A Florida TikTok influencer arrested after she posted video of what authorities alleged was a haul of stolen Target items was arrested again and accused of shoplifting from the same retailer in at least one other instance, police said.
Marlena Velez, 22, was arrested based on an allegation of petty theft, a misdemeanor, police in Cape Coral, about 130 miles south of Tampa, said in a statement Monday. A time code on video of her arrest posted by police on Facebook shows Velez was taken into custody Saturday.
“Officers recognized Marlena Velez from a prior arrest and were able to positively identify her,” the Cape Coral Police Department said.
It wasn’t clear whether Velez, who amassed 360,000 followers on TikTok with content based on her life raising two children, has legal counsel for either case. The public defender’s office for Florida’s 20th Judicial Circuit didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Monday night.
Lee County Sheriff’s Office inmate records say that Velez’s latest booking happened Saturday afternoon and that she posted $500 bond for her release on Sunday afternoon. The records list the same court date scheduled for her last arrest: Dec. 10.The initial arrest happened after police tracked down Velez through tips and social media sleuthing, Cape Coral police said.
Target loss-reduction employees called officers to report a theft had happened on Oct. 30 and showed officers video of a woman they accused of stealing, police said. Police said Velez paid a lower amount for household goods and clothing collectively priced at $500.32.
Police said they found Velez wearing the same clothing in a post on TikTok from the day of the theft. They also said she showed off some of the ill-gotten items on the platform.
Police said that while she was in jail after that arrest, Velez was recorded on security cameras saying, “Lesson learned.” Police said Velez told officers she didn’t recall committing theft at the store but admitted the person on security video was her.
On Monday, the police department reported Velez’s second arrest, the result of Target loss-prevention workers’ alleging the same woman did the same thing on Nov. 20.
In both cases, police allege, Velez chose items from the store but when she got to a self-checkout terminal she scanned bar codes with lower prices.
The latest alleged theft involved 16 items described as miscellaneous household goods and clothing worth $225, police said.
Officers said that in the most recent case, they were also able to identify the suspect though security images of her in the store with her phone — with her family wallpaper on the device the same as a photo posted on her Instagram account, police said.
Furthermore, they said, a man who was with her had a distinctive tattoo that matched imagery of a tattoo seen on Velez’s TikTok account.
Taken alone, the charge of petty theft in Florida could result in a maximum of 60 days behind bars if prosecutors move forward and are successful. But if Velez is charged and convicted sequentially for both cases, she could face a maximum sentence of one year behind bars, according to Florida law.
Amy Sharrit-Leobold contributed.
