Social media can be a weird place. For a long time, the name Charles Smith Walmart started trending for all the wrong reasons. It wasn't about a corporate executive or a big merger. Instead, it was about a 27-year-old content creator from Arizona who decided that "trolling" was worth a felony charge.
Honestly, it’s one of those stories that makes you double-check your produce before putting it in the cart.
In late 2024, Smith, known online as "Wolfie Kahletti," walked into a Walmart on South Stapley Drive in Mesa. He didn't go in for a gallon of milk. He went in to film a stunt. According to police records and court testimony, Smith grabbed a can of Hot Shot Ultra Bed Bug and Flea Killer right off the shelf. He didn't pay for it. He just started spraying.
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The Incident in Mesa
The video was chilling to watch. You could see him dousing fresh fruit, vegetables, and even rotisserie chickens with the pesticide. He filmed his own face during the act. He filmed the can. Then he uploaded the whole thing to TikTok and Instagram.
People didn't find it funny.
The backlash was almost instant. Comments flooded in calling the act "vile" and "dangerous." It turns out that when you spray poison on food people buy for their kids, the "it's just a prank, bro" defense doesn't really hold up. Smith actually tried to go back to the store later that night to collect the contaminated items because he realized how badly he messed up. But the damage was done.
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Legal Consequences and Sentencing
Walmart had to throw away nearly $1,000 worth of food. They sanitized the entire area. While Smith claimed in follow-up videos that he "threw them away" and "fooled u," the legal system in Maricopa County took a much dimmer view of the situation.
Charles Smith Walmart became a case study in "clout-chasing" gone wrong.
By June 2025, the legal saga reached its peak. Smith stood before a judge and apologized, claiming social media had basically "taken over his brain." It’s a sentiment a lot of people probably understand, but it didn't keep him out of a cell. He was sentenced to one year in prison after pleading guilty to adding poison to food—a class 6 felony in Arizona.
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He also faced charges for:
- Criminal damage
- Shoplifting (for the spray itself)
- Endangerment
- Solicitation to commit burglary (related to separate cases)
The Economics of the Stunt
Why do it? Money, mostly. Smith told investigators he could pull in anywhere from $6,000 to $10,000 a month by posting these types of "villain" pranks. When you realize that engagement equals a paycheck, the stunts get more extreme. He had over 300,000 followers before his TikTok was nuked.
It highlights a scary trend. We've seen people licking ice cream tubs and putting them back, but spraying bed bug killer is a different level of risk. The judge in the case called the crime "absolutely outrageous."
What You Should Know Now
If you are worried about the safety of your local store, remember that Walmart's response was swift. They worked with the Mesa Police Department and the Tempe Police Department to identify Smith within 24 hours. He actually turned himself in once he realized he was being hunted.
The food was discarded immediately.
There is also a second Charles Smith who pops up in news searches related to Walmart. In 2023, a man named Jesse Charles Smith allegedly drove a stolen excavator into a Walmart in Florida. That was a completely different, though equally chaotic, incident involving a machete and about $2 million in property damage.
Actionable Steps for Consumers
You shouldn't live in fear of the produce aisle, but a little common sense goes a long way.
- Always wash your produce. Even without "pranksters," pesticides and bacteria are real. Use a mix of water and vinegar or a dedicated fruit wash.
- Inspect packaging. If a rotisserie chicken container looks like it’s been tampered with or has a weird chemical smell, don't buy it. Take it to a manager.
- Report, don't repost. This is the big one from the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. If you see a video of someone tampering with food, don't share it to "vent" or "expose" them. Report it directly to the platform and the local police. Sharing it only gives the creator the engagement—and the money—they are looking for.
Smith’s attorney says he wants to remove himself from social media once he’s released. Whether he actually does is anyone's guess, but for now, his story serves as a pretty stark warning that the internet's "supreme villains" eventually have to face real-world judges.