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Injury delays Ryder's court hearing

Lawyer says actress fractured right elbow

Ryder winces as the deputy escorting her is hit in the head by a television camera.

BEVERLY HILLS, California (CNN) -- A hearing to determine whether Winona Ryder will stand trial on shoplifting and drug possession charges was delayed until Thursday after the actress apparently was injured when she was jostled while entering the courthouse Monday.

Ryder and a bailiff were jostled as they squeezed through a crowd of reporters and camera crews following a recess. The bailiff was hit on the head by a TV camera.

Both were taken to see a doctor afterward. Ryder was holding a bandage on her right elbow as she was driven away.

Her lawyer, Mark Geragos, told CNN's "Larry King Live" the 30-year-old actress suffered "a fracture on the elbow area" in the crush, which Geragos described as a "rugby scrum."

"It appears that it's a clean fracture, so it looks like it'll heal," Geragos said. "She's quite a trouper. She wanted to stay there and continue with the preliminary hearing.

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"I'm looking at the arm and telling her, 'I'm not going to sit here as your arm's blowing up.' The deputy's telling her she's not going to allow her to do it. We're both telling her that, and she's saying 'No, I want to get through this, I want to deal with it.'"

The hearing was postponed until Thursday, said Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles district attorney's office. It already has been postponed four times.

"The hearing was postponed so she could have her arm taken care of," Robison said.

Ryder is charged with one felony count each of grand theft, commercial burglary, vandalism and possession of a controlled substance -- oxycodone, a painkiller -- stemming from an alleged shoplifting incident last December in Beverly Hills. She has pleaded not guilty to all four counts.

Police contend Ryder shoplifted numerous women's hair accessories, handbags and various items of women's clothing, worth more than $4,000 from a Saks Fifth Avenue store.

Monday's session began hours behind schedule after the Oscar-nominated actress arrived late.

Kenneth Evans, a security guard at Saks Fifth Avenue, took the stand to testify what he saw as he monitored video cameras in the store's back room.

Geragos maintains his client is a victim of prosecutorial overzealousness.

The actress avoided reporters earlier when she arrived at court. Wearing a yellow flowered dress and light coat, she sat quietly at the defense table as the hearing began.

Ryder's elbow was bandaged when she left the courtroom.

If the case goes to trial and Ryder is convicted on all four counts, she could face a sentence of up to three years and eight months.

The 30-year-old star of "Girl, Interrupted" posted $20,000 bail shortly after her arrest.

Ryder was nominated for Oscars for 1993's "The Age of Innocence" and 1994's "Little Women." She co-stars next with Adam Sandler in "Mr. Deeds," opening June 28.