Ryder found guilty on 2 of 3 counts

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- Actress Winona Ryder was convicted Wednesday of stealing $5,500 worth of high-fashion merchandise from Saks Fifth Avenue last year. \nThe jury found the star of "Girl, Interrupted" guilty of felony grand theft and vandalism but cleared her of burglary, a count that required proof of advance intent. The panel reached the verdict after 5 1/2 hours of deliberations over two days. \nShe faces anywhere from probation to three years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 6. \nThe two-time Oscar nominee, who marked her 31st birthday in the defendant's chair, was arrested last Dec. 12 as she left the Beverly Hills store, her arms laden with packages. \nRyder did not testify during the trial, which lasted two weeks. \nThe prosecution told the jury that Ryder came to Saks with larceny on her mind, bringing shopping bags, a garment bag and scissors to snip security tags off items. \n"She came, she stole, she left. End of story," Deputy District Attorney Ann Rundle said in her closing argument. "Nowhere does it say people steal because they have to. People steal out of greed, envy, spite, because it's there or for the thrill." \nJurors were shown videotape of Ryder moving through the store laden with goods, and Saks security workers testified that after she was detained she apologetically told them a director had told her to shoplift to prepare for a movie role. \nHer attorney denounced the security guards as liars even before the trial began. \nAt the start of her shopping trip, she paid more than $3,000 for a jacket and two blouses. The defense said Ryder believed the store would keep her account "open" while she shopped and would charge her later. But there was no evidence of an account. \nIn closing arguments Monday, defense attorney Mark Geragos suggested that the store, trying to avoid a lawsuit, conspired with employees to invent a story that would make Ryder appear to be a thief and vandal. \nGeragos ridiculed the charge that Ryder vandalized merchandise by cutting holes in clothes when removing the security tags. \n"This woman is known for her fashion sense," he said. "Was she going to start a new line of 'Winona wear' with holes in it?" \nHe carried a hair bow that she allegedly had stolen over to her, placed it on her head and said, "Can anyone see Ms. Ryder with this on top of her head? Does that make sense?" \nSettlement talks between the defense and prosecution failed, but just before trial the district attorney's office agreed to dismiss a drug charge after a doctor said he had given her two pills found in her possession when she was arrested. \nThe 12-member jury included several people with Hollywood connections, including producer Peter Guber, head of Mandalay Entertainment and a former head of Sony Entertainment Pictures. \nThe town raised a collective eyebrow at the inclusion of Guber, who presided over Sony when three successful Ryder films were made there. \nRyder has made some two-dozen films since 1986, including "Beetlejuice," "Heathers," "Mermaids," "Little Women," "The Age of Innocence," "Edward Scissorhands," "Bram Stoker's Dracula," "Reality Bites" and "Mr. Deeds."\nShe received her Academy Award nominations for "Little Women" (best actress) and for "The Age of Innocence" (supporting actress).\nRyder was raised by parents who were part of the counterculture revolution in the 1960s. Her godfather was LSD guru Timothy Leary. \nIn 1993, Ryder posted a $200,000 reward in the kidnap-murder case of a 12-year-old girl, Polly Klaas, in Petaluma, Calif., where the actress grew up. When Ryder was charged with shoplifting, Polly's father, Mark, came to legal proceedings to support her.