A 22-year-old social media influencer on TikTok with practically 300,000 followers has been arrested after she used faux barcodes to steal from Target and filmed herself preparing earlier than the alleged theft, police say.
The Cape Coral Police Department in Florida responded to a Target department situated at 1890 NE Pine Island Road in Cape Coral on Wednesday relating to a retail theft that occurred on Oct. 30, in line with an announcement from the Cape Coral Police Department.
MORE: 22 rescuers recover body of 44-year-old hiker after ‘significant fall on frozen ground’
“Loss Prevention at Target acknowledged that on October 30, 2024, an unknown feminine entered the shop and chosen gadgets supplied on the market,” police stated. “Once she arrived on the self-checkout counter, the suspect didn’t scan the barcodes of the gadgets, however as an alternative scanned a faux barcode with cheaper costs.”
In whole, 16 gadgets of miscellaneous home items and clothes with a complete retail worth of $500.32 had been stolen, which officers verified through Target’s safety cameras.
MORE: Woman dies after being thrown from golf cart near private members-only club
PHOTOS: A 22-year-old social media influencer on TikTok with practically 300,000 followers has been arrested after she used faux barcodes to steal from Target and filmed herself preparing earlier than the alleged theft, police say. (Cape Coral Police Department)
In an effort to assist determine the suspect by means of public help, the Cape Coral Police Department’s Facebook and Instagram accounts posted the lady’s photograph, describing her as “roughly 20 to 35 years outdated, had lengthy black hair and was sporting a tanned swimsuit.” shirt, gentle brown trousers and glasses.
An nameless one who noticed the social media put up later contacted police and supplied potential identification of the suspect as Marlena Velez and notified her social media profiles.
MORE: Driver injured after car plunges off edge of mall parking lot onto street below
“Officers then discovered Marlena’s TikTok account, which paperwork her preparing on October 30, 2024, in the identical outfit and glasses, and going to Target,” police stated. “Marlena paperwork herself selecting gadgets within the retailer and placing them in her automobile after leaving the shop. Marlena occurs to be a content material creator with practically 300,000 followers.
Velez has since been arrested and booked into the Lee County Jail on a cost of petty theft underneath $750.
The investigation is at the moment ongoing.
Social media influencer arrested after filming herself preparing to shoplift using fake barcodes: Police initially appeared on abcnews.go.com
