Knife wielded during coffee stand robbery

A barista suffered a minor knife wound late Wednesday when armed robbers held up a north Spokane coffee stand, authorities said.

Two suspects are in custody and facing first-degree robbery charges, according to the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.

Kendyl A. Dunn and Demetrius P. Cawthorne, both 18, are being held on $20,000 bond at the Spokane County Jail for the robbery at Dutch Brothers Coffee, 101 W. Francis Ave.

The barista told a sheriff’s deputy that a masked robber entered the coffee stand through the west side drive-through window shortly before 10 p.m. and held her at knife-point while demanding money. A second robber crawled through the window and grabbed an undisclosed amount of cash.

A cut to the barista’s left forearm is believed to have occurred as the first robber pushed the woman away as he fled, the department said.

The suspects, who matched the description of the robbers and later made incriminating statements to officers, were apprehended at a home in the 6100 block of North Stevens Street.

Staff report

STEM encouraged with $1.2 million grant

A Washington nonprofit organization announced $1.2 million in new grants to encourage better science, technology, engineering and math teaching.

The grants announced Wednesday by Washington STEM will help teachers in classrooms around the state. They range from money to help preschool kids learn about science and math at home, to bigger efforts to improve science and math teaching in the Tacoma, Renton, Highline and several smaller school districts.

A $9,500 grant awarded to Mobius Science Center in Spokane is targeted at bringing more women into the STEM fields.

“While women fill close to half of all jobs in the U.S. economy, they hold less than 25 percent of STEM jobs,” said Paul Queary, Washington STEM spokesman. “The Connect with STEM project aims to close the gender gap in STEM by targeting underlying issues including social and cultural stereotypes that deter girls’ participation in STEM.”

Mobius will collaborate with the Girl Scouts to pilot an out-of-school program for 50 middle-school girls.

Spokane Public Schools received a $20,300 grant and will work with Mobius to redesign the school day to involve more STEM projects.

Student projects will be showcased at Mobius.

Staff and wire report