Lindsay Lohan to be charged in necklace theft
Los Angeles County prosecutors said Tuesday they plan to file charges against actress 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 Lohan, who over the last two years has made headlines for court appearances and stints in rehab. She will be arraigned Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. at Airport Court.
Lohan is on probation and faces a criminal investigation in Riverside County involving allegations that she shoved a worker at the Betty Ford Center. She did not immediately comment on the latest charge, but her attorney has released a statement saying the actress would fight any criminal charges.
Last week, Los Angeles Police Department 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 accused of assaulting an employee at the Betty Ford Center.
Lohan spent three months at the rehab 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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