TikToker Who Filmed Her Own Alleged Shoplifting Arrested Again
A Florida woman who broadcasted herself allegedly stealing from Target on TikTok has been arrested once again just days after being put behind bars the last time.
According to NBC News, 22-year-old Marlena Velez was arrested on Nov. 30 after police were called to the same Target location where she allegedly shoplifted items on Oct. 30. Loss prevention staff told authorities when they arrived over the weekend that they saw Velez similarly use fake barcodes for cheaper prices at self-checkout on Nov. 20.
"Officers recognized Marlena Velez from a prior arrest and were able to positively identify her," the Cape Coral Police Department said of the confrontation. They also matched a wallpaper picture on Velez's phone to one posted on her Instagram account and noticed that the man she was with had the same tattoos as a man on her TikTok videos. Police promptly went to her address and arrested her once again for petit theft; she bonded out the next day.
Velez first attracted the police's attention after allegedly making off with 16 items totaling about $500 on Oct. 30. They claim she pulled off the self-checkout heist by not scanning her items' barcodes and instead using fake ones with cheaper prices. She then posted clips on TikTok of her picking items off the shelves and loading them in her car afterward.
The recent alleged Target thefts aren't isolated incidents either. According to WFTX, Velez was arrested for petit theft in July 2023 after she reportedly hid items underneath others that she would scan instead at a local Walmart self-checkout; police noted this was something she'd done several times. She pled guilty in April 2024 and was sentenced to one month probation, which coincidentally expired Oct. 14, just two weeks before her next theft arrest.
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According to Florida law, Velez could face a maximum of 60 days behind bars if found guilty of petty theft, though that period grows to one year if she's charged and convicted sequentially in both cases. Her TikTok account, which has amassed more than 400,000 followers, is now private.