A 27-year-old self-proclaimed homeless male model recently masturbated in public view at a Starbucks and got arrested for it on Friday. The chain of coffeehouses issued a statement following the incident saying that it wants its stores to be a "welcoming environment."
The incident happened in a Starbucks in Miami Beach on Friday, and Blake Reign is facing criminal charges for masturbating in public view. He was allegedly seen by several people pleasuring himself at the coffee shop around 9. 30 a.m Friday.
Alyssa DiMaria, one of the witnesses, said that she was in the shop when she used her phone to record Reign. In the video she yells at him and asks what's he doing. Then she tells him to get out, and says, "It’s disgusting!” Looking around at patrons, Reign seemed to be unbothered while doing the gross deed in front of an American flag in the coffee shop. He masturbated for about 10 minutes before officers finally arrived, said DiMaria.
According to the arrest report, when cops arrived he took off running. In the video recorded by the witness, an officer shouts and tells him to sit down. He allegedly refused to comply with police’s orders, so they shot him with a dart-firing stun gun. Later, he pulled the darts out of his body and ran off again.
During the foot chase, cops shot Reign around eight times before he was finally subdued. Cops used “closed fist distraction blows” and kicked him in the lower back area. A cop was injured after he fell during the chase. Reign was taken to Mount Sinai Medical Center. He is charged with disorderly conduct in an establishment, lewd and lascivious behavior, and resisting an officer without violence.
During his appearance in bond court, he told the judge he works in Miami Beach. Reign, whose bond has been set at $700, was at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on Sunday.
In a statement, Starbucks said that once alerted to the customer’s behavior their partners "took action and local authorities were immediately called." The statement read that the company wants its stores to be a "welcoming environment, and our partners are empowered to address any behavior that doesn’t meet our third place policy."
