A 22-year-old TikTok influencer with nearly 300,000 followers has been arrested for allegedly using fake barcodes to steal from Target and posting a video of herself getting ready before the theft, according to police.
The Cape Coral Police Department in Florida stated that officers responded last Wednesday to a Target store at 1890 NE Pine Island Road in Cape Coral regarding a retail theft incident that took place on October 30.
“Target’s Loss Prevention team reported that on October 30, 2024, an unidentified woman entered the store and selected various items for purchase,” police stated. “At the self-checkout register, the suspect bypassed the items’ actual barcodes and instead scanned a fake barcode reflecting lower prices.”
To enlist public assistance in identifying the suspect, the Cape Coral Police Department shared the woman’s photo on their Facebook and Instagram accounts, describing her as “approximately 20-35 years old, with long black hair, wearing a tan shirt, tan pants, and glasses.”
Shortly after the post, an anonymous tipster contacted police, identifying the suspect as Marlena Velez and providing information about her social media profiles.
“Officers located Marlena’s TikTok account, where she filmed herself on October 30, 2024, wearing the same outfit and glasses described by witnesses and heading to Target,” police stated. “The videos show her selecting items in the store and later placing them in her car after leaving. Marlena appears to be a content creator with nearly 300,000 followers.”
Velez was subsequently arrested, taken to the Lee County Jail, and charged with petit theft under $750, but still the investigation remains active. The TikToker’s actions also revealed her prior criminal record; back in 2019, Velez, then 17, was arrested on grand theft auto charges for stealing her friend’s car and crashing it.
Velez was then arrested again in July 2023 for shoplifting at a Walmart in Cape Coral. According to a report from the store, Velez used a deceptive method to under-ring items by scanning one product while placing another underneath it. She stole $63 worth of kitchen items, pleaded no contest to the charges in April, and was sentenced to complete an anti-theft course and serve six months of probation, which ended last month.
“She’s been living recklessly, flaunting a lifestyle that doesn’t match her actions,”claimed her friend Santana.
Following her latest arrest, the Cape Coral Police Department emphasized that Velez’s social media fame would not protect her from facing legal consequences if found guilty. However, it is worth noting that influencers serve as role models to many people, most of them young and impressionable and Velez’s public flouting of the law can be construed by her fans as an implicit encouragement to follow her example in committing theft.
