Four women are now in custody across St. Louis County and St. Louis City, accused of running a shoplifting operation that hit West County Mall stores 18 times over just 36 days this summer and fall. Investigators say the group zeroed in on athleisure and athletic apparel retailers, walking out with more than $16,000 in stolen merchandise before detectives tracked them down using surveillance video, store employee interviews, and a surprisingly simple clue: easily identifiable tattoos.
According to FOX 2, the thefts unfolded between August and September, with suspects allegedly entering stores in groups of two or three, concealing items in bags they brought with them, and leaving without paying. The group then fled the scene in rental cars or ride-hailing vehicles, the station reports. Police say the targeted retailers included Lululemon, Nike Tech and Nordstrom at the Des Peres mall.
Detectives eventually identified five people connected to the scheme: Destiny Sutherlin, Tatyana Joyner, Kaelen Stewart, Chelsey Allen, and a fifth person who has not been charged, per the same report. Investigators say they pieced together the suspects' identities after reviewing security footage, interviewing store employees, and recognizing distinctive tattoos among the group.
Arrests Came in Late September and Early October
Sutherlin was arrested in St. Louis County on September 30 and was charged with two counts of organized retail theft over $10,000, the station notes. She has a preliminary hearing set for October 28 and, according to the report, already has multiple pending stealing and retail theft cases, police said. Joyner was apprehended the same day and was likewise charged with two counts of organized retail theft over $10,000, with her preliminary hearing also scheduled for October 28. Joyner remains jailed on a $150,000 cash-only bond.
Stewart was taken into custody on October 5 and charged with organized retail theft over $10,000. She has a bond reduction hearing scheduled for October 14 and a preliminary hearing set for November 3, and she too remains jailed on a $150,000 cash-only bond, the station reports.
Allen's arrest, which happened in St. Louis City on October 1, involved several charges. Police say she was taken in connection with thefts at Lululemon and City Gear stores and now faces four counts of stealing of $750 or more, one count of second-degree robbery, and one count of armed criminal action. She remains jailed without bond, with a confined docket hearing scheduled for October 13 and a preliminary hearing set for November 4. The probable cause statements in the case were issued by the Northwoods and Des Peres police departments, per the report.
A Pattern of Mall Boosting in West St. Louis County
A Pattern of Mall Boosting in West St. Louis County This is not the first time a coordinated theft ring has targeted retailers at the same shopping center. In 2024, two other women were charged with stealing nearly $20,000 in merchandise from the Gap and Sephora stores at West County Center, with FOX 2 reporting those thefts took place between February 25 and March 19 of that year. Separately, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department has said suspects were wanted for a coordinated theft at the Lululemon store at 26 Maryland Plaza in the Central West End, where more than $3,200 in merchandise was stolen.
The spate of mall thefts comes as Missouri has moved to crack down on this type of crime. House Bill 495 created a new offense called Organized Retail Theft, according to the Missouri Sheriffs' Association, which defines it as a series of retail-merchandise thefts intended for return, resale or trade for value. Beginning in late August, the offense can be charged as a Class C felony when stolen property is valued between $1,500 and $10,000 within a 120-day span, and as a Class B felony when the value tops $10,000, the association notes.
Missouri's broader stealing statute, meanwhile, defines the underlying conduct as appropriating another person's property or services with the purpose of depriving them of it without consent, according to the Missouri Revisor of Statutes. With four women now facing felony counts tied to the West County Mall spree, their cases will begin moving through preliminary hearings later this month and into November.
