Overland Park woman pleads guilty in large-scale clothing theft case

An Overland Park woman admitted Tuesday that she stole thousands of dollars in clothing from area retailers.

Kelli Bauer, 46, pleaded guilty in Johnson County District Court to a felony charge of theft between $25,000 and $100,000.

She also pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of theft of less than $1,000. Sentencing is set for July 20.

Bauer was charged last year after police searched her home and found a large amount of stolen merchandise.

According to court documents, Overland Park police began investigating after they found a Facebook posting for the sale of “high-end” clothing.

Police posing as potential customers contacted Bauer and went to her home, where they saw numerous pieces of clothing. Some items still had store stickers and price tags, according to the documents.

Detectives also began following Bauer and saw her stealing items from several stores, according to the documents.

Bauer has two prior theft convictions, according to Johnson County court records.

In 2007, she was charged with a felony for stealing clothing and merchandise from three stores in Overland Park within 72 hours.

She later pleaded guilty to two reduced charges of misdemeanor criminal deprivation of property and was placed on probation.

She was charged again in 2013 with stealing clothing from an Olathe retailer. She again was placed on probation after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge, court records show.

This story was originally published May 31, 2016 at 2:20 PM with the headline "Overland Park woman pleads guilty in large-scale clothing theft case."