They just found here guilty on all counts: grand theft, burglary, vandalism. This is a sad day my friends. SET HER FREE!

> They just found here guilty on all counts: grand theft, burglary,
> vandalism. This is a sad day my friends. SET HER FREE!

No, they found her guilty of grand theft and vandalism, not guilty of burglary.
And she got what she deserved, the spoiled brat.

Ryder found guilty on two counts

By Linda Deutsch
The Associated Press

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Actress Winona Ryder was convicted today of stealing $5,500 worth of high-fashion merchandise from Saks Fifth Avenue last year.
The jury found the star of “Girl, Interrupted” guilty of felony grand theft and vandalism but cleared her of burglary. The panel reached the verdict after 51/2 hours of deliberations over two days.

The two-time Oscar nominee, who marked her 31st birthday in the defendant’s chair, was arrested Dec. 12 as she left the Beverly Hills store, her arms laden with packages.

Ryder did not testify during the trial, which lasted two weeks.

The prosecution told the jury that Ryder came to Saks with larceny on her mind, bringing shopping bags, a garment bag and scissors to snip security tags off items.

“She came, she stole, she left. End of story,” Deputy District Attorney Ann Rundle said in her closing argument. “Nowhere does it say people steal because they have to. People steal out of greed, envy, spite, because it’s there or for the thrill.”

Jurors were shown videotape of Ryder moving through the store laden with goods, and Saks security workers testified that after she was detained she apologetically told them a director had told her to shoplift to prepare for a movie role.

Her attorney denounced the security guards as liars even before the trial began.

At the start of her shopping trip, she paid more than $3,000 for a jacket and two blouses. The defense said Ryder believed the store would keep her account “open” while she shopped and would charge her later. But there was no evidence of an account.

In closing arguments Monday, defense attorney Mark Geragos suggested that the store, trying to avoid a lawsuit, conspired with employees to invent a story that would make Ryder appear to be a thief and vandal.

Geragos ridiculed the charge that Ryder vandalized merchandise by cutting holes in clothes when removing the security tags.

“This woman is known for her fashion sense,” he said. “Was she going to start a new line of ’Winona wear’ with holes in it?”

He carried a hair bow that she allegedly had stolen over to her, placed it on her head and said, “Can anyone see Ms. Ryder with this on top of her head? Does that make sense?”

Settlement talks between the defense and prosecution failed, but just before trial the district attorney’s office agreed to dismiss a drug charge after a doctor said he had given her two pills found in her possession when she was arrested.

The 12-member jury included several people with Hollywood connections, including producer Peter Guber, head of Mandalay Entertainment and a former head of Sony Entertainment Pictures.

The town raised a collective eyebrow at the inclusion of Guber, who presided over Sony when three successful Ryder films were made there.

Ryder has made some two-dozen films since 1986, including “Beetlejuice,” “Heathers,” “Mermaids,” “Little Women,” “The Age of Innocence,” “Edward Scissorhands,” “Bram Stoker’s Dracula,” “Reality Bites” and “Mr. Deeds.”

She received her Academy Award nominations for “Little Women” (best actress) and for “The Age of Innocence” (supporting actress).

Ryder was raised by parents who were part of the counterculture revolution in the 1960s. Her godfather was LSD guru Timothy Leary.

In 1993, Ryder posted a $200,000 reward in the kidnap-murder case of a 12-year-old girl, Polly Klaas, in Petaluma, Calif., where the actress grew up. When Ryder was charged with shoplifting, Polly’s father, Mark, came to legal proceedings to support her.

In recent years, Ryder has been featured frequently in fashion magazines. Her delicate beauty and waiflike persona were on display at the trial along with a wardrobe of appropriate trial clothes — dark sweaters and skirts, soft dresses and, on the climactic day of closing arguments, a cream silk suit with a pleated skirt and short jacket.

below:
ADREES LATIF / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Actress Winona Ryder walks into the Beverly Hills, Calif., Courthouse for her shoplifting trial today. Ryder was found guilty of grand theft and vandalism


http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/web_ryder_1106110301.jpeg

> They just found here guilty on all counts: grand theft, burglary,
> vandalism. This is a sad day my friends. SET HER FREE!

i actually own one of those free winona tshirts, but i bought it as a joke. i've always liked her, but she deserves whatever she gets. yeah, they maybe blew the whole thing out of proportion - but that's the fault of the media. anyone else would have gotten the same (or worse) treatment - minus the media circus.

stealing is stealing, doesn't matter who you are. plus, if i may say so, she was pretty retarded about it! if her story that she was practicing for a movie role is true, that makes her an even bigger idiot. i mean, hello? just because your director tells you to steal doesn't give you the right to take what isn't yours. and if you must, why not go to the drugstore and steal a tube of cover girl lipstick or a roll of certs? at least the stakes aren't so high that way.

