Four women facing felony stealing charges in St. Louis County were arrested outside the Kohl’s store, 2150 Michigan Ave., in Arnold after allegedly stealing more than $12,000 worth of cosmetics from the Kohl’s store, 115 Gravois Bluffs Plaza Drive, in Fenton, Arnold Police reported.
Lavina Ghelmegeanu, 33, of Austin, Texas; Desdemona Dila, 39, of Houston; Ana Curueru, 31, of Conroe, Texas; and Ecsmira Vasile, 32, who had no local address listed, were charged with stealing $750 or more, a class D felony punishable by up to seven years in prison, court records show.
Ghelmegeanu was released on a $50,000 cash-only bond on Thursday, Nov. 17, and she is scheduled to return to court on Jan. 5, 2023. Dila, Curueru and Vasile were being held Thursday on $75,000 cash-only bonds, while interpreters were arranged for their bond hearing appearances, according to court documents.
The women are Romanian, Arnold Police reported.
At about 2 p.m. Nov. 11, a Kohl’s employee called Arnold Police to the store after being informed by the Fenton store that four women were suspected of stealing cosmetics from that location earlier that afternoon. When officers arrived at the Arnold store, the women were leaving and got into a Honda Odyssey van that had a Texas license plate, the report said.
The officers stopped the van after it left the parking lot, and they allegedly found a trash bag of cologne and perfume in the bag, according to the report.
The women allegedly were found with more than $22,000 worth of stolen property when they were arrested, St. Louis County Police reported.
Police reported the women were not found with any items from the Arnold Kohl’s, but investigators believe the women were responsible for similar thefts at Kohl’s stores in the area, St. Louis County Police reported.
Detectives from the Fenton Precinct are leading the investigation.