Lindsay Lohan Pleads Not Guilty To Felony Grand Theft, Could Face Years In Prison

LOS ANGELES — Lindsay Lohan pleaded not guilty Wednesday to felony grand theft of a $2,500 necklace – the most serious charge yet filed against the troubled starlet who has wrestled with drug and alcohol abuse for years.

"You're in a different situation now that a felony has been filed," Superior Court Judge Keith Schwartz scolded Lohan after she entered the plea through her attorney. "Everybody else has to follow the law. You're no different than anyone else. So please, don't push your luck."

Saying it appeared Lohan had violated her probation in a 2007 drunken driving case, Schwartz set bail at $40,000 and warned that if she was accused of breaking the law while free, he would have her held without bail.

Lohan, 24, posted bail and was released about an hour after the hearing. She spoke little during the arraignment, except to acknowledge her name and that she understood the charge and possible consequences.

Lohan could face up to three years in state prison if eventually convicted of stealing the necklace in January from a Venice Beach store.

The "Mean Girls" star has remained in the spotlight throughout her legal problems. Wednesday, she was met by a swarm of photographers and TV cameras when she arrived at the courthouse in a white dress and sunglasses.

Until now, Lohan has struggled with the terms of her probation in the DUI case but has not been charged with other crimes.

The former Disney star has been a courthouse regular since May, when another judge determined she had violated her probation by missing weekly alcohol education classes.

She was sent to jail and rehab after missing a hearing then granted early release from both facilities. Within weeks, however, she failed a drug test and was briefly returned to jail before spending the next three months in rehab.

Lohan's three stints in jail in the past three years have all been shortened by overcrowding and the fact that she could not be held without bail on a misdemeanor.

The jewelry case is not Lohan's only legal concern. Prosecutors in Riverside County are considering whether to charge the actress with battery for an altercation with a rehab worker at the Betty Ford Center in December.

The worker was fired after giving an on-camera interview to celebrity website TMZ, but district attorney's spokesman John Hall has said the allegation against Lohan was under review.

Schwartz was the third judge in seven months to warn the actress she was facing serious jail time if she broke the law.

Defense attorney Shawn Chapman Holley said Wednesday that Lohan was interested in an early disposition program where she could work out a deal to keep the case from going to trial.

Holley also said Lohan has received good reports from her probation officer and had not failed any recent drug screens.

Prosecutor Danette Meyers rejected the idea that Lohan has been well-behaved.

"A good probationer doesn't pick up a new case," Meyers said.

Another hearing was set for Feb. 23.

Comments

[Patrick Couillard]

01:31 PM on 02/11/2011

This stealing thing is one more example of how Lindsay Lohan appears to believe she's more privileged than everyone else. She can club all night. She can use illegal drugs. She can be late for work or just not be prepared. She can lash out and threaten all the little people, she sees in her way. She can lie to the public, to her friends, family and to the courts. She can write F**k You on her finger nail facing her judge. She's a mild talent that has been given more luck and opportunity than millions of others and has mistaken her good luck with superiority. Strangly, I hope she's makes it through this mess and reaches even greater heights with her film career, but she just might be too spoiled (spoiled as in rotten) as a person.

[onionboy]

03:36 PM on 02/10/2011

This should be reduced to a misdemeanor. That thing's a piece of junk.

[BuckyJamesDio]

04:13 PM on 02/10/2011

Do you mean the necklace or Lindsay?

[onionboy]

04:20 PM on 02/10/2011

Excellent point. I should have referred specifically to the necklace. I guess I assumed Lohan's junk status was a given.

[Cori527]

05:34 PM on 02/10/2011

Reduced to a misdemeanor? Because you personally have a low opinion of what was stolen?

Hmmm...

[onionboy]

05:48 PM on 02/10/2011

Actually, if my personal opinion (and joke) is correct, then yes. I didn't write the law. But there is a dollar threshold between grand theft (felony) and misdemeanor theft. In California I think it's $950, but the amount might have changed. It's a different amount for almost every state.

