Lindsay Lohan to be Charged with Felony Grand Theft for Alleged Heist of $2,500 Necklace
(CBS) Recently released from rehab, "Mean Girls" movie star Lindsay Lohan appeared to be on the rebound. Instead, the troubled actress seems to have taken one step forward and two back, with a new set of criminal charges.
Lohan is expected to be charged Wednesday with felony grand theft stemming from the alleged heist of a $2,500 necklace from a Venice, California jewelry store.
The actress was seen donning the necklace days after the store had reported it stolen to the Los Angeles Police Department, which investigated the allegation and presented evidence to the District Attorney's office last week, reports Radar Online.
Lohan claims she was loaned the necklace and that she could keep it if she was photographed wearing it in a major publication.
"It all comes down to criminal intent. That's the definition. You take something from someone else with the intent to take it and keep
it yourself," CBS News legal analyst Jack Ford said on "The Early Show" Wednesday.
"If I'm her lawyer I'm saying 'Look, maybe this was a terrible misunderstanding and maybe she really didn't have the permission of the jewelry store, but she thought she did. For whatever reason she thought, either a conversation she had with a worker there or something her assistant said, she thought that she had the okay to do this," Ford continued. "When she found out she didn't, [she] turned it right in again. So it was a misunderstanding but not a crime.' That's what I suspect you'll see," Ford told "The Early Show."
According to RadarOnline, Lohan who is also facing possible criminal charges after an incident with a Betty Ford Clinic worker on Dec. 12 will appear at 1:30 p.m. at the Airport Superior Court.
If convicted, the 24-year-old who is on probation for a 2007 misdemeanor DUI case could be sent to a state prison for up to 3 years.