Thursday, February 10, 2011

Lindsay Lohan's lawyer reveals she will agree to a plea bargain... if she can avoid jail

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

In court: Lindsay Lohan arrives at Los Angeles Superior Courthouse yesterday in a white clinging dress


- You're no different from anyone else - you have to obey the law, judge tells her in court hearing

- She milks attention in a clinging white dress, then meets $40,000 bail

- Claims she 'tried to leave store in diamond earring four days before theft'

- Lohan tweets 'I would never steal'


Lindsay Lohan's lawyer has revealed that her famous client is willing to accept a plea bargain over the alleged theft of a $2,500 gold necklace - if she can avoid jail.

Her lawyer Shawn Chapman Holley said that while she was convinced the grand theft charge was 'entirely defensible' Lohan was looking to resolve the case quickly so she could 'move forward'.

Lohan also professed her innocence today, as she tweeted that she 'would never steal'.

'I would never steal, in case people are wondering,' she wrote. 'I was not raised to lie, cheat, or steal... also, what i wear to court shouldn't be front page news.

it's just absurd.'

Holley told CNN: 'Ms Lohan maintains her innocence, and now that I've seen the police reports, I believe the case is entirely defensible. Having said that, we will entertain a discussion concerning a plea if it means no jail so that she can move forward with her recovery and her career.'

Her revelation came as it was claimed that just four days before the alleged theft of the gold necklace, Lohan attempted to walk out of the same Los Angeles jewellery store with a diamond earring.

According to a police report the actress was in the Kamofie & Company jewellers in the Venice area of LA on January 18 and tried on a pair of 18 carat gold white diamond earrings.

She then took one out, continued to shop, before going to leave when she was stopped by a clerk who noticed the remaining earring.


Crime scene: Fresh reports say the actress attempted to walk out of the Kamofie & Company jewellery store in the Venice area of LA with a diamond earring, four days before her alleged theft of a $2,500 gold necklace


Lohan had also left her own, more expensive earrings on the counter.
Celebrity website TMZ quoted the police report as stating: 'Ms Lohan gathered her things and started to leave the jewellery store without making a purchase. Ms Lohan's hair was flipped to one side covering the diamond earring.

'[The clerk] stopped her and reminded Ms. Lohan she was still wearing the earring. Ms Lohan laughed, admitted to her mistake and removed the earring from her ear and returned it to [the clerk].'

Yesterday Lindsay pleaded not guilty as she appeared in court charged with the theft of a $2,500 gold necklace from the same store on January 22, four days after the earring incident.

The star, who chose a figure-hugging short white dress for the occasion, received a tough grilling in the Los Angeles Superior Courthouse.

She was warned she faced jail if she committed any crime, no matter how small, before her next hearing on February 23.



Paying close attention: Lohan rests her fingers on the desk as she listens to the judge's warning in court


Superior Court Judge Keith Schwartz told the star: 'If you violate the law I will remand you and set no bail.'

Just to make himself clear he added: 'Look around this room. Everybody else has to follow the law. You're no different than anyone else. So please, don't push your luck.'

Lohan looked composed with her air tied back as she walked into the courthouse wearing sunglasses.

She was quoted on TMZ as telling a friend she had chosen white especially for its obvious connection with purity.

The LA County District Attorney's Office formally announced the charges yesterday morning.

Lohan was still on probation for a 2007 drink-driving offence when she carried out the alleged theft.


Serious: Lohan speaks to her lawyer Shawn Chapman Holley in court


'You're no different to anyone else': She was warned she faced jail if she committed any crime, no matter how small, before her next hearing on February 23


But unlike her previous indiscretions the charge is Lohan's first felony crime - which led the judge to give her a special warning.

'You're on a different situation now that a felony has been filed against you.'
The Mean Girls star said little during the brief hearing. She was then taken into custody and formally booked for the offence, with a mug shot taken.


Stolen? Lohan allegedly wearing the necklace


Her bail was set at $40,000, $20,000 for the probation violation, dating back to her 2007 arrest, with another $20,000 for the alleged theft.

In court the actress was banned from any further contact with the shop, after it emerged she had sent them flowers.

Ms Holley has said that the Mean Girls actress ‘vehemently denies’ the allegations. She added yesterday that Lohan had complied with the terms of her probation.

Sources connected to the case revealed to website TMZ that the district attorney's office considered three previous incidents linking Lindsay to stolen expensive items.

In 2008, she was accused of stealing a $12,000 mink coat from a NYC nightclub. And in 2009, she was suspected of taking a $400,000 necklace from an Elle Magazine photo shoot.

And just last year she was accused of taking a $35,000 Rolex from a 'friend'
Lindsay was not prosecuted or convicted in the three cases, but sources say prosecutors heavily considered the prior incidents in making their decision.


Big day at court: Hundreds of cameras click around Lindsay Lohan as she walks into the LAX courthouse


Adding to her worries the star is also currently under investigation by Riverside County prosecutors in California for allegedly attacking a Betty Ford employee during her spell in rehab earlier this year.

She is also on bail following a 2007 drink-driving conviction.

In relation to that case LA Superior Court Judge Elden Fox warned Lohan in October that any more slip-ups would be met with six months in jail.


click below to watch vdo clip

Lindsay Lohan outfit to the Court
Lindsay Lohan inside Court

source: dailymail