Marlena Velez, a 22-year-old TikTok influencer with over 300,000 followers, was arrested on November 21 for shoplifting at a Target store in Cape Coral, Florida. The arrest followed an incident on October 30, where Velez used a fake barcode to scan items at significantly reduced prices, resulting in a loss of $500.32 for the store.
The Cape Coral Police Department (CCPD) reported that Target’s loss prevention team noticed discrepancies at checkout and alerted authorities. Security footage from the store showed a woman matching Velez’s description: a female aged 20 to 35, with long black hair, wearing tan clothing and glasses.
A breakthrough in the investigation came when an anonymous follower recognized Velez from her social media presence and provided her Instagram handle to the police. Investigators then found her TikTok account, where she had posted a video on the same day of the theft, wearing the same outfit seen in the store’s surveillance footage. “She essentially incriminated herself,” said Officer Riley Carter of the CCPD. “Social media gave us an unexpected lead, which helped us quickly identify and arrest her.”
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, Velez was arrested for grand theft auto at the age of 17, after stealing and crashing a car belonging to a former high school friend, Amanda Santana. Santana claimed that Velez had earned her trust before stealing and wrecking her vehicle.
This is not Velez’s first run-in with the law. In July 2023, she was arrested for shoplifting at a Walmart in Cape Coral, where she under-rang $63 worth of items at a self-checkout. She pled no contest to the charges in April 2024, completed an anti-theft course, and served six months of probation.
Despite her probation ending just last month, Velez allegedly committed another theft, further complicating her legal troubles. “She’s been living recklessly, flaunting a lifestyle that doesn’t align with her actions,” commented Santana.
The arrest has sparked wider discussions about the responsibility of social media influencers. Critics argue that influencers often create deceptive personas online, avoiding the consequences of their real-life actions. “Influencers should face the same consequences as anyone else,” Officer Carter stated. “Their public image doesn’t shield them from the law.”
