Jurors Watch Winona Security Tape
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Winona Ryder marked her 31st birthday Tuesday in the defendant's chair as she and jurors watched security video of a Saks Fifth Avenue shopping expedition that led to theft charges.
A running commentary was supplied by Ken Evans, the security chief at the Beverly Hills store who testified Monday that the actress told him a director had instructed her to shoplift to prepare for a movie role.
Ryder is accused of stealing items totaling $5,560 last December. The Girl, Interrupted star could get up to three years in prison.
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The video showed Ryder examining a $1,595 white Gucci slip dress with a fringe hem. Evans pointed out to jurors how Ryder took the dress off its hanger and threw it over her arm.
As she moved through departments, Ryder wore a black hat with a price tag. After she entered two dressing rooms, the hat ended up in a shopping bag and other items disappeared from view.
At the end of her shopping, Ryder was seen chatting with a sales clerk and then paying more than $3,000 for a leather bomber jacket and two tops.
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The video ended with Ryder leaving the store and being confronted by a security guard and two others who followed her out. They immediately took her shopping bags and led her back into the store.
Separately, a state appeals court ruled Tuesday that Superior Court Judge Elden Fox wrongly held secret hearings and sealed documents in the case.
The court ordered the documents unsealed following a request by The Associated Press, Los Angeles Times and Los Angeles Daily Journal. Fox was given the option of holding a hearing Thursday to detail why he wants the documents sealed, said attorney Susan Seager, who represents the news organizations.
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The appeals court said that so far the judge has failed to justify his actions.