Winona Found Guilty of Grand Theft, Vandalism

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – A Beverly Hills jury found Winona Ryder guilty of grand theft and vandalism charges in her shoplifting case on Wednesday.

The Oscar-nominated actress was acquitted of the charge of commercial burglary.

Ryder was accused of going on a spree at a Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills, Calif., without paying for $5,500 worth of merchandise.

The charges Ryder was convicted of carry a maximum sentence of up to three years in prison. However, prosecutor Ann Rundle said, "We will not be asking for any jail time. We are simply asking for Ms. Ryder to be responsible for her conduct."

Ryder, dressed in a maroon coatdress, was calm and showed little emotion in court. Her sentencing was set for Dec. 6.

The six-man, six-woman jury, which included a movie studio boss and several others who work in the entertainment business, deliberated for five hours on Tuesday and a half-hour on Wednesday.

The judge warned jurors that they were not allowed to accept payment for anything connected to the case for 90 days.

"Jerry Springer and Oprah Winfrey are off limits for three months," the judge said.

As Ryder stood waiting for a courthouse elevator surrounded by her legal team, friends and family after the trial, she was asked how she felt after the verdict.

"Thanks for asking," she said. "I just can't talk right now."

Defense attorney Mark Geragos said he also would not talk until after her sentencing but said he'd file a motion for a new trial at that time.

"I'm not going to speak because the case is still pending until Dec. 6," Geragos said.

During the case the prosecution suggested that Ryder shoplifted for the thrill of it while the defense portrayed her as the victim of overzealous security guards.

"She came, she stole, she left, end of story," said Rundle said in her closing argument.

Geragos suggested that Saks, trying to avoid a lawsuit, conspired with employees to invent a story that would make Ryder appear to be a thief and vandal.

Back in Dec. 2001, Ryder's arrest was international news. Interest in the case grew when Ryder appeared on Saturday Night Live and on MTV joking about her case.

During her preliminary hearing, Ryder was jostled by a crush of TV cameras and suffered an injury to her arm that delayed the case.

Settlement talks between the defense and prosecution failed, but just before trial the district attorney's office agreed to dismiss a drug charge against Ryder after a doctor said he had given her two pills found in her possession when she was arrested.

Ryder, who celebrated her 31st birthday under the unhappy circumstances of the trial, was nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award for Little Women and a Best Actress Oscar for The Age of Innocence. She has appeared in more than two dozen other movies, including Mr. Deeds, Reality Bites, Heathers and Edward Scissorhands.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.