\u3010By Diana Hefley, Herald Writer\u3011
\nEVERETT \u2014 Five baristas are accused of engaging in prostitution at an Everett bikini espresso stand following a two-month undercover police investigation into complaints that the women were selling more than coffee.
\nDetectives say the women were charging up to $80 to strip down and flash customers while fixing lattes and mochas.
\nInvestigators saw the women expose their crotches, lick whipped cream off their co-workers’ private parts and pose naked for pictures inside the Grab-n-Go Espresso stand at 8015 Broadway, according to police reports obtained by The Herald on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Detectives also witnessed some of the women charging customers to touch their bare breasts and naked buttocks. Touching of that kind, for pay, falls under the city’s definition of prostitution.
\nThe women, ages 18 to 24, were charged Wednesday with multiple counts of prostitution and violating the city’s adult entertainment ordinance, both misdemeanors, Everett police Sgt. Robert Goetz said.
\nNo arrests have been made. The women are expected to be arraigned in Everett Municipal Court in a few weeks.
\nBill Wheeler, the owner of the stands, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
\nThe investigation began in mid-July after police heard a stream of complaints about baristas baring too much.
\nEverett police during the past year had received more than 40 complaints about various bikini coffee stands around the Everett area. Many of the complaints focused on women who were exposing their breasts, genitals or buttocks, according to police reports.<\/p>\n
The department decided to investigate Grab-n-Go Espresso \u2014 the business generating the most complaints, Goetz said.
\nSome of the complaints alleged that some baristas at the Everett coffee hut and three other Grab-n-Go Espresso stands in unincorporated Snohomish County were engaging in prostitution, an Everett police detective wrote in his reports.
\nSheriff’s deputies also have received complaints about the Grab-n-Go Espresso south of Silver Lake. Employees of nearby businesses have complained that the stand is a haven for lewd behavior. None of those complaints have resulted in any criminal charges, sheriff’s spokeswoman Rebecca Hover said.<\/p>\n
Everett police focused their investigation on the stand within the city limits, Goetz said.
\n\u201cThis was about alleged conduct, not about what the women were wearing,\u201d he said. \u201cThey could have been wearing parkas and if they continued to conduct themselves that way, we still would have filed the criminal charges.\u201d
\nUndercover detectives began posing as customers in mid-July.
\nAn Everett detective took a city prosecutor to the stand to witness firsthand the activities of the baristas. During that visit, two women allegedly engaged in a \u201cwhipped cream show\u201d in which they sprayed whipped cream on each other and licked it off.<\/p>\n
On a second visit, a detective was told he couldn’t have a mocha because the stand was out of chocolate. He also was told he couldn’t order a small drink because they only served 20-ounce beverages.
\nThe barista told him that for $20, she and the other barista would give him a show. He paid and they bared their breasts and pulled down their undergarments, police reports said.
\nThe detective noted that the stand is about 30 yards off the roadway and about 10 feet lower than the level of the road, making it easy to see into the business from the street. During the undercover operation, traffic was regularly stopped in front of the stand because of nearby construction, according to investigators.
\nDetectives say the women also charged customers to play \u201cbasketball\u201d \u2014 a game in which customers were allowed to throw waded up money at the women, who caught the money in their underpants.
\nInvestigators also witnessed women strip down and perch on the drive-thru window ledge in full view of passing cars. The five women also allowed customers, who paid extra, to grab their breasts and buttocks, police allege.
\n\u201cWe understand why citizens in our community are extremely upset about the conduct, and based on what our detectives found in their investigation, it’s pretty clear to see why,\u201d Goetz said.
\nEverett police have closed their investigation into the stand. They will continue to investigate any new complaints about prostitution at espresso stands or any location in the city, Goetz said.
\nMeanwhile, the City Council is expected to decide next week whether to change the city’s lewd conduct ordinance to include espresso stands.<\/p>\n
The proposed change, which was part of a regular review of city codes, would not prevent baristas from wearing bikinis, city spokeswoman Kate Reardon said. It also still would be legal for women to wear pasties and sheer undergarments as long as their nipples and areolas are covered.
\nPolice say their investigation was prompted by people’s complaints and separate from any review of city ordinances being considered by city lawmakers.
\n\u201cWe were going forward with our investigation no matter what was going on with the council,\u201d Goetz said.<\/p>\n
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463, hefley@heraldnet.com.<\/p>\n
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