Burglary goes awry when intruders find worker still in the shop, NC police say

A shop burglary turned chaotic when the culprits realized too late that not everyone had gone home for the night, according to investigators in North Carolina.

It happened around 12:30 a.m. Monday at Monroe Tobacco and Stuff on West Roosevelt Boulevard, and the shop employee narrowly escaped being shot, the Monroe Police Department said in a news release. The shop closes at 10 p.m.

“Two suspects used a crowbar to force their way into the closed business. Unbeknownst to the suspects, an employee was inside the building at the time,” police said.

“When the employee confronted the suspects, they fled the store. As they escaped, one of the suspects turned back toward the business and fired a gun into the occupied building, just missing the employee by a few feet.”

Surveillance cameras recorded the “getaway vehicle” and Flock Safety cameras revealed the license plate details, police said. The plate was traced to Lexington, South Carolina, which is about 96 miles south of Monroe.

“Working alongside the Lexington Police Department, police located the vehicle and identified one of the suspects as Sherwin Alfonzo Green, 60, of Lexington,” police said.

“Green is currently being held at the Lexington County Detention Center awaiting extradition to North Carolina.”

Detectives are still working to identify the second suspect, police said.

Green is charged with: attempted robbery; felony breaking and entering; possession of burglary tools; assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill; discharging a weapon into occupied property, and possession of a firearm by a felon, police said.

Monroe is about a 25-mile drive southeast from uptown Charlotte.