Er, an influencer was caught shoplifting after filming her shopping haul for TikTok

A 22-year-old influencer from Florida has been arrested for shoplifting $500 of products from Target after she posted videos of her shopping trip on TikTok.

Marlena Velez has 366,800 followers on TikTok. She mostly posts videos of her daily life with her two kids. Some videos delve deeper into aspects of her life, such as restocking her fridge and her shower routine.

According to Cape Coral Police, on 30th October Marlena Velez shoplifted 16 groceries and clothes worth $500.32 (£398.81). She scanned the barcodes for cheaper items, tricking the self-service checkout machine.

Staff at Target noticed something was up, so passed a picture of her onto the police. The authorities posted the image on their social media, asking if anyone knew her. Someone recognised Marlena Velez and sent the police her social media handles.

Security footage of Marlena in Target
(Image via Instagram)

The police then realised that Marlena Velez had actually posted a video called “Day in the life as a mom” on the same day as the crime. In the TikTok video, Marlena prepared for her trip to Target by putting on Prada perfume. She wore the same outfit as the suspect on the Target security footage. She filmed herself picking out the stolen clothes and novelty Christmas crockery in Target, and putting them into her car boot.

Marlena loading the stolen goods into her car
(Image via Instagram)

The police were able to figure out that this influencer was the person who was shoplifting from Target.

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This specific TikTok has now been taken down, and Marlena’s account has been set to private. However, the Cape Coral Police posted a very detailed video about their accomplishment to their Facebook and Instagram accounts, which includes clips from the original TikTok.

The Cape Coral Police Department arrested Marlena Velez and charged her with petty theft. She has been released on bail and will appear in court on 10th December.

Featured images via the Cape Coral police’s Instagram.