Who is Marlena Velez? TikTok creator charged after being caught shoplifting at Target and uploading footage

TikToker Marlena Velez was recently arrested after being caught shoplifting at a Target in Florida on October 30, 2024. The authorities reported that after finishing her shopping, Velez used a fake barcode to scan her items, paying much less than their actual cost.

This resulted in a $500 loss for the store due to the price difference. Furthermore, Ghana Celebrities also mentioned that Marlena Velez mainly stole from the household and clothing section. However, the store’s loss prevention team spotted the issue and reported it to the Cape Coral Police, who began investigating.

As per the local authorities, Marlena Velez has now been charged with one count of petit theft of more than $100, but less than $750. Moreover, she was released on a bail of $200, however, officers have reported that the case is being investigated, as they believe that it was not her first shoplifting case.

While Marlena Velez has now deleted her social media, she has close to 300,000 followers on TikTok. The TikToker often posts videos of herself with her two kids, Anastasia and Isaiah. As per Distractify, Marlena first went viral on the internet after she shared a video of herself in 2021, dancing in front of her baby in the NICU.

---

Authorities identified Marlena Velez through her TikTok video as she posted clips wearing the same outfit seen in the surveillance footage

As Marlena Velez was arrested, 9News also reported that the security cameras inside the Target store captured the face of the TikToker, the screenshot of which was shared with the authorities.

They later confirmed that they were on the lookout for a woman who is 20-25 years of age, has long black hair, and was wearing a tan shirt, tan pants and glasses at the time.

Later, an anonymous caller reported that they saw a post on the social media platform, TikTok, where the influencer was seen wearing the exact same outfit seen in the Target cameras.

Furthermore, in other videos, she had also shown herself in several clips picking up items, and keeping them in her car.

Furthermore, informing the same to masses, the Cape Coral Police Department also posted a video on Facebook and other social media platforms stating that a TikToker had been arrested for theft, with Marlena’s pictures in the video. The caption read:

“On Wednesday, November 20, 2024, officers working for the Cape Coral Police Department responded to Target, located at 1890 NE Pineland Island Road in Cape Coral, for a past retail theft. Loss Prevention at Target stated that on October 30, 2024, an unknown female entered the store and selected the items listed for sale."

Ever since the news of the arrest of the TikToker came out, many social media users started pouring in comments about the robbery incident.

However, at the moment, neither Target nor the TikToker have commented on the fiasco.