Stripping Baristas Arrested After Two Month Investigation
Stripping baristas at two different Washington state Grab-N-Go coffee stands have been arrested after a two-month-long police investigation. Reuters reports that three women were arrested after numerous complaints by customers that the ladies were giving out more than the daily caffeine fix.
The basis of the complaints seems to be that the women were giving their customers peep shows instead of shots of espresso. The arrests took place in Everett, Washington which is about 30 miles from Seattle. Everett police Lieutenant James Duffy detailed to Reuters what the nature of the crimes were saying:
“Citizens complained that these locations served more than just coffee. Indeed, our investigation uncovered exhibition and exposure, which is outside the confines of the law. During the investigation, video surveillance showed that at times coffee or drinks were not served, but shows were paid for and given.”
The Seattle Post Intelligencer reports that the owners of the Grab-N-Go’s involved have not been cleared of wrongdoing just yet, but the investigation is still ongoing. The three stripping baristas are not the only women who have stripped down to their skivvies at one of these coffee stands.
In 2009, Grab-N-Go coffee came under investigation after reports of women baristas posing for pictures with customers while the baristas were in various stages of undress. Undercover police officers exchanged money for pictures of the women wearing nothing other than thongs or bikini bottoms.
In that investigation, five different women were arrested for prostitution. Four of the women were able to cut deals saying that if they stayed out of trouble the charges would be dismissed. The fifth woman had the charges dropped shortly after the arrest.
It doesn’t appear that any of the three women who were arrested today were involved in the earlier incident. The news gets a little bit worse for these three women. If the stripping baristas had worked in Kansas, they could at least apply for unemployment benefits.
