Ryder Pleads Not Guilty to Theft, Drug Charges

Actress Winona Ryder pleaded not guilty Tuesday to felony charges of shoplifting $4,760 in merchandise from a Beverly Hills department store and of possessing a controlled substance. Ryder appeared briefly in Beverly Hills Superior Court for her arraignment on four counts: grand theft of personal property, second-degree commercial burglary, vandalism with more than $400 in damage, and possession of Oxycodone, a strong pain reliever similar to morphine.

The 30-year-old actress could face up to three years and eight months in state prison if convicted on the charges.

She remains free on $20,000 bail after Judge Elden S. Fox denied a prosecutor’s request to raise the bail to $30,000.

Ryder was to be arraigned Friday but her attorney, Mark Geragos, said he sought an earlier hearing because of a scheduling conflict. Ryder was arrested on Dec. 13 after she allegedly took merchandise from a Saks Fifth Avenue store. Police said video cameras recorded her taking the items, removing their antitheft devices and stuffing them into a large bag. Security officers confronted her outside the store, searched her bag and found the merchandise and pain medication, police said.

Prosecutors with the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office filed charges against Ryder last week.

Geragos said the charges are severe considering the alleged misconduct. He said his client is innocent and that she has receipts for the merchandise. Ryder also has prescriptions for the painkillers, which she was taking because of an arm injury, he said. Geragos said he doesn’t believe Oxycodone was the medication Ryder had in her purse the day she was arrested. “I’m confident that once all the facts are out ... that she will be vindicated,” he said after the arraignment.

The judge also granted a request that allows Geragos to appear on Ryder’s behalf at future pretrial hearings.

Geragos is to return to court on March 11, when the judge is expected to set the date for a preliminary hearing.

Ryder has appeared in numerous films, including “Lost Souls,” “Girl, Interrupted” and “Reality Bites,” and has been nominated twice for an Academy Award.