A Florida-based TikTok influencer was arrested after exhibiting off items she allegedly shoplifted from her native Goal in a video posted to her over 300K followers.
Marlena Velez, 22, is dealing with petty theft fees for allegedly stealing greater than $500 from the Goal retailer in Cape Coral on Oct. 30, in response to the Fort Myers Information-Press.
The retail chain’s loss prevention crew advised the Cape Coral police {that a} shoplifter was allegedly caught on safety digicam at a self-checkout register, the place they scanned a faux barcode that listed decrease costs for the objects of their cart.
Police stated the suspect stole 16 objects, together with family items and garments, valued at $500.32.
Officers reviewed and verified Goal’s safety footage after which posted an image of the suspect on the division’s social media account in hopes the general public might establish her.
Velez, who posts movies about her life as a mother to 2 youngsters on TikTok, was then recognized because the shoplifter by an nameless caller claiming to be one in every of her followers, police stated.
The nameless caller additionally offered officers together with her Instagram deal with, which had a hyperlink to Velez’s TikTok account.
Her TikTok web page included a get-ready-with-me video from the day of the alleged shoplifting incident and confirmed her sporting the identical outfit and glasses the suspect was sporting within the goal safety footage, in response to Fox 4 Now.
The since-deleted TikTok video additionally confirmed her documenting herself selecting out objects contained in the Goal and putting them in her automobile afterward.
“She essentially incriminated herself,” Cape Coral Police Division spokesperson Officer Riley Carter advised The Specific Tribune.
“Social media gave us an unexpected lead, which expedited her identification and subsequent arrest.”
Velez was arrested on Thursday and charged with one depend of petit theft of greater than $100, lower than $750.
The TikTokker’s crime additionally delivered to gentle her prior felony historical past.
In 2019, Velez was arrested when she was simply 17 on grand theft auto fees for stealing her pal’s automobile and crashing it.
Velez’s former highschool pal, Amanda Santana, advised NBC 2 that once they had been associates attending Ida Baker Excessive Faculty, Velez requested Santana to sit down in her automobile throughout class till lunchtime. Santana, trusting her good pal, handed her the keys.
Nonetheless, when Santana returned to the parking zone, she stated her car and Velez had been nowhere to be discovered.
“I went to the parking lot, and I’m looking around for my car, and I can’t find it, so I actually, like double-checked, looked on every side, and I was like, where is my car?” Santana advised the outlet Friday.
“We figured out that she went and crashed my car and totaled it into a ditch at a Dunkin’ on Cape Coral Parkway.”
Santana claims Velez by no means paid for any of the damages.
“It’s like she never felt remorse,” she advised the outlet.
Velez was additionally arrested in July 2023 for shoplifting at a Walmart in Cape Coral.
A report from the shop stated she under-ringed objects “by scanning one item, then placing another item underneath the scanned item,” in response to NBC 2.
Velez stole $63 in kitchen objects, pleaded no contest to the fees final April, and was sentenced to finish an anti-theft course and serve six months of probation — which ended final month.
“She’s been living recklessly, flaunting a lifestyle that doesn’t match her actions,” Santana stated.
Following her most up-to-date arrest, the Cape Coral Police Division stated Velez’s social media following won’t protect her from dealing with penalties for her actions if discovered responsible.
“Influencers should face the same consequences as anyone else,” Carter advised The Specific Tribune.
“Their public image doesn’t exempt them from the law.”
