Theft, Interrupted: Winona Charged

By Stephen M. Silverman

Friday February 01, 2002 01:15 PM EST

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Winona Ryder was charged in Beverly Hills Superior Court on Friday with four felony offenses in connection with her Dec. 12 arrest for allegedly shoplifting from the Saks Fifth Avenue department store in Beverly Hills, reports Reuters. The "Girl, Interrupted" star, 30, faces separate counts each of grand theft, commercial burglary, vandalism and possession of a controlled substance, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said in a statement. She currently remains free on a $20,000 bond and is scheduled to be arraigned in the same court on Feb. 8. In its Jan. 7, 2002 issue, PEOPLE reported that Ryder was observed inside the Saks branch and, authorities say, at one point pulled out scissors and pried security sensors off several items -- including, according to a Saks staffer, a Judith Leiber handbag worth more than $1,000 -- then put them into a shopping bag she had brought with her. When Ryder left the store, security officers stopped her on the sidewalk and called police, who arrested her for allegedly pilfering $4,760 worth of merchandise and possessing painkilling drugs -- believed to be Demerol, Percocet and Vicodin, all addictive narcotics -- without a prescription. Beverly Hills Police Lt. Gary Gilmond described Ryder as "polite and cooperative" throughout the four hours she spent in custody until her lawyer Mark Geragos posted her bail just before midnight. The attorney has since claimed in statements to the press that the entire incident was "a misunderstanding" that ultimately will be dismissed in court. Geragos could not immediately be reached for comment on Friday.