A routine business check at Sugar’s, in Shoreline, resulted in the arrest of 13 dancers, one of whom was underage, and two managers.
“We weren’t prepared for this many (arrests),” said Sgt. Diana Neff, Shoreline Street Crimes Unit. “You go in there hoping that they are abiding by rules and following the city ordinance.”
The undercover sting took place on Friday evening, Sept. 22, at the topless dancing establishment, and resulted in the closure of the business for the remainder of the evening.
The arrests were made for violations of dancer conduct, which pertains to how dancers conduct themselves on and off the stage, and prostitution, said Neff. A few of the dancers also had unrelated warrants.
The 16-year-old underage dancer and 15 adults were booked into King County Jail. The juvenile was later released to a relative and the adults also were released from police custody. Charges are expected to be filed by the end of the week, said Shoreline prosecutor Sarah Roberts.
The violations specifically pertain to the four-foot rule, where dancers must remain a certain distance from patrons, said Roberts. The managers also did not fulfill their managerial duties as specified under city code, she said.
Attempts to contact the attorney for Sugar’s were unsuccessful by the Enterprise deadline.
A compliance check at Sugar’s was conducted a few months ago, said Neff, who organized the recent undercover sting. During the compliance check, officers discovered dancing violations and prostitutions at the business, and planned the larger scale compliance check, utilizing four undercover officers, she said.
When the undercover detectives notified Neff that it was “time to come in,” she and other uniformed officers arrived on scene. They weren’t initially prepared to make 15 arrests, she said. Due to the large number of employees arrested, the club was closed for the remainder of the night.
“When you take two-thirds of the staff and both managers, they can’t operate under those conditions,” Neff said. “The business got shut down because nobody was left to run it.”
This is the only topless dancing establishment in Shoreline, said Neff, although there are a few adult bookstores. Sugar’s does not serve alcohol, she said, and dancers must be 18 years old to be legally employed.
A meeting to discuss entertainment licensing practices was scheduled before the compliance check was made, said Neff. Representatives from the police department plan to meet with city officials to discuss the entertainment license system and how it can be improved. Dancers must obtain individual entertainment licenses, issued by the city, to work at Sugar’s.
“We have some things to work out with the city on the whole entertainment license process,” Neff said. “We had a 16-year-old with an entertainment license in her hand.”
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