Florida social media influencer arrested for stealing from Target

A popular social media influencer in Florida was arrested after allegedly stealing from Target.

Target says that on October 30, a woman, later identified as Marlena Velez, entered the store in Cape Coral and began shopping.

Police said she scanned barcodes for lower value items at the self-checkout before leaving the store.

“Our officers initially received a report from Target regarding this retail theft. They looked into it. They obtained surveillance footage. They had a still photo of this woman basically scamming the self-checkout at Target,” said Mercedes Simonds, public information officer for the Cape Coral Police Department.

Police said the stolen items, including household items and clothing, were worth more than $500.

After police posted a photo of the suspect on their Facebook and Instagram accounts, an anonymous caller identified the woman as Velez.
A video posted to her TikTok account documents her preparing to leave her home on October 30 wearing the same outfit and glasses seen in the surveillance video.

Velez is now charged with theft.

This story was originally reported by Shari Armstrong and Dominga Murray at Scripps News Fort Myers.