Recently unsealed testimony from a number of young Hollywood stars convinced a Los Angeles Country grand jury to indict five suspects in what had become known in the media as the "Bling Ring" – a series of break-ins to celebrity homes between October 2008 and August 2009 – the Associated Press has learned.

Troubled actress Lindsay Lohan – who would herself be sentenced to jail time two weeks later – told the grand jury that fingerprints the burglars left on her walls left her "unnerved."
"That night I went back to the house, I just felt… so violated and uncomfortable that I literally packed as much stuff as I could," Lohan told the jurors, adding that the break-in represented a violation of the "only private space" in her highly-reported life. 

Lohan had a fur coat, two paintings, and jewelry and clothing stolen during the break-in.

"O.C." star Rachel Bilson lost something more personal when her house was burgled – her mother's engagement ring. After the burglary, Bilson told the grand jury, she wouldn't sleep in her bedroom for a month. She said she had been so scared that she considered selling her house.

Orlando Bloom, of the Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean film franchises, lost about a half-million dollars worth of possessions to the Bling Ring, including a collection of watches that he had kept hidden. Bloom testified that while the monetary loss faded, he was finding it difficult to trust people. "It's just awful because you are suddenly second-guessing everything… It's really about who is it, who am I starting to question?" he said.

Brian Austin Green, whose house was the last one targeted, said that in his case, the burglary had been so stealthy that he didn't realize his home had been invaded until a detective notified him that his Sig Sauer handgun had turned up.

Reality star Audrina Partridge and socialite Paris Hilton were also victimized in the Bling Ring burglaries and testified before the grand jury.

The celebrities' heartfelt words on the stand prompted the jurors to indict Nicholas Frank Prugo, Rachel Lee, Roy Lopez Jr, Courtney Leigh Ames and Diana Tamayo on charges of felony residential burglary. On July 2, all five pleaded not guilty. A sixth member of the ring pleaded out and served time; the remaining five will stand trial and are due in court on September 20 for a pre-trial hearing. 

Photo credit: Justin_pets, carola_hoo

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British supermodel Naomi Campbell is no stranger to court appearances.

In 2000 she pleaded guilty to attacking her assistant with a telephone in a hotel room. In 2006 she admitted hitting her housekeeper with a jewel-encrusted mobile phone, and in 2008 she was arrested at London's Heathrow airport on suspicion of assaulting a police officer, then, earlier this year, a limousine driver filed a report with the New York City Police Department claiming that Campbell had slapped and punched him.

Now, Campbell would have to appear before The Hague Special Court, after being subpoenaed to testify against former Libyan president Charles Taylor, who allegedly gifted her with blood diamonds.

Campbell is believed to be in possession of one blood diamond, but her ex-aide said she was actually given six stones.

Taylor is accused of fuelling a civil war in Sierra Leone and is said to have provided arms to rebel soldiers in return for rough, uncut diamonds.

Campbell met Taylor while she attended Nelson Mandela's Children's Fund in South Africa in 1997 and the story goes that the dictator was so smitten by the supermodel that he gave her a large diamond as a token of his affection.

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One of films' most anticipated moments has finally come around and movie buffs worldwide can utter a collective sigh of relief – Carrie Bradshaw finally got her diamond engagement ring.

As Sex and the City fans remember, at the end of the 2008 film, Carrie Bradshaw got engaged with diamond-encrusted blue satin Manolo Blahnik pumps, rather than a diamond-topped ring.

Well, the long anticipated Sex and the City 2 goes about solving that little hiccup and Carrie gets a ring – a 5-carat black diamond stunner designed by Itay Malkin.

The unique black diamond ring is set in 18-karat white gold and surrounded by 80 round natural colorless pave diamonds.

Back for another round, Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte sport jewelry throughout the film, but fans are only interested in one piece – the 5-carat diamond ring, of course.

The hefty carat weight makes for a talking point of its own, but the real buzz factor is the diamond's hue, which is not your classic, bright white.

In the final scene, Big presents Carrie with a black diamond ring, explaining "because you are not like anyone else."

According to a media release from Malkin, the search was on for black diamond rings. Writer/director Michael Patrick King and actress Sarah Jessica Parker, who plays Carrie, sifted through designs from more than 20 jewelry designers before selecting one of two rings anonymously submitted by Malkin.

Fans inspired to own a black diamond ring of their own, especially one like Carrie's, would be happy to know that the ring won't just live on film. Malkin has already said he intends on producing a replica ring in a limited-edition series, each stamped with the limited-edition serial number and certificate.

Other sparkles to get some coveted screen time in the film include colorful statement necklaces, oversized pendants, shoulder-grazing earrings and classic diamond jewelry, including Van Cleef and Arpels' "Vintage Alhambra" necklace in white mother-of-pearl and "Fleurette' diamond stud earrings, both set in 18-karat white gold.

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