School bus driver arrested after swabbing Charlotte students’ cheeks, warrant shows
A Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools bus driver paid middle school students $5 to swab the inside of their cheeks for a COVID-19 test, according to an arrest warrant.
Raina Latasha McManus, 35, was arrested Tuesday afternoon and charged with soliciting during school hours without permission of Ridge Road Middle School in northeast Charlotte, the warrant shows.
McManus swabbed the children’s’ cheeks on Feb. 15 without consent from the CMS Board of Education, school principal Courtlyn Reeves or the students’ parents and guardians, the warrant says.
The incident happened on a CMS bus on school property, according to the warrant.
She was given a $500 bond and is set to appear in District Court on Sept. 21, the warrant says.
Bus driver fired
McManus worked for the National Institute of Molecular Diagnostics in Greensboro, according to WSOC-TV, which first reported about the swabs. The lab told the news station that the students’ samples were destroyed.
An NIMD employee hung up on an Observer reporter’s request for comment Wednesday afternoon, and emails and messages weren’t returned.
The school district terminated McManus’ employment on March 22, CMS spokesman Eddie Perez told the Observer. She had been suspended with pay prior to her termination, Perez said.
Criminal charges were filed against McManus based on evidence provided by CMS police, the Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement.
Prosecutors haven’t been presented with any investigations concerning other individuals, entities or organizations, according to the statement.
Observer staff writer Anna Maria Della Costa contributed to this report.
This story was originally published April 6, 2022 at 1:54 PM.
