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 Linda Thomas
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Linda is the morning news anchor and features reporter for KIRO Radio. This is her local news blog, with an emphasis on social media, technology, Northwest companies, education, parenting, and anything else that grabs her attention.

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Bikini Barista
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)

For cops, bikini barista stands might be the new donut shops

February 28, 2013 @ 7:04 pm (Updated: 8:36 am - 3/1/13 )

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

More from Linda Thomas

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Comments (64)


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  • HLC wrote...
    Maybe the cops are former nascar racers.
    March 1, 2013 9:07 am
    Their just used to turning left. Makes it easier to hot lap around the coffee shack. The one positive about this is they may not be eating as many donuts. Maybe they can lose a few pounds and actually fit in the size uniforms they try to wear. Other wize it's a joke and a waste of money.
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  • Cash wrote...
    Just for the record.
    March 1, 2013 9:57 am
    I fully think this is silly and should not be investigated by detectives period. It is a waste of money and resources and it is frustrating being told to do these types of cases because of the city wanting it stopped. Cops get used by the powers to be for stuff like this all the time, why do you think there are so many traffic cops writing tickets, they are told to by the city managers etc... I just want to make it clear I do not support this type of case investigation but I understand it is not really a two month investigation as there is no way that is all that unit did for two solid months. I just don't think it is fair to say that cops had nothing better to do than look at these ladies over and over again at taxpayer expense. It is my guess they were ordered by the chief via his chain of command...
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  • Red Mister wrote...
    Misleading Headline of the Year Award
    March 1, 2013 10:36 am
    In all the comments so far, Linda, I'm really suprised that no one has called you out on your spectacularly misleading headline. If you read no further than the headline, which MANY online readers don't, it would have you believe that cops now get their daily coffee from the bikini stands, which is completely different than the substance of the article. I am really disappointed in the trashy sensationalism you chose to use here, as it's totally unneccessary. Any other more accurate headline you could have chosen to use involving investigations of bikini barista stands would have attracted the same attention without the unneccessary slam on the cops.They already have enough perceived image problems as it is.
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  • Oly80 wrote...
    no...
    March 1, 2013 11:19 am
    i read the story.

    the point is, while cops should be out doing their JOBS, i.e. solving crimes, catching bad guys, and doing that whole "serve and protect" thing, they're at these stands. wasting time on something nobody cares about.

    clearly you missed the point. or, maybe you didn't read the article yourself.

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  • Red Mister wrote...
    I'm guessing you have difficulty with logic problems
    March 1, 2013 11:48 am
    The headline says that the bikini barista stands might be the new donut shops. The stereotype is that cops spend their coffee breaks in donut shops, they don't spend their time INVESTIGATING donut shops. The comparison is not accurate. It leads you to believe that the cops are all hanging out there on their breaks, which is NOT what the article is about. If the point is that cops should be doing other things, then a more logical headline would be "Cops spending too much time at bikini barista stands?" or similar. Implying that they are there for other than for arguably professional reasons is unfair. Perhaps the whomever you had read the article to you didn't make this clear.
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  • JMGilday wrote...
    constant customer
    March 1, 2013 10:29 am
    love the smile, skin, brief conversation and momentary vacation in the land of Make Believe...

    and all for $5 - with a free coffee too !

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • SALIFE wrote...
    lol....
    March 1, 2013 10:41 am
    Who wouldn't wanna look at half naked girls! Everybody likes to see some raccs! Who said they don't, is a bold face liar! What's wrong with cops gettin coffee at a bikini coffee shop? Nothing! Everyman likes to look at this.... What's new!
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  • Oly80 wrote...
    cops have better things to do...
    March 1, 2013 11:27 am
    two months of investigation, regardless of whether or not they had "other investigations" on their plate, is about a month and three more weeks than you need to get to the bottom of the situation in a case like this.

    they need to be honest. they dragged this out for their own pleasure. they did. that's all there is to this. and for what? TWO misdemeanors!? are you KIDDING!?

    simple way to put this into perspective: how many TRUE crimes with ACTUAL victims were committed during those two months that this was going on? if it's any more than TWO, they were just wasting time and taxpayer money on THEIR PLEASURE.

    i want to know a couple things: 1. how much manpower did these guys dedicate to this hooter (sorry couldn't resist) hunt? exactly how many different cops? how many hours? how much in pay, or overtime, if any? AND, when did they find the TWO people? early on in the investigation? or, did they wait a while and enjoy themselves?

    i'm betting the answers to these questions are obvious and not shocking at all.

    lame.

