Updated 2/9/11 at 2:10 PM. Los Angeles, CA—Lindsay Lohan will be starring as an accused felon in this real life drama. She will be appearing with her lawyer at the Airport (LAX) Court at 1:30 PM.Lohan will be served with a criminal complaint through her lawyer and advised of her rights. There should be no issue of bail assuming Lohan appears.
The rub here is a likely probation violation that may get Lohan taken into custody. That would bring about the question of bail.
Under the judicial microscope will be an allegation that the troubled actress purloined a $2,500.00 necklace from a Venice Jeweler. That will take many months if not over a year to resolve under most conditions.
The defense will be entitled to police investigative reports as part the discovery process. Lohan will need a top notch experienced criminal defense investigator to assist her lawyer in getting the evidence.
The whole thing sounds fishy to me because of the delay in reporting and because they knowingly let her leave the store wearing the merchandise. There also seems to be a Hollywood policy for jewelers and such to loan out their wares for marketing purposes.
That necklace now has an increased value not only because Lohan wore it but because of the controversy that suddenly surrounds it. That in and of itself, could have motivated the theft allegation.
UPDATE 2/9/11 2:10 PM:
Lohan was ordered to post $40,000 bail to secure her release on the theft charge and allegation of the Probation Violation.
There was talk of a “settlement” in this matter. That indicates that a misdemeanor plea agreement of some sort is in the works.
A conviction for a misdemeanor would cause a probation violation and undoubtedly a jail term as part of any agreement.
In court today the prosecutor alleged that Lohan had flowers sent to the “victim” and asked for an order precluding any future contact by Lohan or her agents. That order was granted with the exception of Lohan’s lawyer and or defense investigators.
Lohan remains to be fingerprinted, photographed and for bail to be posted by a waiting bondsman. I suspect that could take hours to complete.
Bail is to insure a defendant’s appearance in court and since Lohan came in without more than a summons indicates she in fairness should not be required to do more but promise to appear in the future. Bail here seems particularly punitive without a lack of evidence that she would abscond.
The judge went out of his way to admonish Lohan that she’d be jailed without bond should she be accused of any additional offenses pending the outcome of this theft case.
Comments
well, at least it wasn't a dead fish.