An anonymous tip helped the Cape Coral Police track down the suspect
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A TikTok influencer was arrested Wednesday for stealing around $500 from a Florida Target last month, police said.
The Cape Coral Police Department said officers responded to the store at 1890 NE Pine Island Road in Cape Coral.
Employees told officers that a woman entered the store on Oct. 30, 2024 and grabbed multiple items that were on sale.
At the self-checkout register, the woman did not scan the items’ barcodes but instead scanned a false barcode with cheaper prices, police said in a press release.
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Police tracked down the Target theft suspect thanks to an anonymous tip. (Cape Coral Police Department; Lee County Sheriff's Office)
There were 16 items of miscellaneous household goods and clothing that were stolen, valued at just over $500.
The Cape Coral Police Department posted the suspect's photo on its Facebook and Instagram page to assist with identification.
Police said the suspect posted a video wearing the same outfit as seen in security footage. (Cape Coral Police Department)
An anonymous caller saw the post and gave the suspect’s possible identification as 22-year-old Marlena Velez, a TikTok influencer with nearly 300,000 followers.
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Officers found Velez’s account, which included a video of her wearing the same outfit and glasses as the suspect seen on Target’s video cameras. The video showed her picking out items inside Target and placing them in her car after exiting the store on the same day as the reported theft.
The suspect posted a TikTok video showing her putting away the stolen items from Target. (Cape Coral Police Department)
Cape Coral Police concluded that Velez was the same suspect Target accused of stealing items on Oct. 30. Officers located Velez and took her to the Lee County Jail on one count of petit theft.
Bradford Betz is a Fox News Digital breaking reporter covering crime, political issues, and much more.
