Marlena Velez, a TikTok user from Florida, was arrested for shoplifting after she posted a haul video showing off her stolen Target goods. She was arrested by the Cape Coral Police Department and booked into Lee County jail, as per the details made on the CCPD Facebook.
Velez, who is charged with petty theft of an item valued between $100 and $750, was released on a bond of $200, according to a November 22, 2024 publication by Distractify. She is scheduled to appear in court on December 10.
What did Marlena Velez do?
According to a press release statement released by the Cape Coral Police Department, Target's loss prevention informed them that on October 30, a woman, later identified as Marlena Valez, entered a Cape Coral Target store and started shopping. Nothing was out of the ordinary until it was time for checkout.
Target's Loss Prevention employees allege that at the self-checkout counter, Velez instead of scanning the barcodes of the items she purchased scanned the false barcodes with lower prices. According to the press release "sixteen items of miscellaneous household goods and clothing were stolen" The store incurred a loss of $500.36, according to authorities.
The statement by the store was further verified by the police with the help of CCTV footage of the store.
How did Marlene Velez get arrested?
The Loss Prevention employees of Target informed the Coral County Police Department regarding the alleged theft after they noticed a discrepancy. The Coral County police used the image of the suspected woman, later identified as Marlene, gathered from the store's CCTV visuals and posted it on their social media pages asking for help from citizens in identifying the woman.
Fortunately for the Police, and unfortunately for Marlena, an anonymous tip identified the woman in the photo as Marlena Velez, a TikTok user from Florida with more than 300,000 followers. At the time of this article's publishing, the TikTok and Instagram accounts have been deactivated.
Things were made easier for the police because Marlena Velez, 22 years old, posted a haul video showing her followers her Target haul. In the video, she is also seen wearing the same clothes as the woman in the CCTV footage from the store. She also showed her followers the goods she purchased from her Target which, according to Distractify, allegedly matches the stolen items.
According to Law & Crime, Cape Coral Police Public Information Officer Mercedes Simonds said,
"She posted a video that day of herself going to Target, buying these items, and then taking them home with her. Everything was documented."
Meanwhile, CCPD spokesperson Officer Riley Carter, as reported by The Tribune, said,
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"She essentially incriminated herself. Social media gave us an unexpected lead, which expedited her identification and subsequent arrest(...)Influencers should face the same consequences as anyone else. Their public image doesn’t exempt them from the law."
According to The Tribune, this is not Marlena Velez's first time having legal troubles. In 2019, at the age of 17, she was arrested for grand theft auto, and later in 2023, she was arrested for stealing kitchen goods worth $63 from Walmart.
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