Local News

<< Previous   of   Next >> (click to enlarge) A drawing of the suspect in a Mill Creek espresso stand robbery on Monday.   ADVERTISEMENT   Related Stories • Suspect arrested in espresso stand robberies 11/21/07 • Local briefly: Police looking for man who held up espresso stand 11/20/07 • Armed man robs Mill Creek espresso stand 11/19/07 • Police seek man who tried to rob Everett espresso stand 11/5/07 • Local briefly: Police looking for espresso stand robber 11/2/07 • Help needed to solve robberies 10/12/07 • Everett espresso stands in rash of robberies 10/11/07   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Wednesday, November 21, 2007 Espresso stand robbers hit Mill Creek, Martha Lake The holdups, within hours of each other, show a pattern that's becoming commonplace, police say. By Jackson Holtz Herald Writer MILL CREEK -- The Pacific Northwest, famous for its abundance of specialty coffee shops and legions of caffeinated people, may soon become notorious for espresso-stand holdups. At least eight times since September, men have gone to drive-up espresso stands in Snohomish County looking for more than a cup of hot coffee. They've demanded cold cash. "I need you to put all your money in a coffee cup," a gunman, his face shadowed by a hooded sweatshirt, told Chelsea Monroe during an afternoon robbery Monday at A Touch of Italy Espresso in Mill Creek. About four hours later, another drive-up espresso stand was robbed a few miles away. It's a pattern that's becoming commonplace, police said Tuesday. Convenient and accessible, roadside espresso stands dot parking lots, street corners and busy streets throughout the region. The same easy access has made them a target for crime, Mill Creek police spokesman Steve Winters said. "It's a crime of opportunity," he said. The robberies often come in clusters. They happen in all parts of the county, early morning, noon and night. Sometimes police sketches and surveillance video lead to arrests. In September, a Stanwood couple was arrested for allegedly robbing several Marysville espresso stands. At the Mill Creek stand Monday, the man went into the small yellow-and-red shack in the 4400 block of 132nd Street SE just after 2 p.m. and pulled up the front of his sweatshirt, revealing a silver-and-black handgun tucked into his waist. He then demanded cash, Monroe said. When a customer pulled up, the man ran away, she said. "I was a wreck," Monroe, 18, said. "I was definitely hyperventilating and was scared out of my mind." On Tuesday, Mill Creek police circulated a forensic artist's sketch of the man. Meanwhile, Snohomish County sheriff's detectives were investigating whether the same robber may be responsible for a similar holdup Monday evening at Hot Shots Espresso & Ice Cream, near Martha Lake. In that case, a thin, young white man wearing a hooded sweatshirt knocked on the door about 6:45 p.m. He, too, pulled up his sweatshirt, displayed a handgun, and demanded money before running away, said Moon Ro, the store's owner. The incident was captured on surveillance video, she said. After watching a television broadcast of the surveillance video of the Hot Shots robbery, Monroe said she believes the same man held up both stands. No arrests have been made, Winters said. The best way to prevent the robberies is to be prepared with good lighting, surveillance cameras, alarm systems and a strong sense of vigilance, Lynn­wood police spokeswoman Shannon Sessions said. It's not just the business owners, but people stopping for a latte, who need to keep alert. "The biggest thing someone can do to stay safe is to listen to their sixth sense," Sessions said. "If they got that feeling that, 'Huh, something's not right about that guy,' people need to listen to that and say, 'Hey, what am I going to do to keep myself safe here.' " Customers should drive on and call 911, Sessions said. Baristas should lock the door, refuse service and call the police. "You don't always have to be polite. You need to listen to those instincts and act on it," she said. Monroe, the woman robbed Monday in Mill Creek, said no amount of preparation could have helped her. "You have all this precaution but when it actually happens it's hard to get in a frame of mind of, 'Well, I should do this,' " she said. "As soon as I saw that gun he could have had anything he wanted as along as I wasn't damaged." No one was injured in Monday's robberies. On Oct. 11, a woman working at an espresso stand in the 1800 block of Silver Lake Road received cuts from a knife when she grappled with a robber, Everett police Sgt. Robert Goetz said. In that case, a man armed with a blade approached the owner of the espresso stand as she was getting supplies from an outbuilding, Goetz said. The man held the knife to her throat and demanded money. The pair struggled and the suspect ran away, Goetz said. Joan Cavagnaro, Snohomish County's chief criminal deputy prosecutor, said she hopes an ugly trend isn't developing. "There is a concern there will be more violent incidents," she said. As in any string of robberies that go unchecked, "they can become more violent over time," Cavagnaro said. A Touch of Italy's co-owner Andrew Dallman said the business will enhance security for its half-dozen employees. In the seven-year history of the business, Monday was the first time they've been hit with a robbery, he said. Even with special lighting, a busy road and special procedures, he's not sure anything can prevent a brazen thief. "Maybe we can't deter them," he said. "But maybe we can catch them." Reporter Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437 or jholtz@heraldnet.com.

1. I-5 crash injures Washington State Patrol trooper 2. Map of Everett in 1893 a gift to Northwest Neighborhood residents 3. Marysville 's Electric Lights Parade goes dark 4. Lynnwood couple’s fight ends in woman’s arrest 5. Mill Creek church uses tattoos to teach 6. Does today’s Huskies-Cougars Apple Cup or Sunday’s Seahawks-Rams NFL game merit your attention? 7. Fire rips through Everett paintball arena 8. Contest inspired by ‘Biggest Loser' helps Mill Creek neighbors 9. Everett building rules may be loosened 10. Brown paper bags for fans 2 - Top 10 Stories Most Talked about 3 - Top 10 Stories Most Emailed

• Ruling in the pool • Holiday Lightings & Santa Sightings • Archbishop Murphy takes title • A season of performing arts • Budget numbers have official fuming • Wildcats move on to 2A semifinals • Holiday Bazaars & Fairs Calendar • Edmonds’ Westgate Chapel serves up hospitality for holiday • Mavericks fall • Boeing will build, flight test and deliver 787s in South Carolina to spe ... • Snohomish County EDC promoting job growth in key industry clusters • $4 million grant to advance brain tumor research has Everett links • Providence medical center construction tops off its 12-story steel frame ... • Tulalip affordable housing project to be financed by KeyBank, Raymond Ja ... • Arlington's Lak of Ink has a growing following for Luke Kooyman's creati ... • Bank of the Northwest formed • Cascade Bank earns $1.6 million