Monday, March 16, 2020 | 9 p.m.
For the young man headed into a packed store donning a painter’s suit, dust mask and latex gloves, the water-spray spree was only a goof — a shot at internet fame.
But amid the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Saturday night stunt at the southwest valley Walmart proved to be alarming enough that the store was evacuated for several hours. Police quickly mobilized as shoppers suspected they’d been exposed to an “unknown chemical agent.”
In the end, about a dozen people were checked out by medics, although none showed signs of contact with anything harmful.
The alleged culprit wasn’t identified by police, but Aldo Gonzalez, 23, was. He had accompanied the juvenile to the store and recorded the incident. The man was booked at the Clark County Detention Center on one count each of burglary and disperse, or cause disperse hoax substance.
Gonzalez’s Metro Police arrest report outlines how fast detectives caught up with the pair after an employee at the store, 7200 Arroyo Crossing Parkway, jotted down their car’s license plate number, and how the minor told them about the prank and their intention to go viral on YouTube and Instagram.
Officers were summoned to the store at 8:19 p.m. Witnesses related that an unidentified male in a “hazmat” suit had gone into the store and began spraying an unknown liquid through a food aisle and throughout the store, according to the report. At one point, a woman asked the suspect what he was doing after he sprayed her shopping cart.
She said he didn’t say anything, but did motion for her to open her hand, police said. That’s when he sprayed her.
Gonzalez and the minor took off in a sedan with California plates, likely not knowing a Walmart employee had the number.
Metro got a hit on a Las Vegas address. Plainclothes detectives quickly staked out a neighborhood about 4 miles south of the store.
While they were waiting for a marked patrol vehicle, a man exited a house and began approaching one of the undercover vehicles, apparently filming from his cellphone, police said. After his arrest, he refused to speak to detectives but did say they’d only sprayed water.
While he was being handcuffed, they spotted a boy filming the arrest from the home’s balcony. When detectives spoke to him, he told them about the prank and motive.
The juvenile said he wanted to become “famous” online by making “funny” videos, so Gonzalez and he had come up with a plan.
At first, they were going to use a real hazmat suit, but decided against it because it would be “too serious.”
The painter’s suit was bought the day before. The young man found a spray bottle and emptied the cleaning chemical in it, cleaned it out, and replaced it with water.
The goggles, gloves and face mask were bought that day.
Store surveillance caught the pair walking around the store before the young man changed into his costume. The minor sprayed while Gonzalez filmed, police said.