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  • Cash wrote...
    Here is another reason why it might have taken two months
    March 1, 2013 12:07 pm
    Maybe this should clear this up and out of a specific number of attepmts there were only two minor violations and not the chief can tell the council or city manager there is no problem and no reason to have us check into this anymore. This could have easily proven there was not a problem to start with and clears the stand of wrong doing...
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  • Hawksbandit wrote...
    I read this for the pictures, not the article.
    March 1, 2013 12:16 pm
    Another awared winning confusing article from Linda. At least you added some colorful pictures to the article, that made it almost worth while looking at it.
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  • Relevant13 wrote...
    The point really is......
    March 1, 2013 3:12 pm
    We live in a society where is someone is offended action must be taken. Nevermind that police have better things to do, someone complains up the ladder enough, it will be forced upon the minions to fix it. So cops spend 2 months investigation and turn it over to the prosecutor. The prosecutor charges them with a misdemeanor and they get a slap on the risk. All on the TAXPAYERS dime, when everyone involved knows that it will cost more money to investigate and prosecute than it will get back in judgement. Why? Because we live in a society where we can't tell people to mind their own business. Because the politicians care only about reelection. Because I am the most important person in the world and if I don't like something, I will scream and yell until someone does something about it. The irony is that so many people in this area love to complain about how the government wastes our money, yet we are the ones who scream and yell because something we don't like isn't being taken care of when we complain. So we spend $100 to get back $0.10 and those who complained get happy that they made something happen, then switch message boards and complain about wasteful spending. Brilliant!
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  • RMGrant wrote...
    Seriously?
    March 1, 2013 4:55 pm
    I've kept my mouth shut on this long enough. My daughter works at a bikini stand, not something that I'm proud to share, but none the less. The same day that the "Grab & Go" was busted an under cover cop went through the stand she works at. One that I won't mention the name of. She was unaware of the "sting" that was going on that day and when he threw a $20 at her without ordering anything she asked, "What's that for?" While stumbling his words, she figured out he was looking for more than just coffee. Her response? "I'm a barista, not a hooker! Get the 'f' out of here, you 'f'...ing pervert!" The officer and I, both, were quite impressed! My point is that not ALL of the girls that work at these stands are looking to gain a few bucks by doing something that's illegal. Don't judge "all" by the acts of a few.
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  • longwayhome wrote...
    cash
    March 1, 2013 6:55 pm
    Keep posting your nonsense, at least aj believes you.
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  • Cash wrote...
    Long
    March 2, 2013 5:26 pm
    Hey I am just pointing it out; not my fault or any line officer or detective. We get directions to do stupid cases by the chain of command for various reasons and it is usually because of something a council member or city manager is up in arms over. If I were assigned this detail I would fight it all the way and do as little as possible on it because it is not worth the time or effort. I have been assigned bogus details in the past and will be assigned more in the future but I have to follow orders. I agree with the point of the story, I do not agree with how Linda it making it sound and I fully think it is not fair but I am a big boy and will be able to move on just fine. I think it is a low blow and she knows just by the headline she will get points for clicks and comments.

    As for your dig on AJ at least he can give actual reasons for his opinions and back them up with conversation. I respect him 100% whether or not I agree. Maybe that is something you should learn, people should be allowed to have an opinion and be able to express it. I respect anyone who can do that and stand behind what they believe in unlike you who just gets in the middle and calls people names because you don't like them...

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  • hpitantso wrote...
    Over priced coffee
    March 1, 2013 9:44 pm
    Fair is fair drive up peep shows. TAX IT!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • William Lawn wrote...
    Why it took so long
    March 2, 2013 7:03 am
    About a quarter of the posters out here are cops.

    Between their posts howling about liberals, they just didn't have time.

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