TikTok influencer Marlena Velez arrested for shoplifting in Florida
MNP – Marlena Velez, a 22-year-old TikTok influencer with over 300,000 followers, was arrested on November 21 for shoplifting from a Target store in Cape Coral, Florida.
The arrest followed a theft incident on October 30, where Velez used a fake barcode to scan items at significantly lower prices, resulting in a $500.32 loss for the store.
The Cape Coral Police Department (CCPD) reported that Target’s loss prevention team noticed discrepancies during checkout and alerted authorities. Security footage showed a woman matching Velez’s description — a female aged 20 to 35, with long black hair, wearing tan clothing and glasses.
A breakthrough came when an anonymous follower recognized Velez and provided her Instagram handle to the police. Investigators soon found her TikTok account, where she had posted a video on the same day, wearing the exact outfit captured in the store’s surveillance footage. “She essentially incriminated herself,” said Officer Riley Carter from the CCPD. “Social media gave us an unexpected lead, which expedited her identification and subsequent arrest.”
Velez has been charged with petty theft, a crime involving an item valued between $100 and $750, and was booked into Lee County jail. This arrest marks a troubling continuation of her criminal history. In 2019, at the age of 17, Velez was arrested for grand theft auto. A former high school friend, Amanda Santana, shared her experience, stating that Velez stole and crashed her car after earning her trust.
