A woman has been fined after pleading guilty to abusing and spitting at a Waitrose employee in November 2020.
Lesley Grilli appeared in court today (February 28) after a video was taken of her verbally attacking the employee in Clapham Common, London before kicking a display of Christmas trees.
In footage of the incident, Grilli, dressed in black boots and a white coat, can be heard abusing a worker standing behind the till – repeatedly shouting "you're dead".
Agitated at not being able to purchase her items, she walks around to the corner of the till and spits at the worker, with the saliva landing on the plastic cover in place due to coronavirus restrictions.
The incident took place on November 21, 2020, at 9.40pm inside Waitrose by Clapham Common tube station in front of a dozen witnesses.
Grilli shouts at the till worker saying: "I got f***ing money in my account, you're gonna decline me?"
She added: "You're gonna die, you're dead, you're dead."
The Waitrose staff member attempts to calm the woman down and explain the situation, but she simply continues her verbal tirade.
A security guard can be heard calling the police in the background, while an older, female worker approaches the woman to get her out of the store.
The woman, who isn't wearing a mask, walks towards the exit where she proceeds to take her anger out on the Christmas tree display, kicking the products.
She added: "F***ing Christmas trees, f***Ing Christmas s**t.
"I've got money in my account, you gonna decline me you motherf***ing c***s."
A man who was standing outside the store enters to assist during the heated event and gets the woman out of the shop, which he eventually manages to do.
The female staff worker comes over to put the Christmas display together again and said, "How lovely. Great British Public".
The Waitrose staff worker who was attacked told reporters at the time that the woman had attempted to purchase items but was swearing at him, and when he asked her not to use that language or exit the shop, she started verbally abusing him.
While she initially pleaded not guilty, Grilli today changed her plea to guilty and was sentenced under a section of the Public Order Act, which included both spitting and abusive phrasing.
She was handed a £150 general fine, £350 fine for costs, £34 victim surcharge and ordered to pay the victim £100 compensation.
The court heard that the reason for the fee is due to a catastrophic injury Grilli has since suffered and due to her personal circumstances, it was decided little would be achieved in her getting a community order.
Grilli also has a previous conviction of criminal damage from 2017.
