CAPE CORAL, Fla. (WKRC) – A popular TikTok influencer allegedly filmed herself shoplifting $500 worth of goods from Target and posted the evidence for the internet to see.
A loss prevention employee at a Target in Cape Coral, Florida alerted police on Oct. 30 after they saw a woman pile $500.32 worth of items into her shopping cart.
“Once at the self-checkout register, the female suspect did not scan the items’ barcodes, instead scanning a false barcode with cheaper prices,” the Cape Coral police said in a press release. They said 16 items were stolen.
Target employees gave the authorities an image of the woman who stole the merchandise, which the police posted to their social media accounts to seek the public’s help.
“An anonymous caller saw the post on social media and gave a possible identification for the suspect as Marlena Velez,” the press release said. “The anonymous caller also provided officers with Marlena’s Instagram handle.”
22-year-old Marlena Velez’s Instagram led authorities to her popular TikTok profile, where officers made a surprising discovery. Velez had allegedly posted a video of her day at Target on Oct. 30 to her TikTok account with over 300,000 followers.
“Marlena documents herself picking out items inside the store and placing them in her car after exiting the store,” police said.
The Cape Coral Police Department posted a video to its social media accounts with clips from Velez’s TikTok video, which has since been deleted.
Although the video did not seem to show or even reveal the shoplifting itself, police were able to connect Velez to the crime through her clothes, the date, and the items she “purchased” in the video.
Velez was arrested and charged with petty theft worth more than $100 but less than $750. She was released on a $150 bail soon after.
Senegal
