Naked DoorDash Driver Caught on Ring Camera at Northeast Houston Home

Kiante Matlock was inside his home near Homestead on the northeast side of Houston, playing a video game with his daughter nearby, when his phone buzzed with a notification that his DoorDash order had arrived. When he checked his Ring camera to see the delivery, he says he found the driver standing completely naked outside his front door.

Matlock reported the incident to FOX 26 Houston, describing the moment he says happened at his home on August 24. He told the station he did not keep the food from the delivery after seeing what was waiting on his doorstep.

DoorDash Responds With Permanent Ban

DoorDash told the station the driver's behavior was vulgar and completely unacceptable, and the company said it has removed the driver's access to its platform permanently for violating its community guidelines. The company added that it does not tolerate sexual harassment or misconduct of any kind and said it refunded Matlock's order. DoorDash also said it will assist law enforcement with any investigation into the incident.

The company pointed to its existing reporting tools, encouraging customers to immediately report concerning or inappropriate delivery behavior through the app, and noting that complaints submitted that way are reviewed by its Trust & Safety team. DoorDash recommends that customers who feel unsafe contact local law enforcement, and that anyone facing immediate danger call 911. The company also said it offers additional safety resources through its online safety center.

Police Say Report and Evidence Are Key

The Houston Police Department said residents who experience concerning delivery behavior should report it to police and preserve any available evidence, including Ring, doorbell, or other surveillance video. Police said a report and an investigation are required before determining what happened, and that any potential criminal charges could depend on the specific circumstances of the case, per Houston police.

Under Texas Penal Code Section 21.08, a first-offense indecent exposure charge is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to 180 days in county jail and a $2,000 fine. Texas law defines the offense as exposing genitals or the anus with intent to arouse or gratify sexual desire while being reckless about whether it might alarm someone else. A second conviction escalates to a Class A misdemeanor and triggers a mandatory 10-year sex offender registration requirement, while three or more convictions can become a state jail felony, according to Barnett Howard & Williams PLLC.

A Pattern Playing Out Nationwide

DoorDash says it requires all prospective U.S. drivers to pass an identity check and a third-party background screening through Checkr, which reviews motor vehicle reports, criminal court records, and sex offender registries before granting platform access. The company says it has completed more than 25 million driver background checks since 2014. Beyond initial vetting, DoorDash uses automated continuous background monitoring through Checkr that tracks county criminal records, arrest data, and court databases to flag new offenses, according to Gridwise, which explains that the monitoring can trigger adverse action notices and automatic account deactivations when new records surface.

DoorDash also requires more than 100,000 drivers each week to complete identity re-verification through real-time selfies matched against their government ID, aimed at preventing account sharing. In November 2021, the company partnered with security firm ADT to launch its SafeDash in-app toolkit, which gives couriers a safety reassurance call feature and a silent emergency assistance button that lets ADT agents dispatch emergency responders using smartphone GPS data.

The Northeast Houston case echoes a string of similarly unsettling incidents involving delivery drivers this year. In July, a DoorDash driver in suburban Detroit was arrested and charged with aggravated indecent exposure after allegedly exposing himself during deliveries, in a case Hoodline covered under the headline Detroit DoorDash driver exposed himself to kids. In May, a DoorDash driver in Oswego, New York, pleaded not guilty to felony unlawful surveillance charges after recording and posting video of a customer who was partially naked inside his home, a case detailed by Complex, which reported DoorDash permanently deactivated both the driver and the customer. And in June, police in Cocoa, Florida arrested a 20-year-old man who was completely naked when he allegedly grabbed a female DoorDash driver during a delivery, according to FOX 35 Orlando.

Harris County has already seen its own version of this concern. In July, Precinct 4 deputies asked residents near an apartment complex off Windfern Road for security camera footage after fielding multiple complaints of a man exposing himself in the neighborhood, a case Hoodline covered as deputies hunted a self-described Windfern neighborhood predator. Together, the cases point to how heavily both residents and investigators now lean on doorbell and Ring footage to document misconduct that unfolds in the seconds between an app notification and a knock at the door.