TSA agent arrested, fired for ordering woman to show breasts

LOS ANGELES (KTLA) -- A former U.S. Transportation Security Administration agent was arrested Thursday on suspicion of detaining a woman without legal cause and tricking her into showing him her breasts while she was going through security screening at LAX last year, officials said.

Johnathon Lomeli, 22, of El Monte, is named in a criminal complaint charging him with false imprisonment by fraud or deceit in connection with an incident that took place at the Los Angeles International Airport on June 10, 2019.

“The felony allegedly occurred outside of the primary security screening area,” the California Attorney General's Office said in a written statement.

An affidavit filed in the case alleged Lomeli told the woman he needed to take her to a private room for additional security screening, the Associated Press reported.

Once they reached an elevator, Lomeli ordered the woman to “show me your full breasts,” and also looked down her pants, before complimenting the passenger on her breasts and then telling her she was free to go, according to the AP.

Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department's Major Crimes Division arrested Lomeli just after 7 a.m. Thursday, Los Angeles County booking records show.

A TSA spokeswoman said the defendant is no longer with the agency, which pledges to cooperate with the investigation.