For cops, bikini barista stands might be the new donut shops
Feb 28, 2013, 7:04 PM | Updated: Mar 1, 2013, 8:36 am
The cliche about police officers loving donuts began when they visited bakeries for coffee and donuts since they were often the only neighborhood shops open. But in the Puget Sound region, local cops from Everett to Kent seem to be spending a lot of time undercover at barista stands. (MyNorthwest file photo)
(MyNorthwest file photo)
The cliche about police officers loving donuts began when they visited bakeries for coffee and donuts. Those neighborhood shops were often the only businesses open early in the morning.
Local cops from Everett to Kent seem to be spending far more time at bikini barista stands than in donut shops.
Kent police say two baristas were arrested for committing lewd acts in the presence of undercover police officers.
The police investigation into Twin Peaks Espresso started several months ago, in late 2012 after several people complained that the women would expose themselves for excess cash or commit lewd acts.
Officers arrested a 23-year-old woman and a 19-year-old girl after discovering, through their undercover research involving drive ups and site surveillance, that woman would flash their private parts if customers paid excessive tips of up to $25.
This bust of bust exposure follows a case a couple weeks ago at the Grab-N-Go espresso stands at two locations in Everett.
Again, people complained about indecent exposure so what else could officers do? They had to spend two months investigating the alleged violation of city adult-entertainment codes.
Undercover work by officers led to the arrests of three baristas who at times didn’t even serve coffee.
Does that sound familiar?
Everett Police have been there before. In 2009, another two-month undercover investigation led to five arrests at one of the same Grab-N-Go stands.
As much as the Seattle-area has a rich coffee history, it has a more recent history of undercover police investigations of bikini barista stands.
These cases generally seem to take a full two months to investigate.
A couple of years ago, the Edmonds Police Department orchestrated a nine-month undercover investigation resulting in the arrest of the Java Juggs Espresso owner and three employees.
At the time, Edmonds PD Sgt. Don Anderson defended the undercover officers.
“This wasn’t their only ongoing investigation or their only priority,” he said, “but enough complaints came in from the community that it was obvious we had an obligation to investigate.”
By LINDA THOMAS
