ST. LOUIS — An East St. Louis woman stole nearly $19,000 in handbags from two high-end Frontenac department stores late last year, police said.
Earlier this week, prosecutors in St. Louis County charged Tahiyyah Mays, 22, with two felony counts of stealing in connection with the thefts.
Police said on Oct. 22, Mays cut security cables on 11 handbags at Neiman Marcus at Plaza Frontenac and made no attempt to pay for them before she left the store. The value of the handbags was $14,260.
Later in the day, Mays went to Saks Fifth Avenue, also at Plaza Frontenac, and took two handbags worth $4,675, police said.
A Frontenac police officer who arrested Mays in August for another theft at Neiman Marcus identified her from surveillance video. In that case, police said Mays and a second woman stole eight handbags valued at $7,425.
Online court records show Mays is also accused of stealing seven handbags worth $4,240 on the same day in August from Nordstrom at the Saint Louis Galleria in Richmond Heights.
A person who witnessed the most recent theft at Neiman Marcus also identified Mays. During an interview with police, Mays admitted she stole the handbags, according to charging documents.
Mays is scheduled for a court hearing on Monday for the two August thefts and in February for the most recent theft.
