Shoplifter Bites Off Security Guard’s Earlobe During Botched Department Store Heist

Hillsboro, OR – An Oregon woman was sentenced to nearly six years in prison after she bit of a security guard’s earlobe during a shoplifting incident last summer.

Ashlie Ruth Clark, 31, was busted shoplifting $800 worth of merchandise from a Nordstrom store at the Washington Square Mall in Tigard on July 22, 2022, the Washington County District Attorney’s Office said in a press release.

Clark was intercepted by a security guard as she attempted to walk out of the department store with the stolen items.

During the ensuing confrontation, Clark “physically resisted and yelled obscene comments,” according to prosecutors.

She then chomped down on one of the security guard’s ears, biting off at least a half-inch of her earlobe during the brawl.

The injured guard was transported to the hospital, but surgeons were unable to attach her severed earlobe.

Tigard police arrested the violent suspect on attempted robbery and assault charges.

Clark initially provided investigators with a fake name and date of birth, but officers were able to identify her and discovered she also had two active warrants for arrest at the time of the botched heist, according to the press release.

The suspect pleaded guilty at the Washington County Courthouse on March 24 to charges of first-degree attempted robbery and second-degree assault, KPTV reported.

Judge John Collins sentenced her to the Oregon Department of Corrections for 70 months, followed by three years of post-prison supervision.

“The Washington County District Attorney’s Office acknowledges the work of the Tigard Police Department, and the Nordstrom loss prevention team and Washington Square Mall security for their assistance in this investigation,” the district attorney’s office said on Friday. “The defendant will be transferred to the Oregon Department of Corrections to begin her sentence.”