Inset: Marlena Valez (Lee County Sheriff’s Office). Background left to right: A woman accused of shoplifting from a Target in Florida (Cape Coral Police Department).
A Florida woman was arrested this week after stealing several hundred dollars worth of merchandise from Target and then posting about her haul on social media, Sunshine State police say.
Marlena Valez, 22, stands accused of a lone count of petit theft in excess of $100 but less than $750, a misdemeanor.
The incident occurred on Oct. 30 at a Target in Cape Coral — a large city along the Gulf of Mexico in southwest Florida.
Police say loss prevention employees took note of the woman, later identified as Valez, entering the store and shopping — in seemingly normal fashion. That allegedly changed when it came time to pay.
“Once at the self-checkout register, the female suspect did not scan the items’ barcodes, instead scanning a false barcode with cheaper prices,” the Cape Coral Police Department said in a press release. “Sixteen items of miscellaneous household goods and clothing were stolen. The total loss of the stolen items was valued at $500.32. Officers verified this with Target’s security cameras.”
Law enforcement then posted images of the suspected thief that were culled from the big box retailer’s surveillance footage on their Instagram and Facebook profiles in an effort to identify her.
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That effort quickly yielded results, police say.
“An anonymous caller saw the post on social media and gave a possible identification for the suspect,” the press release goes on. “The anonymous caller also provided officers with Marlena’s Instagram handle.”
Authorities next noticed something they claim was even more brazen than the initial theft: a TikTok post by the defendant wherein she allegedly documents leaving Target with the items in question.
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“Marlena documents herself picking out items inside the store and placing them in her car after exiting the store,” the press release continues. “Marlena appears to be a content creator with almost 300,000 followers.”
Police say Valez was wearing “the same outfit and glasses” in the TikTok video as the woman in the Target surveillance footage.
“She posted a video that day of herself going to Target, buying these items, and then taking them home with her,” Cape Coral Police Public Information Officer Mercedes Simonds said. “Everything was documented.”
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In a video produced by the police department, clips from a TikTok video purport to show the defendant shopping for an assortment of kitchen goods and a box of disposable diapers — which she then loads into the trunk of her vehicle.
Valez was arrested on Thursday and released a few hours later on $150 cash bond.
She is slated to appear in court on Dec. 10.
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