A TikTok influencer arrested after allegedly stealing from a Target Haul store – NBC New York

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A TikTok influencer who allegedly shoplifted about $500 worth of items from Target and posted the package on the social media app, where she has more than 360,000 followers, has been arrested and charged with petit larceny.

Police said Marlena Velez, 22, stole the items by scanning fake barcodes with cheaper prices on Oct. 30 at a Target in Cape Coral, Florida.

The 16 items — household goods and clothing — were valued at $500.32, the Cape Coral Police Department said in a news release. Velez regularly posts content about her life as a mother of two on her TikTok account.

Police were called to the store last week for the theft that took place on October 30. The police department posted a photo of the suspect on its Facebook and Instagram accounts and asked for the public’s help in identifying her. They received numerous phone calls from anonymous tipsters, one of whom was “personally known” to Velez and provided Velez’s name, date of birth and the names of her Instagram and TikTok accounts, according to an affidavit.

Those public social media pages helped police connect Velez to the theft, according to the affidavit.

Police said they found a video Velez posted on TikTok, getting ready the day of the robbery, wearing the same outfit as the woman seen in Target’s security video — a tan shirt, tan pants and glasses. Velez recorded herself collecting items from the store and then took them home with her, police said said. According to the probable cause statement, the informant also provided “unique details” about Velez, including that he had two children and a tattoo of a zodiac sign. on her left wrist, which police said matched that of the woman in the security footage.

“Everything was documented,” Mercedes Phillips, a spokeswoman for the department, said in a video posted on his Instagram account.

Velez told the arresting officer that she did not remember stealing from Target and after being shown a photo of the woman from the store’s security footage, she “verbally confirmed” that she was the woman in the photo and video, probable cause. the affidavit says.

While in the Lee County Jail, Velez allegedly said “lesson learned” several times, according to the probable cause affidavit. The arresting officer asked her while in jail if she still had the stolen merchandise, and she allegedly replied that she might still have some of the items, “to include some Christmas decorations,” it is stated in the affidavit.

Phillips thanked the community for their help in identifying Velez.

Velez was arrested and charged with one count of petit larceny. She was released on $150 bond and is due in court on Dec. 10, court records show. She could not immediately be reached at a number or email address listed for her or through her TikTok account.

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