A Florida TikToker’s Get Ready With Me video for a trip to Target took an unexpected twist when she was allegedly caught stealing more than $500 worth of merchandise from the store. However, this isn’t the first time the influencer has been charged with stealing.
Marlena Velez, 22, a mom of two and content creator with more than 300,000 followers, who allegedly stole the merchandise from Target, also allegedly stole a car and kitchenware several years ago.
Newsweek reached out to Velez for a comment, however, she has not yet responded.
In October 2019, when Velez was 17, Cape Coral Police Department arrested her and charged her with grand theft of a motor vehicle, WBBH reported.
In a statement posted on social media by the Cape Coral Police Department regarding the influencer’s Target arrest, Bibiana Alonso Santana said, “She stole my daughter’s car in high school and totaled it. I guess some people never learn.”
Cape Coral Police Department
Newsweek contacted Santana for comment. Her daughter, Amanda Santana, told WBBH that Velez asked her to stay in her car during class until lunchtime. They were friends.
“I went to the parking lot, and I’m looking around for my car, and I can’t find it, so I actually, like double-checked, looked on every side, and I was like, where is my car? We figured out that she went and crashed my car and totaled it into a ditch at a Dunkin’ on Cape Coral Parkway,” Santana’s daughter told the outlet.
Newsweek contacted the CCPD about the car incident, but has yet to receive a response.
In July 2023, authorities arrested Velez again, this time for allegedly shoplifting at a Walmart on Del Prado Boulevard in Cape Coral, WBBH reported.
In a report obtained by the outlet, police said Velez stole $63 worth of kitchen items. In April 2024, the influencer pleaded no contest to the charges. She completed an anti-theft course and served six months of probation, which ended last month.
Cape Coral Police Department
This time, she recorded the entire incident and shared it on her TikTok account.
Target’s loss prevention team reported on October 30 that an…
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