Salesperson of the Month award at scene of crime led to man being charged with burglary

Police have charged a man with burglary after he allegedly left his "Salesperson of the Month" award at the scene of the crime. According to charges filed on Thursday in Pierce County Superior Court, a Lakewood, Washington, resident was asleep at home at around 8:50am when a man tapped her on the shoulder, waking her up.

The man walked out, and the victim got out of bed to find her front door had been forced open and her purse and a box of coins had been taken, according to the charging documents. Fortunately for the victim, the intruder made one small mistake: leaving behind a South Tacoma Mazda Salesperson of the Month award with the name Alfred J. Shropshire III on it, which officers found in the victim's yard.



Officers contacted the dealership and were informed Shropshire, 49, had left his job back in January. According to the charging documents, Shropshire was under Department of Corrections monitoring at the time of the burglary and checked in with his DOC officer the following day.

He reportedly told the officer he went to visit a friend in Steilacoom on Monday night but they weren't home, so he walked around until an unknown woman invited him into her home in the middle of the night to sleep. He told the officer he slept there and went to his friend's house in the morning. The officer called the Lakewood Police Department, and Shropshire, who reportedly admitted to winning Salesperson of the Month at South Tacoma Mazda, was arrested. He has been charged with residential burglary.