A popular social media influencer in Florida has been arrested after allegedly stealing from Target.
Target says a woman, later identified as Marlena Velez, entered a store in Cape Coral on Oct. 30 and began shopping.
While at the self-checkout, police said scanned barcodes for items of lesser value before walking out of the store.
"Initially, our officers got a report from Target about this retail theft. They looked into it. They got the security footage. They had a still frame of this woman who’s 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 goods and clothing, are valued at more than $500.
After police posted the suspect's picture on their Facebook and Instagram accounts, an anonymous caller identified the woman as Velez.
A video posted on her TikTok account documents herself as she gets ready to leave her home on Oct. 30 in the same outfit and glasses 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.
