A 19‑year‑old man has been charged with attempted kidnapping after surveillance footage captured him trying to pull a bikini‑clad barista through a drive‑thru window at a coffee stand in Lakewood, Washington.
The incident, at the Ladybug Bikini Barista drive‑thru, was recorded by the stand’s surveillance cameras and shows the man grabbing the worker’s hand and pulling while holding a drink in his other hand. The woman braced herself against the window and struck her face on the glass as she tried to prevent being pulled out of the stand, according to footage shared with local media. She managed to get her body behind the glass and close the window; officers said she suffered red marks on her wrist, bicep and shoulder and had her shirt torn during the struggle.
Authorities identified the suspect as Ezekiel Guerrero of Tacoma and arrested him days later after tracing a credit‑card receipt from the transaction, police said. Guerrero told investigators he let go when the barista yelled "help," and later described the episode as a "mistake" tied to being intoxicated and upset, according to a local broadcast report. He was charged with attempted kidnapping and pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors and officers did not immediately release a full timeline of charges or the exact date of the alleged attack. Court records show Guerrero was released on bail; the barista told a local television station she was frustrated that the defendant received what she described as a lenient pretrial release because he is young and it was his first offense.
The arrest and charge mark one of several disturbing incidents reported at bikini‑clad coffee stands around the United States in recent years. In January, a man was filmed at a Bikini Beans drive‑thru in Tempe, Arizona, arriving without pants and allegedly engaging in lewd behavior while at the window. Local reports said that man, identified as 27‑year‑old Nautica Malone, later died by suicide days after the incident.
Operators of bikini‑clad drive‑thrus have said they face occasional incidents that range from lewd conduct to physical confrontations, and some have implemented additional safety measures, including plexiglass barriers, panic buttons and increased lighting. Law enforcement agencies have emphasized that each incident is investigated on its facts and that charges and bail decisions are handled through the criminal justice system.
The Lakewood Police Department and the Pierce County prosecutor’s office declined to provide additional comment beyond the information in the arrest and charging documents cited by local media. The investigation remains active and court proceedings are pending, with Guerrero scheduled to appear in court on the matter.