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Ryder jury deliberations continue to Wednesday
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- The jury in the shoplifting trial of Winona Ryder adjourned Tuesday without reaching a verdict, meaning the panel will assemble again Wednesday to discuss whether the actress stole more than $5,000 in goods from a tony Beverly Hills store. The jury began deliberating Monday, following closing arguments that weighed the credibility of evidence and testimony about the alleged crime. Prosecutor Ann Rundle argued that proof had been shown the star intended to steal from the Beverly Hills Saks Fifth Avenue last year, even displaying a "Top 10" list of reasons Ryder should be found guilty and a cartoon poster with various alibis. Defense Attorney Mark Geragos countered that Ryder's accusers were never consistent and urged the jury to deliver a not-guilty verdict. "The quality of the testimony doesn't support an abiding conviction," Geragos said. The jury was scheduled to resume deliberations at 9:30 a.m. (12:30 p.m. ET) Tuesday. Closing arguments began after the defense rested without calling Ryder to testify. Rundle's list, titled "Top 10 Things the Law Doesn't Say," jokingly held that: 1. Only poor people steal. 2. If there's no video, there's no crime. 3. Crime is OK, if your director tells you to do it. 4. It's not stealing if you pay for some items. 5. The D.A. (district attorney) must call every single person working at Saks (Fifth Avenue). 6. Only defense attorneys and celebrities drive nice cars. 7. If it's not in the first report, it didn't happen. 8. If you sell $200 hair bows, you deserve to get ripped off. 9. Two wrongs make a right. 10. There's a higher standard of proof for celebrities. Rundle also displayed a large picture of Ryder's head with cartoon-like word balloons coming out of her mouth, each one containing a different explanation Ryder had given for the charges against her. "She came, she stole, she left," Rundle said. Ryder, 31, is accused of stealing merchandise worth more than $5,500 last December. The actress, star of "The Age of Innocence" and "Little Women" -- films that earned her Academy Award nominations and one Golden Globe award -- is charged with felony grand theft, burglary and vandalism. Ryder pleaded not guilty to all the charges and remains free on $20,000 bond. Among the items she is accused of taking are a $750 blouse and a $540 purse. If convicted, she could be sentenced to as many as three years in prison on each count. Geragos blamed the allegations on a conspiracy by Saks staff to protect the store from liability. He pointed out that a Saks theft investigator's damning account of Ryder cutting sensor tags off merchandise was not initially given to police, and that the store at first said there was only one surveillance video tape and later produced a second. "You have seen people change their testimony repeatedly," Geragos said. "There was a collapse of objective evidence and a collapse of proof." In her arguments, Rundle told the jury the state had successfully proved Ryder had "intent to steal" because "she brought her own burglary tools," including scissors to remove garment tags, a garment bag and a plastic bag filled with nothing but tissue paper for wrapping up items. Last week, prosecution witness Colleen Rainey, the former investigator for Saks' theft-and-loss department, testified she saw Ryder take orange-handled scissors out of her purse and use them to cut out large sensor tags, leaving large holes in designer garments. Geragos openly wondered to the jury whether someone planted the scissors on Ryder. He also showed video of a store clerk entering a dressing room area with such a pair of scissors, speculating the shears could have been left there for Rainey to find. "I invite you to speculate," Geragos told the jury. He then held up an Yves St. Laurent blouse with a hole Ryder allegedly cut and asked, "Would she really start a new fashion in 'Winona Wear' by cutting holes in this blouse?" Ryder appeared stoic, taking notes as she has throughout the trial. Also taking notes was jury member Peter Guber, former head of Sony Entertainment. Though Guber said he has never met Ryder, questions were raised about his ability to be impartial because Sony produced three of Ryder's pictures during Guber's tenure. The judge spoke with Guber and determined he could remain on the jury. The day after Ryder's arrest, Beverly Hills Police Lt. Gary Gilmond said "security officers observed both visually and by video Miss Ryder to remove sensormatic tags, which are security tags." But Gilmond admitted when he testified that he had based his statement on a written report by a Saks security guard that indicated store cameras had captured Ryder cutting off the tags. He said his statement was in error. Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office, likewise admitted that a statement from the district attorney was erroneous when it mentioned the claim by Beverly Hills police that Ryder was captured on camera cutting off the tags. Geragos questioned the motive of the district attorney's office, but Gibbons testified the statement was simply her error and she had never seen the supposed tape. Rainey testified last week that after she peeked through the slats in the dressing room door to see Ryder using the scissors to cut off the tags. When she confronted Ryder, she said, the actress said she was researching a movie role. Mara Buxbaum, a publicist for Ryder, said the movie role story was the result of security guards at the store "twisting and morphing" their conversation with the actress after she was detained. CNN Correspondent Rusty Dornin contributed to this report.
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