A Florida woman arrested for allegedly stealing merchandise from Target and posting her haul on social media was arrested for a second time — for allegedly stealing from the same Target.
lawandcrime.com
A
Florida woman who was
arrested for allegedly stealing hundreds of dollars worth of merchandise from Target and posting her haul on social media was taken into custody for a second time — for allegedly stealing from the same
Target store.
Marlena Velez, 22, is a social media influencer who shares her shopping trips on TikTok and Instagram, but the posts she creates for her 300,000 followers gave Coral County police the evidence they needed to arrest her for a second time for allegedly using fake barcodes to purchase items at lower prices.
Velez was first arrested on Nov. 20 after Target employees alerted officers to a video showing her allegedly stealing from the self-checkout register on Oct. 30. Velez was charged with one count of petit theft for allegedly stealing approximately $500 worth of merchandise. She posted bond and was released a few hours later.
On Nov. 30, the Target store’s loss prevention staff recognized Velez and alerted police to the “repeat female suspect” who had allegedly stolen from the store a second time on Nov. 20 — the same day she was arrested for the first Oct. 30 incident.