Charges: Man used intimate encounter as ploy to steal Woodbury woman’s belongings

A 23-year-old man who allegedly used a sultry proposition to make off with a Woodbury woman’s belongings was sent to prison last month.

Andrew Michael Lepley was sentenced June 22 to 15 months in prison on a felony theft conviction. He pleaded guilty to the charge in August 2011.

He was accused of stealing a woman’s television and other belongings after proposing to shower with her.

Lepley, of Minneapolis, was charged with one theft count following a Feb. 7, 2011, incident.

According to a criminal complaint:

The victim, a 23-year-old female, reported Lepley – a friend with whom she had “an intimate relationship” – came to her Grand Isle Place home Feb. 7 with two other people. The other people, a male and a female, left the residence, while Lepley stayed.

He suggested that he and the woman shower together. As the victim got into the shower, Lepley asked to use her cellphone.

About 10 minutes later, the woman heard a crash outside the bathroom. She got out of the shower and went to a stairwell, where she saw Lepley trying to carry a 42-inch flat-screen TV down some stairs.

The victim yelled at Lepley, which startled him and caused him to trip and drop the TV. Lepley then fled on foot to a vehicle that was waiting for him.

The woman said the getaway vehicle was driven by one of the two people who had arrived with Lepley.

When the victim went to survey the house, she discovered a computer, an Xbox 360 unit, a computer monitor and credit cards missing.

She also discovered $200 worth of liquor missing from her garage.

Police in June 2011 contacted Lepley by phone while he was locked up at Northeast Regional Correctional Center in Duluth. He denied the theft, saying the woman was angry with him because he had wrecked her car.

In addition to the prison time, Lepley was ordered to pay restitution in the case.

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