A woman from Florida, who had been arrested for allegedly stealing merchandise worth hundreds of dollars from Target and sharing her loot on social media, has been apprehended for the second time for stealing from the same Target store.
Marlena Velez, a 22-year-old social media influencer, delights her 300,000 followers on TikTok and Instagram by documenting her shopping excursions. However, it was these very posts that provided the Coral County police with the incriminating evidence they needed to apprehend her for a second time. Allegedly, Velez had been employing counterfeit barcodes to procure items at discounted rates.
On November 20, Velez faced her initial arrest when Target employees brought a video to the attention of officers. The footage depicted her supposedly pilfering from the self-checkout register on October 30. Velez found herself charged with petit theft, accused of taking around $500 worth of merchandise. After posting bond, she was able to secure her release within a few hours.
Target store’s loss prevention staff identified Velez on November 30th and promptly notified the police. They referred to her as the “repeat female suspect” who had allegedly committed theft for the second time on November 20th. This incident occurred on the same day she was arrested for the initial offense on October 30th.
Upon reviewing the security camera footage of Velez’s shopping trip on November 20th, it was discovered that she allegedly used counterfeit barcodes to scan her items and, in some instances, did not scan items at all, instead placing them directly into her bag without paying. The officers also identified Velez from her previous arrest and confirmed that the wallpaper image on her phone matched the one posted on her Instagram account, which was also the same as the one in the previous case.
Velez was arrested once again.
The Coral County Police Department has recently shared a video from Target security cameras, which appears to capture Velez in the act at the self-checkout register. In their official statement, the police noted, “A total of sixteen items, including various household goods and clothing, were taken, amounting to a total value of $225.00.”
Velez was charged with a misdemeanor, specifically one count of petit theft, following her arrest on November 30th.
