MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — The director of the Macy’s Fulfillment Center in Berkeley County was arrested Tuesday on felony and misdemeanor warrants that accuse her of refusing to allow a sheriff’s deputy to enter the building to serve an employee with two felony warrants over the weekend.
Arifa Lukmani Hasan-Swannigan, 57, Myna Court, Martinsburg, was later arraigned on one felony count of acting an accessory to knowingly assist a principal felon to avoid arrest and one misdemeanor count of obstructing an officer. She has since been released on $15,000 bail.
According to court records, a Berkeley County sheriff’s deputy responded at about 11 a.m. Saturday to the Macy’s Fulfillment Center, located at 333 Caperton Blvd., to serve an employee with two felony warrants.
The deputy was told by the wanted person’s family and a friend that she was at work at the Macy’s facility at that time. Police attempted multiple times to locate the individual to serve the warrants at several different locations with no success, records show.
The deputy was told by Macy’s security that before anyone could attempt to locate the wanted person, they would have to contact the director, later identified as Hasan-Swannigan. Security confirmed that the person police were attempting to serve with warrants was in the building at that time and was working, records show.
Police spoke with Hasan-Swannigan on the phone and she allegedly told the deputy that she needed to know what the warrants were before she would cooperate. Police told her that the information was private, records show.
The accused then allegedly stated that she didn’t have to let law enforcement into the building and that she wouldn’t cooperate unless she was given information about the warrants.
The deputy left the property without serving the two felony warrants. The lobby of the building is the only accessible area without key card clearance and the inside doors are locked, records show.
The incident was the second time the deputy had issues with Hasan-Swannigan regarding warrant service inside the establishment and she was told on that occasion of the possible penalties for not cooperating, records show.
A phone message left for a Macy’s spokesperson was not returned by press time.