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The two suspects allegedly stole $35,000 worth of merchandise from nine Home Depots in the County.
The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney's Office announced this morning that a man and a woman have been charged with stealing more than $35,000 worth of merchandise from nine Home Depot locations in the St. Louis area.
By the RFT's unofficial count, there are 10 Home Depots in St. Louis County. The only Home Depot not hit in the crime spree was the one in Ferguson.
The office said in a statement that Shelly Hampton, 32, of Maplewood, and Kenneth Coleman, 33, of St. Louis have both been charged with felony stealing and are being held on $75,000 bond.
An Overland Police Department detective alleges in a probable cause statement that between January 2021 and this month the two individuals stole from Home Depots using two methods. In some cases they replaced the price sticker on high-value items with the price sticker from baby wipes. They then scanned the baby wipes' price sticker at the self-service checkout.
In other, less creative thefts, they allegedly loaded their carts with items and wheeled them out of the store without paying.
Prosecutors say that a tattoo on Hampton's hand matches one seen on surveillance video of an individual stealing from a Home Depot. A green Chevrolet van belonging to Hampton was also seen on surveillance tape, the Prosecuting Attorney's Office states.
"This wasn't about need, it was about greed," St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell said in a statement. "Stealing and thefts will not be tolerated in St. Louis County and will be prosecuted."
Updated May 16, 2022 at 10:27 a.m. to add that the Ferguson Home Depot was not robbed.
