TikTok influencer Marlena Velez arrested, accused of theft for 2nd time in weeks: police

CAPE CORAL, Fla. (WFLA) – For the second time in weeks, a TikTok influencer has been arrested for retail theft in Cape Coral, Florida, the local police department said Monday.

Marlena Velez, 22, was first arrested for theft on Nov. 21 after she was accused of stealing $500 worth of items from Target in late October and posting incriminating video to social media.

Prior to her arrest, police said they were called to Target following a report of retail theft, and were shown surveillance video of a suspect scanning a fake barcode at the self-checkout area. Police posted an image from the video online. An anonymous caller later tipped off investigators to Velez's identity after viewing the image.

Police then learned that Velez had filmed herself getting ready to go shopping on the day of the theft, and had also filmed herself picking out items inside the store. They compared her social media posts to the surveillance footage and positively identified Velez as the suspect.

Velez, who currently has over 400,000 followers on TikTok, was arrested and charged with petit theft.

On Saturday, Nov. 30, however, police responded to a Target store and met with the loss prevention staff about a separate instance of theft from Nov. 20. Police were shown surveillance footage, and recognized Velez from the previous arrest. They also recognized a man with her who had a unique left arm tattoo seen in some of Velez's videos on TikTok.

Velez is accused of failing to scan 16 items worth $225 while going through the self-checkout process, instead scanning a false barcode.

Velez was met at her home and arrested, bodycam footage from the Cape Coral Police Department shows. She was charged with one count of petit theft and taken to the Lee County Jail.

Records from the Lee County Sheriff's Office indicate Velez was released Sunday on a $500 bond.