CAPE CORAL, Fla. — Remember the Cape Coral social media influencer accused of stealing from Target on Oct. 30 and then posted the stolen items on TikTok? Well, police say she did it again at the same store.
Cape Coral Police got a call about someone stealing from Target on Pine Island Road on Saturday, Nov. 30. However, police say the crime allegedly occurred on Nov. 20.
"We've actually seen 100,000 followers grow with her tik-tok since we released the theft investigation," CCPD Public Information Officer Mercedes Simonds said.
Loss prevention staff told police a "known repeat suspect" went inside the store and grabbed items on sale. They identified the suspect as Marlena Velez.
Police say at self-checkout, Velez didn't scan the items, but scanned fake barcodes instead of the tags on the items.
She stole 16 items, including household goods and clothes, police say, valued at about $225.
WATCH BELOW OF THE ALLEGED THEFT AND ARREST OF VELEZ:
Because police say she's done this before, they recognized her in the video. They also noticed a wallpaper picture on Velez's phone, which was the same one posted on her Instagram account with her family.
She wasn't alone with the reported crime happened. Police say a man was there, who had distinct tattoos matching a man on her TikTok videos. Detectives say she also had her kids with her. Police arrested her on Nov. 30 for petit theft and court records show she bonded out the next day.
This isn't the first time Velez was arrested for this crime.
On Oct. 30, police say she did the same thing at the same store. In that case, police say she didn't scan the barcodes and used fake ones with cheaper prices. Police say she stole 16 items including household goods and clothing, which was about $500.
Ariella Vanhara is a clinical social worker, unpacking what could lead to this behavior.
"It could be impulse control on the very severe spectrum of kleptomania. It's the urge to take an item and then the thrill seeking behavior behind it," she said.
RELATED COVERAGE: #STOLEN: Cape Coral social media influencer arrested for stealing from Target
A video posted on Velez's TikTok account documents herself as she gets ready to leave her home on October 30th - in the same outfit and glasses of which police say she was wearing in surveillance video.
Police were called for this crime on Nov. 20, the same day the second theft allegedly happened.
In the video, which has more than 150,000 views, Velez is seen documenting a trip to T.J Maxx and Target.
Velez records herself picking out items and placing them in her car after leaving both stores.
She was arrested for petit theft and bonded out of jail on Nov. 21, the day after her first arrest, according to court records.
Five days ago, Velez posted a video and the description says "While there will be a time to discuss my wrongings, now is not that moment and it doesn't mean I don't want to speak on it or take accountability for my actions, it means everything is still being dealt with in court so I just ask to please respect that."
She shut off her comments on that post.
Velez was arrested back in July 2023 for petit theft. Court records say she was at a Cape Coral WalMart and hide items underneath others that she would scan instead. The report says she did this several times.
In April 2024, she pled guilty and was sentenced to one month probation, which expired on Oct. 14. According to police, 16 days later, she was arrested for theft.
