Toilet paper on store shelves in Bowie, Maryland, on January 20, 2016
The following claim from Saugus, California is equal parts distressing and peculiar. A local man here has allegedly punched his mother in a dispute over their toilet paper. Adrian Yan, 26, is charged with battery according to Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s deputies in a Los Angeles Daily News report.
Family disturbance calls can start out over small things, and then they escalate. Deputies responded to call where family members were arguing w/ each other because one felt the other one hid toilet paper. It turned into physical confrontation. One got arrested.
— SCV Sheriff (@SCVSHERIFF) April 8, 2020
According to sheriff’s department spokesperson Shirley Miller, Yan started an argument with his mother by claiming she’d hidden the toilet paper. It progressed, and Yan allegedly punched his mother. The mother told deputies she hid the toilet paper because her son used too much, Miller said.
Records reviewed by Law&Crime show that the defendant was booked into a Santa Clarita jail on Monday. It’s unclear if he has an attorney at this time. No court date is scheduled.
The allegation is absurd, but by no means unusual. Heck, this isn’t even the first TP-related crime we’ve written about. In a more distressing note, a number of officials and law enforcement agencies have voiced concern about domestic calls amid the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and widespread stay-at-home orders from local governments. For example, Governors like Jared Polis (D-Colo.) and Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.) have highlighted the issue.
Polis: If you are at home and feel unsafe, you can call the domestic violence hotline at 1-800-799-7233.
— Denver7 News (@DenverChannel) April 8, 2020
I am alarmed by the reported increase in domestic violence incidents.
NYS wants you to know: You are not trapped because of #Coronavirus.
The State will help you find safe shelter.
Call 1-800-942-6906 if you need help. pic.twitter.com/wQUxNivtAp
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) April 6, 2020
Miller joined the chorus and attributed the Yan case to current circumstances.
“It was to be expected, it’s happening everywhere,” she said.
[Image via JOHANNES EISELE/AFP via Getty Images]
