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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