A TikTok influencer accused of showing off items stolen from a Target in Florida has been arrested for a second time after allegedly swiping more items from the same store.
Marlena Velez, 22, made headlines last month after she was arrested on suspicion of stealing 16 items worth more than $500 from a Target store in Cape Coral. She was also identified from a TikTok video she shared that day to her approximately 400,000 followers.
She was arrested Saturday for stealing from the same store on Nov. 20 and now faces additional theft charges. According to NBC2.
Police said Velez used fake barcodes to scan items at the self-checkout register and pocketed 16 items of household goods and clothing valued at $225.
Police said surveillance footage and cell phone wallpaper identified her as the shoplifter, matching a photo on her Instagram account.
Investigators said a man with a distinctive tattoo on his arm, who appears in some of Berreth's TikTok videos, was also at the scene of the theft.
In her first arrest, Velez was linked to the crime through security camera footage and a video posted to her TikTok account that showed a “ready to go” video on the day of the alleged shoplifting incident, in which she was seen wearing the same outfit. He was shown wearing glasses. A shoplifter was seen.
A since-deleted TikTok video also recorded her removing items from the Target and then placing them in her car.
The TikToker has a long criminal history, including being arrested in 2019 at just 17 years old on grand theft charges for stealing and crashing a friend's car.
Velez was also arrested in July 2023 for shoplifting at a Walmart in Cape Coral.
