"Goonicide" trends after Arizona man caught gooning at cafe drive-thru dies by suicide 

An Arizona man has driven a new social media trend, 'goonicide,' a portmanteau for gooning and suicide. The backstory is that Nautica Malone drove to a drive-thru of a coffee shop where he was allegedly gooning. The incident was recorded and circulated across social media platforms.

However, the person committed suicide supposedly following the traction that the video gained. Reports even hailed him as the face of goonicide.

According to police, Malone drove to the Bikini Beans Coffee drive-thru in Tempe, Arizona, without wearing pants. A barista noticed and informed her manager, who recorded Malone at the window. The video was shared online and quickly went viral, drawing millions of reactions.

As seen in the viral videos, the employee initially greeted him with 'Hi, how are you?' and then she asked whether he had been to the shop before. Malone replied affirmatively, but as understood from his facial expression, he realized he was being filmed.

The employee then asked him to leave the place as she said whatever he was doing was unacceptable. She then instructed someone to call 911. After the incident, Malone, 27, reportedly traveled to Goodyear, Arizona, and died by suicide on January 11, 2025, according to the Maricopa County Medical Examiner.

Police mentioned that his family later confronted the coffee shop staff, claiming the incident led to Malone's death, which is now being called an instance of goonicide. The Tolleson police are investigating the incident.

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Bikini Beans Coffee released a statement following the goonicide incident

The video of Malone engaging in the disturbing act received criticism from social media users. According to an exclusive report by TMZ, his family members behaved aggressively with the staff of the coffee shop following the goonicide incident. The media outlet contacted the owner, Ben Lyles, who expressed his condolences for the incident. He said:

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the individual involved during this difficult time. This was an unfortunate and tragic situation.”

Lyles emphasized that the company's top priority is employee safety. He stated that the incident involved a criminal act at one of their locations and assured that the company is committed to addressing such situations seriously while ensuring a safe and respectful environment for their team.

Bikini Beans Coffee, where employees wear bikinis as part of their unique concept, describes their uniform as one that embraces individuality and redefines success.

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This isn't the first time that an incident like this happened at the coffee shop. In 2023, 24-year-old Raul Mena was ordering a drink from Bikini Beans Coffee and exposed his private part to a barista. As per a report by Arizona's Family from January 5, 2023, the man gave a 20-dollar bill to the barista.

However, when she reached out to collect it, she saw he was exposing his private part. Besides her, two other employees were witnesses to the incident. According to the police, he immediately left the parking lot after getting his drink. He was later tracked down and arrested after identifying him from the surveillance footage.