Jennifer Lopez Lookalike Charged Over $580 Battery Theft: 'Jenny From D-Block'

The theft itself was minor. On 30 August, a woman walked out of a Runnings hardware store in Monticello, Minnesota, carrying two double packs of power-tool batteries worth about $580 (£434). A store employee recognised her from an alleged theft at the same shop two days earlier, then gave police a description of her and the vehicle she drove away in, along with its licence plate.

Days later, the routine case stopped being routine. The booking photo of Cyrena Anne Quast, 35, of Saint Cloud, spread across social media, and thousands of people were convinced they were looking at Jennifer Lopez.

Quast was arrested on the day of the theft and booked on a felony theft charge, according to the Wright County Sheriff's Office weekly report. Officers used the employee's account to locate her, and she admitted taking the battery packs when questioned, according to a criminal complaint obtained by The Watch MN. Online arrest records show she was released the following day.

The mugshot did the rest. Shot by the Wright County Sheriff's Office, it captured Quast in a white T-shirt, her hair pulled into a high ponytail, wearing large silver hoop earrings and a lip and nose piercing.

A post sharing it drew close to two million views on X. 'For a moment I thought it was jlo lmao,' one user wrote. 'There's a glitch in the matrix,' added another.

The likeness convinced even sceptics. 'Sorry, but are we sure that's not her?' one user asked.

Lopez is among the most recognisable and most photographed entertainers in the world, which helped the side-by-side comparisons spread within hours.

The Jenny From D-Block Jokes

The comparisons soon turned to 'Jenny from the Block,' Lopez's 2002 hit about staying grounded despite fame. Commenters flipped the idea on its head. 'In prison she's known as Jenny from D-Block!' one joked. 'Jenny been walking the block too much,' wrote another. 'She's definitely still Jenny from the block,' a third added.

Others leaned into invented backstories. One user called on Lopez to 'come claim your sister' and settle it with a DNA test. 'Maybe a secret child? They're 22 years apart,' another suggested.

The maths at least fit the joke. Lopez, 57, is 22 years older than Quast. Raised in the Bronx and of Puerto Rican descent, the singer built much of her early image on that hometown grounding, which is why the 'Jenny from the Block' rewrites travelled. Lopez has no connection to the case and has not publicly acknowledged her viral double. Her representatives did not comment.

Viral booking photos have become a recurring internet fixation. In 2014, a mugshot turned Jeremy Meeks, then under arrest in California, into a so-called 'hot felon' who later signed with a modelling agency. Quast's photo followed a similar path, shared far more for who she resembled than for what she was accused of doing.

A Case Still Before the Courts

Behind the jokes is a live criminal case. Online records show the 30 August arrest was not Quast's first contact with law enforcement. Entries across several Minnesota counties list earlier allegations including theft, drug possession, fleeing police, and providing false identification, the earliest dating to 2023. Those records do not by themselves establish convictions, and the allegations remain subject to court proceedings.

Reporting on the complaint indicates the combined value of the alleged thefts, about $900 (£673), could expose Quast to a more serious charge than the gross misdemeanour on which she was first booked. The Wright County Sheriff's Office released only the mugshot and basic arrest details. The case is still moving through the courts, and no conviction has been entered.

For now, Quast remains out of custody as the case proceeds.