Latest News!
- Katie Holmes: I'm No Wallflower
- Twilight Star Robert Pattinson Kisses & Tells
- Gwyneth Shares Her Top Picks for Holiday Gifts
- Jennifer Aniston 'Longs' for Motherhood
- Anne Hathaway, Clint Eastwood Named Year's Best by Film Board
- Why Jazmine Sullivan Is Excited About Her 5 Grammy Nods
- Spencer Pratt Defends Marriage to Heidi Montag
People Top 5
LAST UPDATE: Thursday December 04, 2008 04:10PM EST
PEOPLE Top 5 are the most-viewed stories on the site over the past three days, updated every 60 minutes
Winona: No Drug Charge, Trial Date Set
The actress's trial on charges of grand theft, commercial burglary and vandalism will start Oct. 24, with her drug charge dismissed, a judge rules.
Originally posted Wednesday October 16, 2002 01:00 PM EDT
Winona Ryder is off the hook as far as drug possession charges are concerned, but she will still go to trial on allegations that she stole nearly $6,000 worth of merchandise from a Saks Fifth Avenue store in Beverly Hills.
A day after the judge postponed her case because she was a no-show, the "Girl, Interrupted" star, 30, was back in court Wednesday as Beverly Hills Superior Court Judge Elden Fox dropped her drug charge and ordered an Oct. 24 trial date for her shoplifting case, Reuters reports.
The actress, outfitted in a cream-colored coat and dress, kept silent during the 10-minute hearing and was quickly escorted away afterwards. Her lead attorney, Mark Geragos, told reporters that his client looked forward to clearing her name and declared, "I don't go to trial unless I think I can win."
The jurist granted the prosecution's request to drop a felony drug possession charge against Ryder, who allegedly was found with two tablets of the prescription painkiller Oxycodone at the time of her arrest last December.
Geragos has maintained that she had a valid prescription for the pills, which "were prescribed for her by a doctor for a broken arm," he said. After receiving a sworn statement from a defense witness, prosecutors agreed to drop the charge.
To the reporters on Wednesday, Geragos described Ryder's spirits as high. "Winona has expressed to me that she wants to go to trial. She wants to put this behind her."
Ryder will be tried on the felony charges of grand theft, commercial burglary and vandalism. She has pleaded not guilty to all three counts, which carry a maximum three-year prison sentence.
A day after the judge postponed her case because she was a no-show, the "Girl, Interrupted" star, 30, was back in court Wednesday as Beverly Hills Superior Court Judge Elden Fox dropped her drug charge and ordered an Oct. 24 trial date for her shoplifting case, Reuters reports.
The actress, outfitted in a cream-colored coat and dress, kept silent during the 10-minute hearing and was quickly escorted away afterwards. Her lead attorney, Mark Geragos, told reporters that his client looked forward to clearing her name and declared, "I don't go to trial unless I think I can win."
The jurist granted the prosecution's request to drop a felony drug possession charge against Ryder, who allegedly was found with two tablets of the prescription painkiller Oxycodone at the time of her arrest last December.
Geragos has maintained that she had a valid prescription for the pills, which "were prescribed for her by a doctor for a broken arm," he said. After receiving a sworn statement from a defense witness, prosecutors agreed to drop the charge.
To the reporters on Wednesday, Geragos described Ryder's spirits as high. "Winona has expressed to me that she wants to go to trial. She wants to put this behind her."
Ryder will be tried on the felony charges of grand theft, commercial burglary and vandalism. She has pleaded not guilty to all three counts, which carry a maximum three-year prison sentence.
Check out more on... Winona Ryder
Latest video
Star Talk
Michael Phelps: From Speedo to Tuxedo!
SI's Sportsman of the Year talks about his latest honor – and being named one of PEOPLE's Sexiest Men Alive (with photographs by Heinz Kluetmeier)
Advertisement
Today's Photos
What's Hot on People.com
Promotion
Treat Yourself! 4 Preview Issues
















