Badda-bling
When word got out about Lindsay Lohan's latest misfortune. a lot of people thought "What, again?" Some wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt. Not that $2500 necklaces get misplaced everyday. It's just that Lindsay's latest excuse sounded like it might hold just enough water, again.Lindsay was accused of stealing the necklace from a jeweler she occasionally does some business with. The store owner claims that Lindsay took it without permission and that there's video surveillance footage to back that up. Lindsay - who originally said "What necklace?" claimed that she was loaned the necklace for an event - as is commonly done in Tinseltown. She further went onto say that her stylist was supposed to bring it back, but fucked up. So it really isn't her fault again. Problem is that while CCTV shows Lindsay wearing the piece, it doesn't explain how it got out the door with her, and so doesn't disprove her story.
Now when you have 2 low credibility version of the same story going head to head that usually leads to court; which is wear this thing is going. Lindsay got charged for this, although I'm not sure that there has been a time in the past 5 years when Lindsay wasn't facing charges or under probation - and now has to face a judge. She being charged with a felony this time, too. SO this could mean slammer time for Lohan to the tune of 2 years. How's that for facing the music?
The state has appointed a kick ass prosecutor too. That would be L.A. County Deputy District Attorney Danette Meyers. Meyers has gone up against Lindsay before, and has always gone for the max. This time seems to be no exception. In fact Lindsay past history of alleged thieving is being entered into evidence. What history is that? Well just to keep everyone current here are some episodes from Lohan's checkered past:
-- She was suspected of taking a $400,000 necklace in 2009 from an Elle Magazine photo shoot.
-- She was accused of stealing a $12,000 mink coat in 2008 from a NYC nightclub.
-- She was accused of taking a $35,000 Rolex from a "friend" in 2010.
So Sticky Fingers has been busy - allegedly. Believe it or not she skated on each of these charges, despite dodging out numerous probation violations over her drinking driving episode. This was because the powers that be wanted to cut the girl some slack, and because Lindsay has a way of coming up with just the right excuse. Stuff like "The coke in my pocket isn't mine because this isn't my coat. I picked it up by mistake when I was leaving the big coke party!" So she's not guilty of coke possession because she grabbed some one else's coat with their stash in it. Not like that probably wasn't the idea, but it creates just enough doubt to make proving intent impossible. So Lohan goes free while anyone halfway honest would've been dropped in the pokey.
Now Lindsay is poised to walk free once again. The fact that she's come up with more "plausible deniablity" shows that her defense strategy is already in place - "I didn't do it, again". It might even shed some light on what really went down. The defense only works if Lindsay really was loaned the neck piece. Which doesn't mean that she didn't have criminal intentions. Imagine if you will a scene in a mid range LA boutique. New sales person is working the cash when in comes La Lohan. She spends sometime chatting up your boss, and they get along like 2 old friends. Boss then takes off telling you to "Take good care of my friend". Next thing Lindsay is asking is she can borrow a mid range priced item off the menu - reassuring you that your boss let's her do this all the time, and she'll totally have it back manana.
That leaves you with a difficult decision. You can play it safe and tell her to shove off, except that this kind of transaction happens all the time in Hollywood. Celebrities are special people and exceptions are often made for them. Besides you've just seen the boss schmoozing it up with her. So do you want to take a chance and piss off your boss? If it doesn't work out you'll be looking for a new job without a current reference. Besides it's not like she picked out the biggest diamond nugget in the place and said "I'll be leaving with this one". So you're left to your own judgment. That probably resulted in the boss coming back a few hours later, and blowing a gasket while screaming "Do you know what you've done? You've just let $25oo walk out the front door!"
This is were we get into the area of intend. Poor judgment in a salesperson isn't necessarily a criminal matter. Except that if this is how it went down you can almost hear how the wheels in Lohan's head were turning at the time: "New girl here - unsure of herself, eager to please and fit in, I can handle her!" So she probably deliberately intimidated the girl into letting her walk out with the goods. That left the store owner with the ticklish problem of getting the merch back.
It also leaves the DA's with the ticklish problem of how to handle Lohan again this time. Look for this to clue up with Lindsay walking, and the store employee - who will be pressured by their boss to say Lindsay took it (and so can look forward to keeping the job until the trial is over and their services are no longer needed) - to face possible perjury charges. If you're gonna play fast and loose then you better know where the line is, and no one ever said Lindsay was stupid!
