A Florida-based TikTok influencer was arrested after displaying merchandise she allegedly stole from her local Target store in a video posted to her more than 300,000 followers.
Marlena Velez, 22, faces petty theft charges for allegedly stealing more than $500 from a Target store in Cape Coral on Oct. 30, according to the Fort Myers News-Press.
The retail chain's loss prevention team told Cape Coral police that a shoplifter was caught on security camera at the self-checkout register, where they scanned a fake bar code listing lower prices for items in a shopping cart.
Police said the suspect stole 16 items, including household goods and clothing, valued at $500.32.
Officers reviewed and verified Target's security footage, then posted a photo of the suspect on the department's social media account in hopes the public could identify it.
Velez, who posts videos of her life as a mother of two on TikTok, was then identified as the thief by an anonymous caller claiming to be one of her followers, police said.
The anonymous caller also provided officers with her Instagram ID, which had a link to Velez's TikTok account.
Her TikTok page included a getting ready with me video from the day of the alleged robbery that showed her wearing the same outfit and glasses as the suspect was wearing in the targeted security footage, according to Fox 4 Now.
The since-deleted TikTok video showed her documenting herself picking out items inside Target and putting them in her car afterward.
“She basically incriminated herself,” Riley Carter, a spokesman for the Cape Coral Police Department, told the Express-Tribune.
“Social media gave us an unexpected lead, which accelerated the process of her identification and subsequent arrest.”
Velez was arrested Thursday and charged with petit theft over $100, less than $750.
The TikTokker's crime also highlighted her previous criminal history.
In 2019, Velez was arrested when she was just 17 years old on grand theft auto charges for stealing her friend's car and crashing it.
Velez's former high school friend, Amanda Santana, told NBC 2 that when they were friends at Ida Baker High School, Velez asked Santana to sit in her car during class until lunchtime. Santana, who trusted her good friend, handed her the keys.
However, when Santana returned to the parking lot, she said her car and Velez were nowhere to be found.
“I went into the parking lot, looked around for my car, and I couldn't find it, so actually, I double-checked, looked around, and was like, 'Where's my car?'” Santana told the outlet on Friday.
“We found out she went and hit my car and put it in a ditch at the Dunkin' on Cape Coral Parkway.”
Santana claims that Velez never paid any damages.
“It's like she's never had any remorse,” she told the outlet.
Velez was also arrested in July 2023 for shoplifting from a Walmart in Cape Coral.
A report from the store said she placed rings under the items “by scanning one item, then placing another item underneath the scanned item,” according to NBC 2.
Velez stole $63 worth of kitchen utensils, pleaded no contest to the charges last April, and was ordered to complete an anti-theft course and serve six months of probation — which ended last month.
“She was living recklessly, flaunting a lifestyle that didn't match her behavior,” Santana said.
After her latest arrest, the Cape Coral Police Department said Velez's social media following would not protect her from facing the consequences of her actions if found guilty.
“Influencers should face the same consequences as everyone else,” Carter told The Express Tribune.
“Their public image does not exempt them from the law.”