[Rich Phitzwell]

02:21 PM on 02/10/2011

I dont get it, my parents were embezzled out of 20k from an employee a couple of months ago and the police have yet to do anything with it. In fact they have told them that they have months long backlog on this type of crime and chances are she will not send one day in prison and good luck getting it back.

Im glad our priorities are where they are.

[birdlady5]

02:15 PM on 02/10/2011

Time to send her to jail. Enough is enough. If she was not famous she would be in jail right now!

[jonesygal]

01:46 PM on 02/10/2011

her downfall ceased being entertaining a long time ago. now I just feel so sorry for her. I hope she gets help and gets away from her insane and truly horrible parents. She is beyond a train wreck, she clearly has real mental issues that must be addressed.

[Mormon4Truth]

01:40 PM on 02/10/2011

Lindsay? What are you doing? Please stop! You are going into Michael Jackson and Winona Rider territory! We loved the drugs, alcoholism, nudity, and lesbianism, BUT PLEASE DON'T STEAL!

[Deranged loner]

06:21 PM on 02/10/2011

Michael Jackson did not steal or molest children truthful mormon.

[Debbi Mihelic]

01:36 PM on 02/10/2011

Of course this was top news this morning...pretty sad that. When she heard that she wouldn't be taken into custody, she had a smirk on her face.
She really needs jail time, IN with the general population. This got old a LONG time ago.

[shirleyfeeney]

12:56 PM on 02/10/2011

I'm seething over Lindsay, once again, getting special treatment. Why? She hasn't done anything to deserve it. She is on probation--she should have been remanded into custody immediately. Her "oh I thought I was borrowing it" routine is getting really OLD. I have a family member who was on probation and was helping his daughter move some furniture at her place. He said he had a headache, asked if she had any Tylenol and she said yes and handed him one. The next day he had to go visit his probation officer and had to pee in the cup for testing--they put the cuffs on him immediately. As it turned out, his daughter gave him a Tylenol with Codeine, which was a prescription, and therefore by taking it he violated his probation. He certainly wan't accused of Grand Theft while on probation...

[Mafdet]

12:02 PM on 02/10/2011

Now when a judge makes a point of telling one of the thousands of people he has on his crowded docket that she is just like everyone else...  Probably that's a clear indication that in fact she is NOT, in his mind, like everyone else.  No?

[Max Shaw]

11:18 AM on 02/10/2011

Good Luck LiLo. Hope they find the culprit that set you up...lol.

[NostradamnIsuck]

10:40 AM on 02/10/2011

I wanna put her and Charlie together in a hotel room with a bevy of bisexual porn stars, a wheelbarrel full of cocaine, a champagne bucket full of Vicodins, Viagra, and X.
Film it all in hi-def. and give all the profits from this soon to be most watched thing ever to the (to be coming soon) Church of the Second Messiahfeaturing the Holiest of Holies Justin Beiber...

[kmeccat]

10:23 AM on 02/10/2011

To Lindsay, any attention is good attention...and she obviously LOOOOVES attention.
While she definitely needs rehab for the drug issues she has, she also needs to feel the consequences of her irresponsible and arrogant, and yes, criminal behavior.
She needs to have that smirk wiped off her face, and face the same punishment that any "common" person would.
Playing the spoiled starlet who does what she wants and just gets slapped on the wrist, has gotten old and could get dangerous....for her or someone else.

[fredvh]

01:40 PM on 02/10/2011

the problem is, the rehab she has gone thru hasn't worked.
One has to want to stop before any programs will work.

[melobster78]

10:22 AM on 02/10/2011

Oh for the love of humanity,just lock her up and throw away the key!!!! She obviously doesn't care about anyone but herself and wants everyone to feel sorry for her. Or,maybe she doesn't care about herself,either way she needs to be locked up.