Ex VVer and WWDer Peter Braunstein was this close – this close! – to being apprehended yesterday when he stopped by Brooklyn coffee shop Original BoCoCa Cafe & Coffee House to order, you guessed it, coffee!

The shop owner, John Arena, recognized the alleged rapist almost immediately (thanks for all the flyers posted 'round town), exchanged one of those "I know who you are and you know that I know who you are" looks and then, like a good food service industry employee, served him his coffee. He likes it with milk, we hear.

By the time Arena checked a newspaper to verify his photo and ran outside to flag down a police van, Braunstein was gone, though a police dog tracked his scent to a nearby brownstone that turned up empty.

Arena's ability to get his coffee shop mentioned in nearly every metro news outlet, however, turned up successful.

Manhunt Comes Up Empty [NYDN]