray on a number of items, including chicken.
Charles Smith, a Black 27-year-old influencer from Phoenix, is now facing felony charges after videos uploaded to Instagram and TikTok showed a man, later confirmed to be Smith, spraying bug spray on a several items, including chicken, at a local Walmart.
According to the Arizona Republic, the action of spraying the poison on the food items led to a felony charge of introducing poison and misdemeanor charges of theft, criminal damage, and endangerment.
In addition, a judge ordered Smith to be held on a $10,000 bond for a separate third-degree burglary charge.
Detective Richard Encinas told the outlet that Smith voluntarily turned himself in and admitted to spraying the poison and theft.
“Through investigative means, and with assistance from the Tempe Police Department, detectives were able to identify Smith as the suspect,” Detective Encinas said. “Mesa Police contacted Smith and he turned himself in voluntarily. During the interview, Smith admitted to the theft and spraying of the pesticide.”
Smith, who posts his content on social media under the name Wolfie Kahletti on Instagram and TikTok, the latter of which he has been banned, did make two follow-up posts indicating that he didn’t leave the product he sprayed out for others to pick up.
He captioned those posts “Fooled u,” “Threw them away,” and “Promise I threw them away.”
According to court documents obtained by People Magazine, Smith originally left the store and the items on the shelves, and only returned after he saw how negatively his videos showing him spraying the bug spray were being received online.
“Once he left, he began to see comments online saying how horrible the act was, and he decided to return and collect the items,” the documents state.
Walmart, the store where the videos were filmed, said in a statement to the outlet that the contaminated products were removed from the store and the areas where the videos were filmed were cleaned.
“The health and safety of our customers and associates is always a top priority,” Walmart’s statement read. “We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused our customers as we work to resolve this issue. We will continue to work closely with law enforcement during their investigation.”
According to the Mesa Police Department, this case is an example of what can happen when alleged social media pranks go too far.
“This incident underscores the potential dangers of reckless actions disguised as social media pranks,” the police department said in a statement to People Magazine.
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