A TikTok influencer accused of showing off goods stolen from a Florida Target has been arrested for a second time for allegedly swiping more stuff from the same store.
Marlena Velez, 22, made headlines last month after she was arrested for allegedly stealing 16 items worth more than $500 from the Target store in Cape Coral — getting identified in part from TikTok videos she shared that day for her nearly 400,000 followers.
She is now facing further theft charges after she was arrested Saturday for stealing from the same store on Nov. 20, according to NBC 2.
Police said Velez used a phony barcode to scan items at the self-checkout, pocketing 16 household goods and clothing items valued at $225.
This is her second arrest for shoplifting at the same Target. Cape Coral Police DepartmentShe was identified as the shoplifter through surveillance footage and her phone’s wallpaper, which matched a photo from her Instagram account, according to cops.
Investigators also said a man with a distinctive arm tattoo who appears in some of Velez’s TikTok videos was also present during the theft.
Police said Velez used a phony barcode to scan items at the self-checkout. Cape Coral Police DepartmentIn her first arrest, Velez had been tied to the crime through security footage and videos posted to her TikTok account that showed a get-ready-with-me video from the day of the alleged shoplifting incident that showed her wearing the same outfit and glasses the shoplifter was seen in.
The since-deleted TikTok video also showed her documenting herself picking out items inside the Target and placing them in her car afterward.
The TikTokker has a lengthy criminal history, including in 2019 when she was arrested at just 17 on grand theft auto charges for stealing her friend’s car and crashing it.
Velez was also arrested in July 2023 for shoplifting at a Walmart in Cape Coral.
