Cops: Defendant Faked Positive COVID-19 Test
Forgery was used to dodge court appearance
DECEMBER 30--In an apparent bid to dodge a criminal court date, a Connecticut man allegedly faked a positive COVID-19 test that was submitted to a judge, according to an arrest affidavit.
Investigators this week charged Junior Jumpp, 31, with a pair of felonies--forgery and tampering with evidence--for his alleged scheme to avoid appearing for a November 30 bond revocation 
hearing.
Jumpp had been ordered to appear in court for allegedly violating release terms in a pending criminal matter. The Hartford resident, records show, was arrested twice in November while out on bond in the original case.
The November 30 court hearing was scheduled to review Jumpp’s apparent non-compliance with bond terms, and it could have resulted in his immediate detention. Jumpp, a Hartford resident, is facing a variety of criminal raps, including breach of peace, threatening, and interfering with police.
Jumpp is also facing separate felony charges stemming from his alleged “fabrication of documents that were submitted as a defense exhibit in a criminal jury trial in May 2019.”
On November 29, Jumpp’s lawyer told prosecutors and a Superior Court judge that his client had texted him a screenshot purporting to show a positive COVID-19 test notification from Saint Francis Hospital in Hartford. In response, Judge Maureen Keegan excused Jumpp (seen above) from appearing at the New Britain courthouse.
In a November 30 email to Keegan, Jumpp wrote of “testing positive for covid,” but noted that, “if u still want me to come in I will because I all due respect I feel as if u may want to raise my bond today.”
But a subsequent police investigation determined that the positive test proffered by Jumpp was fabricated, the arrest affidavit states. Jumpp’s motive for faking the test, investigators contend, was to skirt the bond revocation hearing.
Jumpp was arrested Tuesday and booked into the county lockup on $25,000 bond. The two felony counts carry a minimum of one year in prison, and a maximum of five years in custody. Jumpp is scheduled for a February 3 court appearance. (4 pages)
