Social media influencer arrested again for theft at same Cape Coral Target

Writer: Nicholas Karsen
Published: Updated:
influencer
Marlena Velez, 22. Credit: The Lee County Sheriff’s Office

The Cape Coral Police Department has arrested a woman accused of stealing $225 worth of items from a Target on Pine Island Road.

Police arrested Marlena Velez, 22, on Saturday after the retail store’s loss prevention staff reported her entering the same store location and selecting items that were listed for sale.

Camera footage found Velez approaching the self-checkout register, where she allegedly proceeded to not scan some of the items but rather scanned a false barcode instead of the real barcodes on the merchandise.

Sixteen miscellaneous items were marked as stolen, with the total loss accounting for around $225.

Officers quickly identified Velez, who was arrested on Nov. 20 for the same crime, again for stealing 16 items of miscellaneous household goods and clothing valued at $500.32.

Velez, who has nearly 300,000 followers on TikTok, was further identified by reviewing the security video footage from this case and observing the wallpaper picture on Velez’s phone.

Accompanying Velez was a man with a distinct tattoo on his left arm, which matched with a man who appeared in several of her TikTok videos.

CCPD did not specify whether the man was arrested alongside Velez.

The influencer was taken to the Lee County Jail and will face one petit theft charge.

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