Lindsay Lohan to be charged with grand theft in necklace case [Updated]

L.A. County prosecutors said they plan to file charges Wednesday against Lindsay Lohan for allegedly stealing a $2,500 necklace from a Venice jewelry store.

The felony grand theft charge will be the most serious faced by the actress, who over the last two years has made headlines for court appearances and stints in rehab.

[Updated at 2:40 p.m.: Lohan will be arraigned Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. at Airport Court. Barring any changes, it appears that Lohan will not be arrested Tuesday, but will be booked at the courthouse on Wednesday and arraigned on the charge, according to sources familiar with the case.]

Lohan currently is on probation and faces a criminal investigation in Riverside County involving allegations that she shoved a worker at the Betty Ford Center.

Lohan did not immediately comment on the latest charge, but her attorney released a statement over the weekend that the actress would fight any criminal charges.

"We vehemently deny these allegations," the statement said.

If charges are filed, "We will fight them in court, not in the press."

Last week, Los Angeles police detectives presented the results of their investigation into the alleged theft to prosecutors. Detectives investigated whether Lohan stole a "one-of-a-kind" necklace that went missing last month from a Venice jewelry store not far from where she lives.

The piece, described as a gold necklace with semiprecious stones, disappeared Jan. 22 from the store in the 1300 block of Abbot Kinney Boulevard, and police began investigating a few days later. According to law enforcement sources, Lohan was seen in a store security video wearing the necklace before it was reported missing.

After detectives began looking into the case and preparing a search warrant, a Lohan associate took the necklace to the Pacific Division police station, sources said. Lohan could face grand theft and second-degree commercial burglary charges if evidence supports that the necklace was stolen, prosecutors said.

In the Riverside County case, Lohan is under investigation for allegedly assaulting an employee at the Betty Ford Center.

Lohan spent three months at the center in Rancho Mirage under orders from Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Elden S. Fox, who spared the actress jail time in October after Lohan tested positive for drugs while on probation in a DUI case.

The judge directed her to stay at the center through January and warned that he would put her in jail for six months if she violated probation again. It was her fifth time in rehab, and she has been to jail three times in connection with the case.

The employee accused Lohan of shoving her but then told investigators she did not want to press charges.

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-- Andrew Blankstein

Photos: (Top) The Kamofie & Company jewelry store window in Venice. Credit: Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press. (Bottom) Lindsay Lohan appears in a Beverly Hills courtroom in July 2010. Credit: Al Seib / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[PGelsman]

Well hopefully with this arrest she'll be spending some real time in prison. An arrest is also a violation of parole. She should now go back to jail and rest up for her prison stint. Now is she could just take that other worthless creature with her, Paris Hilton.

[Rocco]

Oh Lindsay, don't go all Winona on us. If you need to act out, make a sex tape.

[Hakatau]

I do not care, period. The LA Times seems to be incredibly schizophrenic in the quality of its journalism.

[Maury]

She ain't sweating it. The courts will go light on her. She'll probably spend a couple of days behind bars and off she goes. Hell, this broad can get charged with bank robbery, assault, battery, arson, kidnapping all at once and she'll just get a warning I bet.

[yehudi]

Of course because of her celebrity status this would probably never happen, but the penal system 'boot camp' approach may awaken her to the reality of life as never before. This would be a prescribed mode of behavior that would more than likely cause her to mature to a better level of life, and the 'bad girl' image may even cause her to change her life.

[The O of Delphi]

No doubt Miss Lohan will claim that it is an apPARENT TRAP by a prosecutor who is jealous of her celebrity.

[Sericm]

For all you morons who are Lohan apologists, WHEN YOU WALK OUT OF A STORE WITH MERCHANDISE YOU DIDN'T PAY FOR IT IS THEFT!!!!

This idiot should be locked up and have the key thrown away for a couple of years. C'mon Martha Stewart did time for a much lesser crime.

Until she is made to pay for her actions she will wind up in the morque, and then all you sob sisters will say why didn't some one help her.

[Steven Majstos]

I am generally not too sympathetic to her various plights but at this point it is clear that she is being harassed and persecuted like a witch from the middle ages by the modern version of villagers with pitchforks. Clearly she can afford the necklace and I am sure that whatever happened was not intentional on her part.

[eeejay]

What is wrong with this woman? It is beyond comprehension why she would walk out with a necklace she was trying on! Is she really that stupid?

[LA Observer]

interesting.

And yet the kid that discharged the gun in Glendora is recommended to only get a suspension from the high school staff.

Polomoche....that is very funny.

[DG3]

Everything is just one big joke to her. Maybe a felony conviction will straighten her up a little, but it's doubtful.

[j m]

If found guilty, there is no way she is not doing some serious time! She's already on probation, served time for a violation. This is a felony 1yr+ minimum sentence. Ouch!!

[Lou Bricano]

Ha ha ha ha ha! This is hilarious, especially the doofuses who sympathize with her.

Lock her up.

[Let's get together]

"Lohan was seen in a store security video wearing the necklace before it was reported missing."

Did the store at least make an attempt to contact her and ask her to return the necklace before calling the police???

Shake yourself Lindsay!

[william74]

She just might be the queen of the attention whores!

[G.Patton]

Is that her third strike?

[George Vreeland Hill]

HEY JUDGE ....
Lindsay Lohan needs to be put away for a long time.
Her life is getting worse and it is affecting others.
Get her out of society for her own good and for the good of others.

George Vreeland Hill

[Compa]

Lindsay Lohan = so much FAIL.

[Tony]

A thought! How about Amanda Knox and Lohan as Pen Pals?
.........Isn't any one guilty today? Ye Gads!

[Ways to Make Money]

We really need to consider the fact that maybe Lohan was seriously asking for attention when she stole the necklace....and instead of putting her through this, get her some serious counseling to break the habit....even negative attention is attention.

[Ken]

So sad. I remember this actress when she first began acting. She had potential to be the best and was on her way. Im sure pressure in Hollywood and with the Press may have pushed her to this as many entertainers have been there, both male and female. Not to mention teenagers and young adults go through a lot during this time in their years anyway, then to add being famous and watched every step they take on top of it.

She needs to pay the price if found guilty for sure but it is sad to see another young adult that was so sweet as a kid grow into this.

I wish her well and hope her decisions in the future are much wiser.

[hobby trains for sale]

This girl will NEVER get better, she's too far gone - and she's gotten by with all of it because of enablers. Put her in prison and let her serve the way others that have broken the law/probation have served.

[whalecow]

Finally, she will realize that just because she is supposedly above decent matters, she is not above the law that every decent person should follow.

[whalecow]

decent manners, sorry