Winona Ryder Charged With 4 Felonies
Actress Winona Ryder has been charged with four felonies in connection with her arrest for allegedly shoplifting at a department store in Beverly Hills, Calif. last
December.
Ryder, 30, star of the film "Girl, Interrupted" is charged with one count 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.
Ryder is accused of stealing nearly $4,8000 worth of merchandise and possessing painkillers without a prescription.
Beverly Hills police and store security officers at Saks Fifth Avenue on Wilshire Boulevard say they saw her remove security tags from the store items, put them in her bag and leave the store.
Her attorney, Mark Geragos, said at the time of the arrest that Ryder's arrest stemmed from a "misunderstanding" and predicted the case ultimately would be dismissed. He added that the painkillers Ryder was carrying with her had been prescribed and that she was not under the influence at the time of her arrest.
"We are shocked at what appear to be grossly exaggerated charges," Ryder's publicist, Mara Buxbaum, said in a statement Friday. "We look forward to the opportunity to explain and resolve these allegations."
Ryder earned Oscar nominations for playing the heroines in period films, "Little Women" and "The Age of Innocence." She also won acclaim for depicting a troubled young woman in "Girl, Interrupted" and starred in "Heathers," "Beetlejuice" and "Reality Bites."
Last year she co-starred with Richard Gere in the much-derided romantic drama "Autumn in New York.
A star since her teens, Ryder grew up in hippie surroundings, living at times in San Francisco and on a California commune. Her family's friends included beat poet Allen Ginsberg, and her godfather was psychedelic drug advocate Timothy Leary.
Ryder has maintained a grueling film schedule she has blamed for causing occasional mental breakdowns. She has been hospitalized several times for exhaustion and has told reporters she has sometimes tried to drown her anxiety attacks and depression in alcohol. She lost a pivotal role in 1990's "The Godfather: Part III" days before filming began because of anxiety and exhaustion.
Ryder also has been known for her social activism. In 1993, she offered a $200,000 reward to help find Polly Klaas, who was kidnapped at age 12 from Ryder's hometown of Petaluma, Calif., and later found dead.
Although Ryder is free on $20,000 bond, prosecutors recommended raising the bail to $30,000.
She's scheduled to be arraigned in Beverly Hills February 8.
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