USA: DEFENCE LAWYERS IN WINONA RYDER SHOPLIFTING TRIAL GRILL FORMER DEPARTMENT STORE SECURITY OFFICER COLLEEN RAINEY

Record ID: 640614

  • Title: USA: DEFENCE LAWYERS IN WINONA RYDER SHOPLIFTING TRIAL GRILL FORMER DEPARTMENT STORE SECURITY OFFICER COLLEEN RAINEY
  • Date: 31st October 2002
  • Summary: (W1) BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FILE) (REUTERS) PAN DOWN: EXTERIOR OF SAKS FIFTH AVENUE STORE WHERE RYDER ALLEGEDLY STOLE ITEMS
  • Embargoed: 15th November 2002 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: BEVERLY HILLS & LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES AND VARIOUS FILM LOCATIONS
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Crime,Entertainment,People
  • Reuters ID: LVAAYZ8QDK1IE1442GK8XCTPWC3O
  • Story Text: The former department store security officer at the centre of Winona Ryder's shoplifting trial was accused by defense lawyers of selling her story, inventing testimony and of rifling through the actress's address book for movie star phone numbers.
    Colleen Rainey withstood the gruelling 90-minute cross-examination from defense attorney Mark Geragos, leaving the defense still reeling from her main accusations: that she saw Ryder cut off security tags from handbags in a dressing room of the posh Saks Fifth Avenue store in Beverly Hills.
    Rainey acknowledged having omitted some details about how she saw Ryder in the fitting room in her initial reports to police and to prosecutors, especially that she was peering through slats into the fitting room.
    Rainey, who is now a student, said that because of time constraints she "did not have the luxury of writing out everything ... I did mention I observed her in the fitting room stall but I did not mention the slats," she told the jury.
    Ryder, 31, denies three counts of grand theft, burglary and vandalism stemming form her visit to the posh Saks Fifth Avenue store in Beverly Hills last December. She is accused of shoplifting some $5,500 (USD) worth of designer goods.
    Geragos, a celebrity lawyer who claims Saks staff and prosecutors singled out Ryder for harsh treatment because she is a star, presented documents showing that Rainey had set up a "writing services" company with her struggling screenwriter boyfriend just two weeks after charges were formally filed against Ryder in March.
    Geragos implied in his questioning that she had done so to sell her own version of the Winona Ryder story.
    "No," she said, noting she was burdened with student loans and was still driving a 1991 Toyota car.
    Geragos accused Rainey of rifling through Ryder's Filofax after the petite star was detained in a Saks basement security office. Geragos accused the guard of calling out the names and numbers of celebrities from Ryder's Filofax, including Keanu Reeves and Bono. He also asked her if she had called the actress a bitch or thrown anything at her. Rainey answered no to all questions.
    Ryder, dressed in a dark jacket and pants and a cream shirt, glared at Rainey as she stuck to her story, denying accusations that she had made up a tale about Ryder claiming she was shoplifting as part of research for a forthcoming movie.
    Ryder's most recent movies have been "Mr. Deeds,"
    co-starring Adam Sandler, and "Simone," with Al Pacino.
    It was not clear whether Ryder would take the stand in her own defense. The actress could face up to three years in prison if convicted.
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