A TikTok influencer who was previously arrested for shoplifting from Target and posting a haul of the stolen items on the social media app landed behind bars again for violating her probation.
Marlena Velez, 23, was arrested in November 2024 for allegedly stealing about $500 worth of items by scanning false bar codes with cheaper prices at a Target in Cape Coral.
Police said she posted the haul on her TikTok, where she had more than 360,000 followers.
They said they found a video Velez posted on TikTok getting ready on the day of the theft, wearing the same outfit as the woman seen on Target’s security video. Velez also recorded herself picking out the items inside the store and then taking them home with her.
She was charged with petit theft and released on bond, police said.
But nearly a year later, Cape Coral Police officers spotted Velez driving and initiated a traffic stop because she had an active warrant for violating her probation, police said.
Velez initially stopped, but when officers approached her car, she sped away, police said.
Nearly two weeks later, police located Velez’s vehicle and conducted a traffic stop. When officers approached the car, she was lying on the floorboard attempting to hide.
Velez was transported to Lee County Jail and was charged with violating probation and fleeing and eluding police. She remains booked in jail without bond.