Troopers charge Unity man after confrontation over wearing mask in Giant Eagle

A Unity man accused of refusing to wear a mask while shopping at a grocery store and threatening to fight the manager before fleeing was charged with disorderly conduct and harassment, state police said.

William A. Muir, 41, also received four traffic citations from troopers as he fled the Giant Eagle parking lot of Laurel Mountain Plaza in a 2002 Dodge pickup truck about 4 p.m. Friday, according to state Trooper Michael Burkholder. Muir was cited for driving without a license, driving on a suspended license and two counts of driving a vehicle not properly inspected.

Burkholder reported that troopers were dispatched to the store after receiving reports of a disturbance.

“When asked to put on a mask, Muir became irate, threw his shopping cart to the ground and threatened to fight the store manager,” Burkholder reported.

As Muir fled the store to his vehicle, witnesses reported that he continued to complain about the store’s mask-wearing requirement and made obscene gestures toward the manager.

Attempts to reach Muir for comment were unsuccessful. He did not have an attorney listed in court documents.

According to online court dockets, in July 2020 the Clerk of Courts office filed a civil lawsuit against Muir to collect $1,129 in unpaid costs and fines related to his guilty plea to retail theft at a Unity Walmart in 2018. He received one year on probation in that case, according to court records.

In 2005, Muir also pleaded guilty to an endangering the welfare of children charge filed by Latrobe police and was sentenced to five years’ probation, according to court records.