Marysville: Barista attacked, suspect takes car

Published 10:53 am Wednesday, June 18, 2008

MARYSVILLE — Police are looking for a man who allegedly attacked a Marysville barista Monday night and fled in her car.

Around 7 p.m., as the 27-year-old Marysville woman was closing an espresso stand in the 7500 block of 108th Street NE, the man walked up and asked for coffee, said Rebecca Hover, a Snohomish County sheriff’s spokeswoman.

The barista declined and tried to close the door to the stand. The man hit her in the face and forced his way inside, Hover said.

The man threatened the woman with a knife. He dismantled a video surveillance camera and took money from the stand and the barista’s purse. He also stole her car, Hover said.

Despite security measures, the robbery happened in daylight and the woman was assaulted and humiliated, said Alex Vaughn, 28, the espresso stand’s owner.

He said he believed the suspect stalked the coffee shop, choosing to strike when the barista was counting money out of the register.

There have been no similar reports of espresso stand robberies, Hover said.

“This one’s a lot different,” Vaughn said.

The barista was taken to a hospital where she was treated for facial injuries and released, Hover said.

Marysville police found her car. Police were unable to find the man, despite using a police dog and the sheriff’s helicopter, Hover said.

The man is described as white; 17 to 24 years old; about 5 feet, 7 inches to 5 feet, 8 inches tall; with light brown hair. He was wearing a white T-shirt, cargo shorts, a dark-blue baseball cap and stud earrings.

The stand is not among those where baristas wear revealing outfits.

Anyone with information about Monday night’s robbery or the suspect is asked to call the sheriff’s office tip line at 425-388-3845.

Reporter Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437 or jholtz@heraldnet.com.