An Arizona man reportedly ended his life after he was caught pulling up to a bikini-clad coffee shop drive-thru in Tempe — without any pants — by a barista who filmed the incident and uploaded it to social media, where it went viral.
Nautica Malone, a 27-year-old father of two, took his life on January 11 after a Bikini Beans Coffee barista shared a video of him pulling up to the cafe’s drive-through without any pants, according to multiple reports.
Watch:
In the video, the Bikini Beans Coffee employee approaches Malone’s vehicle and pans the camera inside the car, revealing that the man appeared to be nude from the waist down.
“Sir, you need to leave. Unacceptable,” the barista says to Malone, who then immediately drives off.
The Bikini Beans Coffee employee can then be heard telling someone off-camera to “Call 911.”
After that, the video footage reportedly made its way onto the internet, where it went viral. Then on January 11, Malone was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, police say.
Following the news of his death, Bikini Beans Coffee shop, an establishment where baristas wear swimsuits, released a statement saying that while their “thoughts and prayers” are with Malone’s family, he “chose to commit a crime,” which the company takes “very seriously.”
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the individual involved during this difficult time. This was an unfortunate and tragic situation,” Bikini Beans Coffee began in its January 14 statement.
“As a company, the safety of our employees is always our top priority. In this case, an individual chose to commit a crime at one of our locations,” the coffee shop continued.
“We take incidents like this very seriously and remain committed to protecting our team and maintaining a safe and respectful environment,” Bikini Beans Coffee added, before concluding, “Thank you for your continued support.”
A police report obtained by TMZ on Tuesday revealed that Malone’s brother told authorities his sibling had called him before ending his life to tell him he loved him and to “pull up.”
The 27-year-old’s brother added that while they only spoke on the phone for a minute, he had noticed that Malone did not sound like his normal self.
After becoming increasingly worried following their phone call, he arrived at Malone’s location to find his sibling dead inside his car from an apparent gunshot wound, the brother said.
The police report noted that Malone’s brother also pointed to the video footage taken at Bikini Beans Coffee — which clearly showed his brother’s face — having gone viral on social media before the 27-year-old’s suicide.
Malone’s wife, meanwhile, told police that her husband had left her a note on his phone, which began, “I apologize. I love you queen. I made a mistake and I don’t think I’ll be able to face you and the babies.”
“I don’t know why I drove though like that. My mental has been fucked up. I am not a monster. I apologize and I love you forever,” Malone’s note continued, adding, “If I am in critical condition please pull the plug.”
His note concluded by stating, “To all my family and friends I love you and I’m so sorry. I love my kids and family. Please forgive me.”
The woman also told authorities that she had noticed her husband was no longer being his typical fun, joking self in the days leading up to his death.
Malone is survived by his wife, Victoria, his two children, Nahlia and Vaughn, and his older brother, Ricco, according to his obituary.
Bikini Beans Coffee did not immediately respond to Breitbart News’s request to clarify if an employee posting video footage to social media is part of company protocol in taking incidents seriously in an effort to protect staff and maintain a safe and respectful environment, or if the company will be amending its guidelines in dealing with these types of incidents, should they arise again in the future.
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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