An influencer with hundreds of thousands of TikTok followers was arrested a second time for purportedly shoplifting from a Cape Coral, Florida, Target.
Marlena Velez, 22, is accused of going to the Target in question on Nov. 20 and using fake barcodes at a self-checkout register to take 16 items, including household goods and clothing, worth $225, the Cape Coral Police Department said in a release Monday.
Officers went to the retail giant on Saturday and reviewed security footage from that incident, recognizing Ms. Velez from her first arrest for alleged theft on Oct. 30.
Police didn’t specify how Ms. Velez was allowed out of the Lee County Jail the first time. She was freed Sunday on $500 bond after her second arrest.
An unidentified man with tattoos, previously seen in videos on Ms. Velez’s TikTok account, was also seen on the security footage from the second incident. CCPD didn’t say whether he faces any charges.
Ms. Velez now faces two charges of theft of goods worth more than $100 and less than $750, one for each incident.
In the first case, Ms. Velez is accused of using the barcodes to take 16 items worth $500 while using a self-checkout register.
Ms. Velez has 419,000 followers on her TikTok account, which is now set to private mode.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.