Small Town Coffee Stand Robbery Highlights Danger

A small town coffee stand robbery in Chelan County is a sobering reminder of how vulnerable many local businesses are to such crime.

Luckily, the barista was not harmed during the robbery.

The incident happened yesterday according to Chelan County Sheriff Brian Burnett. Burnett said Tuesday, about 20 minutes before 1:00 pm, a barista at the Little Red’s coffee stand near Cole’s Corner was robbed at gunpoint.

The barista reported a suspicious male had walked by the coffee stand window so she locked the door and watched him walk to a tan GMC Yukon.

The behavior set off red flags for the barista as she also noticed the driver of the Yukon appeared to be a female but had a hoodie sweatshirt tightened to where she could only see her eyes.

Police say the situation made her nervous, but instead of calling police the barista started to text a co-worker about the situation when she heard a knock on the window.

The male was back at the window wearing a black bandana and said he had a gun while he demanded the money from the till.

Police say the scared barista gave the robber all the money in the till totaling approximately $150 to $200 and then ran into the office to call 911.

Soon after the incident was reported, a Washington State Department of Transportation employee reported seeing the vehicle westbound from Cole’s Corner, which is northwest of Leavenworth on Highway 2.

Authorities were able to nab the suspect's vehicle just west of the Steven’s Pass Summit by a Chelan County Deputy and a King County Deputy who were working in the area.

Police say the drive of the Yukon was indeed a female, a 25 year old Langley resident. Both her and the male passenger, a 29 year old Everett resident were both taken into custody and booked into the Chelan County Regional Justice Center for Robbery 1st Degree and Theft 3rd Degree.

The vehicle was seized and a search warrant was served on it December 27th, leading authorities to $220 in stolen cash, although a firearm was not located on either suspect or in the vehicle.

This incident is a stark reminder of Yakima's past problems with coffee stand robberies. Some local stands installed panic buttons to scare away suspects.