A Florida mother allegedly stole several items from Target using barcodes, but police say she posted incriminating evidence on her popular TikTok account, alerting authorities to the alleged crime. Announced.
Hosted by Malena Velez (22) TikTok page It boasts over 356,000 followers and millions of views. Her “marlenavelezz” account features content from the mother of two young children and also highlights her products.
“She essentially committed the crime on herself.”
However, the Cape Coral Police Department accused her of stealing hundreds of dollars worth of merchandise from a Target store.
The allegations began on Oct. 30, when the Lost Prevention Team at a Target in Cape Coral caught a woman using the self-checkout system without scanning the actual barcode on the item. Instead, the woman allegedly scanned a fake barcode with a lower price.
police press release: “16 items were stolen, including household goods and clothing. The total value of the stolen items was valued at $500.32. Officers confirmed this on the target's security cameras.”
Police shared screenshots of the suspect's video on their social media pages and asked for the public's help in identifying the unidentified woman.
An anonymous tipster saw social media posts and identified the suspect as Velez. The tipster also provided police with her social media accounts.
“Officers subsequently discovered Marlena's TikTok account, which recorded her wearing the same clothes and glasses on October 30, 2024, getting ready and heading to the target.” said police in a statement. “Marlena records herself selecting items in the store and placing them in her car after leaving the store.”
The Oct. 30 TikTok post appears to have been deleted from her social media account, but police downloaded the incriminating video before it was removed from her page.
Police arrested Velez on Nov. 21 and he was booked into the Lee County Jail.
She was charged with petty theft over $100 but less than $750.
“She essentially incriminated herself,” said Officer Riley Carter, a police department spokesperson. express tribune. “Social media provided unexpected leads that expedited her identification and subsequent arrest.”
Velez reportedly has a history of theft.
WBBH-TV She reported that she was arrested in 2019 for allegedly stealing and crashing a friend's car.
Amanda Santana, a high school friend of Velez, told the news outlet: It was everywhere, so I was like, 'Where's my car? 'It was like, ”
Santana continued, “It turns out she went and crashed my car and ended up in the ditch at the Dunkin' on Cape Coral Parkway.”
Police confirmed that Velez, then 17, was arrested in October 2019 and charged with grand theft of a motor vehicle.
“There's still restitution that hasn't been paid. And in fact, she hasn't paid a dime,” Santana said.
In July 2023, Velez was arrested for shoplifting $63 worth of kitchen supplies from a Walmart in Cape Coral, according to police records.
A police report states that security camera footage shows “a woman (later identified as Marlena Velez) scanning one item under the ringing items at the self-checkout register and placing another item under the scanned item. It is recorded that the situation was captured.
Velez pleaded no contest to the charges and completed a theft prevention course. She was on probation for six months until last month.
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