Espresso stand robbers hit Mill Creek, Martha Lake

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.