Idaho barista fends off robber with gun; arrest made

A 17-year-old boy was arrested this morning following an attempted holdup of a coffee stand in Coeur d’Alene in which the barista pulled a gun on the would-be robber. A plainclothes deputy sheriff for Kootenai County was in the area of the robbery serving civil papers when a radio broadcast went out alerting officers to the incident. The robber had a gun in the attempt to take money from Sunshine Espresso at Ironwood Drive and Government Way, but left without getting any cash. The barista, Michelle Cornelson, said the robber showed a handgun and demanded money, but when a vehicle pulled into the lot for an order, it caused the robber to lower his gun, according to Coeur d’Alene police. She told police she used the distraction to grab her own weapon and point it at the robber, ordering him to leave. The plainclothes deputy spotted a male walking in the 200 block of East Locust Avenue about two blocks from the robbery, and held the suspect at gunpoint until other deputies arrived. The suspect was armed with a handgun, according to sheriff’s Major Ben Wolfinger. The suspect’s name was not released because he is a juvenile, Wolfinger said. He was booked into the county juvenile detention center.