Barista charged with indecent exposure

YAKIMA, Wash. -- Yakima police say a Yakima Avenue barista served up a little more than coffee this week.

She and her boss were charged with indecent exposure Friday, marking the latest in Yakima's controversy over espresso stands featuring baristas wearing skimpy clothing.

Dream Girls Espresso barista Alyssa Hernandez, 21, and owner Cheryl Clark pleaded not guilty in Yakima Municipal Court.

Yakima police allege Hernandez on Wednesday wore a G-string to work that allowed her buttocks to be seen by the public at the stand on Yakima Avenue near the railroad tracks, said Cynthia Martinez, Yakima's assistant prosecuting attorney.

The misdemeanor carries a maximum penalty of a $1,000 fine and 90 days in jail. Their next court appearance will be in late February.

Both women declined to comment Friday evening.

Yakima city officials have for more than a year wrung their hands about so-called sexpresso stands, latte joints in which women in lingerie, bikinis or other saucy attire attract as much attention as the coffee. Yakima has three while Union Gap has one.

"We receive complaints on a regular basis," Martinez said.

Meanwhile, former Mayor Dave Edler has often spoken out against them. City Council briefly discussed regulating them as adult businesses but settled for changes in the city's indecent exposure laws that made thong underwear and see-through clothing illegal.

The city ordinance also holds owners and managers responsible for allowing the attire, Martinez said.

Friday's charge was the first for an employee of one of the coffee shops, but Yakima police have written tickets to men caught masturbating in the parking lot near some of the businesses, Martinez said.

Martinez did not know how many times men have been ticketed, but that it has been more than once.

The issue isn't limited to Yakima. Baristas in Everett have been charged with prostitution.

Yakima police Chief Granato shrugged off any political ramifications of Friday's charge.

"We're not looking for attention, we're enforcing the law," he said.

Martinez said a uniformed police officer issued the citation Wednesday after the department received a complaint.

Martinez and Granato said all such businesses have been fairly warned about the city's laws. They received letters from the department and the prosecutor reminding them in mid-December after plainclothes officers found several exposure violations at the city's coffee stands.

Martinez said she hopes the charges make the other shops shape up, too.

"I'm hoping that the other businesses take note and follow the law," she said.

* Ross Courtney can be reached at 509-930-8798 or rcourtney@yakimaherald.com.