Actress will now go to trial; a preliminary hearing is set for April 22.
By James Montgomery
Lindsay Lohan
Photo: David McNew/ Getty Images
Lindsay Lohan will not accept a plea deal in her ongoing felony grand theft case, deciding instead to go to trial.
That's according to TMZ, who reported Tuesday that Lohan — charged in early February with felony grand theft after allegedly taking a $2,500 necklace from a Venice, California, jewelry store — had met with her lawyer, Shawn Holley, and opted not to take a plea being offered by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office. She will now proceed to trial before Judge Stephanie Sautner; a preliminary hearing in the case is set for April 22.
Late last month, Lohan was told by Judge Keith Schwartz that had she accepted the DA's deal — reportedly six months of jail time — she would have been found in violation of her probation and would serve time. "I don't care that you're Lindsay Lohan," the judge added, bluntly.
"One of the things about me is that I treat everybody the same," Schwartz said at the time. "What I look to in sentencing is, 'What is the prior record?' In this particular case, there has been so much speculation in the press [that] I'm just going to tell you a couple of things: If you plead in front of me, you are going to jail. There might be an issue about the amount of time, but if the case settles here, you will be going to jail."
By going to trial, Lohan now faces both jail and prison time — jail if Judge Sautner decides she's violated her probation, prison if she is convicted of grand theft — but the actress has long proclaimed her innocence on the theft charge, tweeting that she "was not raised to lie, cheat or steal" and saying in TV interviews that she "feels great."
In March, security-camera footage showing Lohan trying on jewelry and texting appeared on "Entertainment Tonight," who had apparently purchased 45 minutes of tape from the jewelry store in question.
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