Alleged Thief Caught by Her Own TikTok

A content creator in Florida was arrested last week after she was allegedly caught shoplifting in her own video. Cape Coral Police visited a Target location on Nov. 20 in response to an alleged theft that had occurred on Oct. 30. "An unknown female entered the store and selected items listed for sale," police said in a statement, per ABC News. "Once at the self-checkout register, the female suspect did not scan the items' barcodes, instead scanning a false barcode with cheaper prices." Police confirmed 16 items valued at $500 were taken before releasing security images of the suspect, seen in a tan shirt and pants. A tipster then reported the suspect appeared to be Marlena Velez, a content creator with more than 350,000 followers on TikTok.

A video shared on Velez's account showed the 22-year-old preparing for the alleged theft "in the same outfit and glasses," picking out items in the store, then loading them into her vehicle, police said. "She essentially incriminated herself," Officer Riley Carter tells the Express Tribune. The video has since been removed, People reports. Velez was arrested Thursday and charged with one count of petty theft. She was later released on bond. She was also arrested last year for shoplifting at a Walmart in Cape Coral after surveillance footage showed her under-ringing items at self-checkout, per the Tribune. Velez pleaded no contest, completed an anti-theft course, and served six months of probation, which ended just last month. (More dumb criminals stories.)