ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney has charged a man and a woman with the Class C felony of stealing $25,000 or more from nine St. Louis County Home Depot stores.
According to a probable cause statement signed by a detective with the Overland Police Department, Shelly Hampton, 32, and Kenneth Coleman, 33, stole merchandise totaling at least $36,647.
The statement said that Hampton and Coleman stole the merchandise in two ways. One of the ways was by filling shopping carts with merchandise and then pushing the carts out of the store without paying.
In other instances, the statement said Hampton and Coleman would take high-dollar value display items and switch the price tag with an item of much lower value, like baby wipes. They would then take the expensive item with the inexpensive price tag and check out in the self-checkout, paying for the item at the lower cost.
The statement said that the pair was identified through surveillance video, and Home Depot and the Overland Police Department investigated.
"This wasn't about need, it was about greed," said St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell in a release about the charges. "Stealing and thefts will not be tolerated in St. Louis County and will be prosecuted."
The Court ordered Hampton and Coleman each were held on a $75,000 cash-only bond, with no 10% allowed.
The probable cause statement listed the following as the Home Depot location Hampton and Coleman are accused of stealing from:
- 8901 Page Avenue, Overland
- 37 Ellisville Towne Centre Drive, Ellisville
- 390 THF Boulevard, Chesterfield
- 10890 Sunset Hills Plaza, St. Louis
- 7481 South Lindbergh Boulevard, St. Louis
- 13915 New Halls Ferry Road, Florissant
- 13929 Manchester Road, Ballwin
- 11215 St. Charles Rock Road, Bridgeton
- 1603 South Hanley Road, Brentwood
The sentencing for the Class C felony is a $10,000 fine, three to 10 years in prison or both a fine and prison time.
