Woman sentenced for stealing $20,000 in merchandise, setting up her own store

CHESTERFIELD, Mo. (KTVI) - A woman will spend the next four years in prison after being sentenced Friday for numerous retail thefts in the St. Louis metro area.

Twanna Trotter, of East St. Louis, Illinois, was arrested several times across the Mississippi River in Chesterfield, Missouri beginning in 2018. Authorities recovered more than $5,000 in stolen merchandise as a result of those arrests.

While she was serving probation for those arrests, investigators suspected Trotter had yet again been stealing from stores in Missouri. She was tied to thefts in Chesterfield and St. Louis County, even as far as Osage Beach.

Officers learned Trotter was selling the stolen items through an online boutique that she'd set up in the basement of her home.

Police obtained a search warrant for Trotter's home and discovered approximately $20,000 worth of stolen goods.

Trotter will also face charges in Illinois tied to this investigation.