> No, they found her guilty of grand theft and vandalism, not guilty of
> burglary.
> And she got what she deserved, the spoiled brat.

She deserved worse. She needs intensive therapy. How arrogant of her to wear that pure innocent face while knowing what she's done!

> In recent years, Ryder has been featured frequently in fashion magazines.
[b] Her delicate beauty and waiflike persona were on display at the trial
> along with a wardrobe of appropriate trial clothes — dark sweaters and
> skirts, soft dresses and, on the climactic day of closing arguments, a
> cream silk suit with a pleated skirt and short jacket.

LOL! What about wardrobe of "appropriate trial clothes" for worldcom or Enron CEOs? :-) Armani suits with appropriately matching Italian custom shoes and ties?

Jail Time for Winona Ryder Unlikely

By LINDA DEUTSCH
AP Special Correspondent

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — Winona Ryder has been convicted of felony theft charges for her now-famous shopping excursion at a Saks Fifth Avenue store, but that doesn't mean the actress will spend any time behind bars.

Prosecutor Ann Rundle said probation, community service and restitution are the probable penalties for Ryder after she was found guilty Wednesday of stealing more than $5,500 worth of merchandise at the Beverly Hills store last year.

``This case was never about jail time,'' Rundle said. ``We wanted Ms. Ryder to take responsibility for her conduct.''

The jury convicted her of grand theft and vandalism, the latter charge for cutting sensor tags off merchandise. The charges carried a maximum sentence of three years in prison, but Rundle pointed out it was Ryder's first offense and not a violent crime.

Juror Walter Fox told NBC's ``Today'' show Thursday that jurors had ``some heated conversations, but there were really no major differences.''

The most damaging evidence, he said, was the videotape of her leaving the store and the testimony that when she was apprehended ``she had merchandise that belonged in the store that had not been paid for and some of it had been vandalized.''

Ryder was a portrait of composure as the verdicts were read. She wore a muted deep purple coat dress and black hair band and showed no emotion. As she was waiting for an elevator in the Beverly Hills courthouse, she was asked how she felt about the verdict.

``Thanks for asking,'' she said. ``I just can't talk right now.''

Her attorney, Mark Geragos, said he would have no comment until after sentencing on Dec. 6. He intends to file a motion for a new trial before sentencing.

Ryder is a two-time Academy Award nominee whose credits include ``Mr. Deeds,'' ``Reality Bites'' and ``Girl, Interrupted.'' The trial made her the topic of tabloid headlines around the world and provided a glimpse into the life of a Hollywood celebrity.

There were slight gasps in the courtroom when the prosecutor unveiled an $80 pair of socks, a thermal shirt for $750, purses for over $500, a hair band for $140 and a Gucci dress for $1,595.

Jurors were hustled out of the courthouse after the verdicts were read. The group of six men and six women who deliberated less than six hours included many with ties to the entertainment industry.

Most notable among them was Peter Guber, former chief of Sony Entertainment Pictures and now head of Mandalay Entertainment. He was at Sony when Ryder made three hit films there but said he had no contact with her and could be fair and unbiased. He released a statement after the verdict saying he had ``fulfilled my obligation to the court'' and would have no other comment.

Rundle, who sometimes chatted with the defendant during the trial, said, ``I found Ms. Ryder to be a very nice individual. This was never about her character, only her conduct.''

Jurors acquitted Ryder on a burglary count that required intent to go into Saks to deprive the store of property. The fact that she paid for more than $3,000 worth of goods at the start of her shopping was key evidence on that count.

Juror Fox said the tape didn't show her making the initial purchase and added, ``it was not possible to discern what her intent was beyond a reasonable doubt'' on the burglary count.

The jury was shown videotapes of Ryder wandering through the store's designer boutiques and taking a large number of items into dressing rooms.

The tapes did not show Ryder cutting off sensor tags with scissors, but a security guard testified she looked through door slats and witnessed the vandalism.

Security staff testified that after Ryder was caught, she claimed a director had told her to shoplift to prepare for a movie role.

The defense said that after her first purchase, Ryder believed the store would keep her account ``open'' and charge her later. But there was no evidence of an account.

Ryder's arrest on Dec. 12, 2001, was international news and the level of media interest grew when she appeared on ``Saturday Night Live'' and on MTV joking about her case.

Efforts to settle the case before trial failed, but the district attorney's office did dismiss a drug charge against Ryder after a doctor said he had given her two pills found in her possession at the time she was arrested.

Ryder, who began her film career as a teenager in 1986, earned Academy Award nominations for ``Little Women'' and ``The Age of Innocence.''




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