Lindsay Lohan is free to wreck havoc on Los Angeles jewelers again after she was released from jail on $75,000 bond just hours after being slapped with a four month sentence for probation violations, stemming from her involvement in the disappearance of a $2,500 necklace from a custom jewelry shop in Venice last January.
Things started out well enough during Friday’s court hearing in Beverly Hills. Lohan scored a legal victory when her felony grand theft charge was reduced to a misdemeanor. Less than an hour after downgrading the offense, however, Judge Stephanie Sautner threw the book at the actress, sentencing her to a 120 day stint behind bars. The decision came after the Judge had heard testimony in necklace theft case and declared that there was sufficient evidence that the former Mean Girl had violated the terms of her probation on a 2007 DUI charge.
“She is to serve 120 days…forthwith. Perhaps she might see how women who have fallen on real hard times have to live and maybe she will change,” the tough-as-nails Sautner said.
For those not in-the-know, the troubled actress allegedly walked out of the Kamofie & Co. jewelry boutique without paying for a $2,500 gold necklace on Jan. 22. he jewelry store owner that accused Lohan of stealing the necklace testified during Friday’s proceedings, saying the actress came into her Venice, Calif., boutique three times in one week before walking off with the pricey piece.Sofia Kaman said Lohan spent about 45 minutes in the store on Jan. 22 with her friend Patrick. While Patrick was chatting with Kaman, Lohan slipped out of the store wearing the bauble, the shopkeeper says. Kaman said she realized the necklace was gone 10 minutes after the pair left. But the store owner waited until the next evening to report the piece stolen because Lohan allegedly said she would be back the next day to purchase a ring. The actress, however, failed to show up on Jan. 23.
The 24-year-old ex-A-lister showed little reaction when she was handed down the ruling and was swiftly led away from court by bailiffs. The judge also ordered Lohan to serve 480 hours of community service at a women’s centre and the Los Angeles County Morgue. However, Lindsay’s lawyer Shawn Chapman said she would appeal the ruling, allowing her to leave the Lynwood Correctional Facility to return to her Venice Beach home after her $75,000 bail was paid. Lohan spent several weeks at Lynwood after a similar probation violation charge last summer.
Los Angeles Dstrict Attorney Jeanette Meyers will reportedly appeal the judge’s decision to reduce Lindsay’s charge from a grand theft to a misdemeanor. The downgraded charge reduces the amount of jail time Lohan could face if convicted. The star was previously offered a plea deal by Los Angeles prosecutors that included a 90-day jail sentence. She turned down the offer.
A pretrial hearing is set for May 11, with the actual trial scheduled to begin June 3. Lindsay, recently cast as Kim Gotti in the crime biopic Gotti: Three Generations, is set to begin filming on the flick in New York in the fall.
