Prosecutors are passing on charging two people arrested in connection with the recent vandalizing of a Starbucks in the Twin Cities that is among nearly 100 nationwide being picketed by striking baristas.
Non-striking employees at the St. Anthony coffeeshop at 3704 Silver Lake Road arrived 30 minutes before its Wednesday 7 a.m. scheduled opening to find “a substance consistent with super glue and expanding foam had been applied to the locks” moments earlier, a police statement read.
One employee told police about interacting with people in a vehicle nearby and believed to be connected to a group expecting to picket outside Wednesday.
As officers approached the vehicle, the driver pulled away, the statement continued. Officers stopped the vehicle, and unspecified “evidence collected at the scene and during the stop led to both individuals being arrested” that morning on suspicion of felony property damage, the statement noted.
Dennis Gerhardstein, spokesman for the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office, said Friday afternoon that “after reviewing the evidence as presented by law enforcement, we were unable to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt – specifically related to a definite suspect identification. We are more than willing to revisit this case if new evidence is presented to our office."
The suspects, a 23-year-old man and a 58-year-old woman, were released from jail Friday. The Minnesota Star Tribune generally does not identify suspects who are not charged.
Starbucks Workers United, which is organizing the strike, said neither person was a union barista.
In a statement, the union said, “We do not direct or condone violence or the destruction of property. Union baristas have been peacefully standing up to Starbucks for over four years.”
