A US TikTok influencer, Marlena Velez, got arrested on the charges of shoplifting after she posted a “get ready with me” video in the same outfit.
According to Mail Online, a glamourous influencer with nearly 300,000 followers on TikTok has been arrested for shoplifting 15 items worth more than $500 from a Target store in Cape Coral, Florida.
As per local police, the store called them on Wednesday, November 20, 2024, to report about the theft. When they arrived at the scene, they came to know that a female customer entered the store and selected some items.
After reaching the self-checkout register, she scanned a fake barcode that listed cheaper prices. After calculating, it was found that she stole 16 items, including household goods and clothes worth $500.32.
As part of the investigation, the police posted a photo of the suspect captured by surveillance cameras, in which she was seen leaving the store with a trolley, wearing a tan shirt and matching pants with specs.
Moreover, one of the influencers’ followers identified her through the picture posted by the police as she wore the “same outfit and glasses” in one of her “get ready with me” videos.
The follower anonymously identified the suspect and provided her Instagram profile to the Cape Coral Police Department. The police tracked down her TikTok page and found a video from the day when she allegedly shoplifted items from the store.
In a now-deleted video, the influencer got ready in the same outfit and went to Target and TJ Maxx. She documented her picking a few items in the store, and then in the next scene she was putting them in her car.
The police arrested Velez on Thursday, November 21, 2024, and charged her with one count of petit theft of more than $100, less than $750.
