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The image you see is of a memorial erected in honour of three young people murdered at a branch of Starbucks in 1997.
This was the case that Brad Garrett walked into as soon as he returned from extraditing the wanted CIA assassin from Pakistan.
Below, I have reproduced some of the Post’s article about this case: |
3 Employees Killed At D.C. Starbucks
By Steve Vogel and Cheryl W. Thompson
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, July 8, 1997; Page A01
Three employees of a Starbucks coffee store near Georgetown were found brutally slain yesterday morning, sending shock waves through a community generally immune from such violence. The bodies of night manager Mary Caitrin Mahoney, 25, Emory Allen Evans, 25, and Aaron David Goodrich, 18, were found at 5:15 a.m. in a back room of the store at 1810 Wisconsin Ave. NW, in Burleith, just north of Georgetown, police said. An employee arriving for work found the bodies. All three had been shot several times. The distraught employee ran from the store and flagged down a passing Metro bus, screaming that people had been shot, according to a police supervisor. The driver of the bus notified police. Evans started working at the store part time about three weeks ago, and Goodrich had been hired several months ago, friends and relatives said. No money was taken from the store, police said.
A police source at the scene said detectives were working "a solid lead" and examining whether a former employee might be involved. "We are definitely checking that out," he said.
In response to the slayings, an official for Starbucks announced that security guards have been added to several local stores for an indefinite period.
Police believe the slayings took place about the time the store closed at 8 p.m. Sunday. Several bullet casings were recovered at the scene but no weapon was found, according to a homicide detective.
Howard Schultz, chairman and chief executive of Starbucks Coffee Co., the Seattle-based chain, broke off a vacation and flew to Washington on a chartered jet, said Dean Torrenga, Starbucks regional director for the mid-Atlantic region. Schultz met with employees from the Wisconsin Avenue store. He is planning to remain in the area indefinitely.
D.C. Council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) described the killings as "horrible."
"To have a triple homicide anywhere in the District of Columbia is an unusual event," said Evans, who represents the Georgetown area on the council. "To have a triple homicide in Georgetown is extraordinary. Georgetown has never been a place where crime has been a problem."
Homicide detectives and crime technicians pored over the scene for hours after the bodies were found, working inside and outside the building adorned with the familiar green-and-black Starbucks logo. They dusted doors for fingerprints, searched the store and talked with residents, hoping to piece together what happened. A dozen blue-uniformed police recruits were bused to the scene yesterday morning to look for evidence outside the split-level, brown brick store.
Wisconsin Avenue, normally a bustling commuter route, was closed in both directions at R and 34th streets until nearly noon yesterday as police continued their investigation. The Metro bus flagged down by the Starbucks employee sat on the street throughout the morning.
Staff writers Janina de Guzman, Jennifer Ordon~ez and Linda Wheeler contributed to this report.
© Copyright 1997 The Washington Post Company
This branch of Starbucks is a registered charity now. The CEO of the company established it as a franchise where all profits are diverted to crime prevention initiatives in the area.