BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – Using a David Letterman-style Top 10 list, a prosecutor yesterday urged jurors to convict Winona Ryder of shoplifting and summed up the DA’s case in six words: “She came, she stole, she left.”
The chart titled the “Top 10 Things the Law Doesn’t say” attempted to debunk aspects of the defense’s case while adding a bit of playful ribbing to the otherwise by-the-book trial.
Under the prosecution’s category “only poor people steal,” Los Angeles Deputy DA Ann Rundle theorized that Ryder, who is paid millions of dollars per picture, may have pilfered from the Saks Fifth Avenue store in Beverly Hills for recreation.
Rundle made light of “Girl, Interrupted,” one of Ryder’s best-known movies, in which her character talks openly about stealing just for the rush.
“Some people steal for the thrill of it,” Rundle said.
Other snarky points jurors were asked to consider: “The law does not say only poor people steal,” poking fun at Ryder’s huge bank account, and “You sell $200 hair bows, you deserve to get ripped off,” referring to the items Ryder allegedly pilfered.
Rundle said she had no explanation why a successful and wealthy actress like Ryder would shoplift. But jurors don’t need to find a reasonable motive, only that Ryder left Saks without paying, the prosecutor said.
Rundle told jurors in her closing argument to ignore Ryder’s celebrity and focus on incriminating evidence.
“I am asking you to hold Ms. Ryder responsible for her conduct on Dec. 12. It’s a “simple case of theft … she came, she stole, she left. End of story.”
Ryder’s shoplifting trial entered its final phase yesterday without ever hearing the actress’s own direct account of the ill-fated shopping spree.
After hearing the defense’s summation, the panel of six men and six women will now decide whether the famous actress is guilty of felony burglary, theft and vandalism charges stemming from her Dec. 12 arrest at Saks.
The key evidence of Deputy DA Rundle’s case is a surveillance video that appears to show Ryder methodically removing merchandise from shelves and hangars before leaving Saks without paying.
Security guards and cops testified that Ryder first explained that an assistant was supposed to pay for the goods. The actress later said she was researching upcoming movie roles where she plays a shoplifter, according to prosecution witnesses.
Top Ten Things the Law Doesn’t Say:
1. Only poor people steal. (Just because Ryder is rich doesn’t mean she is automatically not guilty.)
2. No video, no crime. (There was no video of Ryder cutting sensor tags off merchandise, but the DA urged jurors to believe an eyewitness who saw the actress snip away.)
3. Crime is OK if your “director” tells you to do it. (Ryder told store security guards and cops she did it for movie research.)
4. It’s not stealing if you paid for some items. (Ryder did purchase four items from Saks on Dec. 12, but that didn’t give her the right to steal 20 other items.)
5. DA must call every person working at Saks that day. (The DA didn’t call every possible witness, only the store employees who actually saw Ryder steal.)
6. Only defense attorneys can drive nice cars. (Key prosecution Colleen Rainey shouldn’t be discounted because her husband, a wanna be screenwriter, recently bought a nice new car.)
7. If it is not in the first report, it didn’t happen. (In her first two reports Rainey failed to mention she saw Ryder cutting security tags.)
8. If you sell $200 hairbows, you deserve to get ripped off. (Ryder still committed a felony even if Saks merchandise is outrageously overpriced.)
9. Two wrongs don’t make a right. (The DA shouldn’t be punished for Beverly Hills cops and LA County presecutors who erred months ago when they mistakingly said they had videotape showing Ryder cutting security tags.)
10. There’s a higher standard of proof for celebrities.