Advertisement

Doris Payne, 83-year-old jewelry thief, back in jail

Doris Payne, then 83, at a 2013 court appearance in Riverside County.
Doris Payne, then 83, at a 2013 court appearance in Riverside County.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Share via

Doris Payne, the 83-year-old jewelry thief with a criminal record that goes back to the 1950s, was back in jail Thursday.

Payne was being held at a jail in Indio on a violation of mandatory supervision, said John Hall, a spokesman for the Riverside County district attorney’s office. She is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail.

Payne pleaded not guilty to the violation and was due back in court on Oct. 2 for a hearing.

Advertisement

The 5-foot, 6-inch, 141-pound Payne made headlines last year when she was arrested for swiping a $22,500 diamond-and-white-gold ring from El Paseo Jewelers in a Palm Desert shopping center.

------------

FOR THE RECORD

A previous version of this post said Payne was being held at Larson Justice Center in Indio. That is the name of the courthouse where she was taken into custody; she is being held at a jail in Indio.

Advertisement

------------

In April, Payne was sentenced to four years in custody -- two in county jail, two under mandatory supervision -- after pleading guilty to one felony count each of burglary and grand theft, Hall said.

Judge William Lebov also ordered Payne to stay away from all jewelry stores during her mandatory supervision, Hall said.

Deputy Armando Munoz, a spokesman for the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, said Payne was released early from one of its jails on July 8 due to overcrowding.

Advertisement

Because Payne was on probation for felony theft in an L.A. case when she stole the diamond in Palm Desert, she was sent to the custody of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

She was released on July 10, Munoz said, but failed to report to the Riverside County Probation Department within two days, one of the terms of her release.

For breaking news, follow @AdolfoFlores3.

Advertisement