A Washington state man who tried to zip-tie and kidnap a bikini-clad barista at a drive-up window in an attack caught on shocking video is back at the wheel — to the dismay of victims’ rights advocates.
Matthew Darnell, 39, was arrested after trying to pull the victim through a window at Beankini Espresso in Auburn on Jan. 16, but was released Saturday after prosecutors cut a plea deal that calls for a sentence of just 50 days, according to a report by KIRO-TV News.
Darnell lived just two blocks from the coffee shop.
“It raises the question of why people should bother reporting [assaults],” Mary Ellen Stone, CEO of the King County Sexual Assault Resource Center, told the outlet.
“We see it all the time,” he continued. “There are various reasons why that happens, but the message sent to victims is that what happens to you doesn’t matter.
“The other thing it does is it says people who behave this way, it’s not a big deal. You’re not going to be held accountable.”
Matthew Darnell, 39, was caught on surveillance video pulling up to the drive-thru window at Beankini Esspresso in Auburn, Washington, on January 16 and asking a bikini-clad barista for $5 change. Auburn WA Police Department
Darnell was caught on surveillance video climbing up the drive-up window at the coffee shop around 5 a.m. He asked the bikini-clad victim for $5 in change, then grabbed her by the arm and tried to pull her into his pickup truck — and was seen trying to clamp her wrists with a plastic zip tie.
He sped off when the victim pulled over and closed the window.
Darnell was arrested the next day – thanks in large part to a distinctive tattoo on his arm that read “Chevrolet” and was visible on the footage – and charged with assault and attempted kidnapping.
Darnell grabs the barista and tries to zip tie him and pull him into his pickup truck, only to speed off as he pulls his arm and closes the drive-thru window. Auburn WA Police Department
The owner of a drive-thru coffee shack told Business Insider that he prepares his employees for any eventuality — including a creepy kidnapping attempt.
“We have Mace, Tasers, silent panic buttons, we have metal doors – extra precautions if someone tries to kick in the door,” he said. “We have audio, video.”
Darnell had already served 220 days in jail, so he was released after cutting a deal to serve 50 days following his guilty plea to an attempted kidnapping charge, according to KIRO.
The owner of Beankini Esspresso in Auburn, Washington, said his baristas are prepared for any eventuality like the attempted kidnapping on Jan. 16. Staff have Maces, Tasers and panic buttons in case of trouble. Google Maps
“Prosecutors across the state are limited by sentencing guidelines and offender scores,” a spokesperson for the King County Prosecutor’s Office told the station. “There are times, all the time, where people look and say, ‘Boy, that feels like a longer sentence.’
“But we are required to follow state guidelines set by state legislators,” the office said. “Anything, whether it’s attempted kidnapping or criminal harassment, state law outlines that as a Class C felony, so, either way there’s a conviction, it’s the same class.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
