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Lindsay Lohan remains free on bond after probation revoked

By Alan Duke, CNN
Actress Lindsay Lohan is seen wearing the necklace that's at the center of the felony grand theft case against her.
Actress Lindsay Lohan is seen wearing the necklace that's at the center of the felony grand theft case against her.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Actress pleads not guilty at arraignment
  • Lohan is formally charged with felony grand theft
  • The prosecutor must prove Lohan intended to steal the necklace
  • The actress allegedly walked out of a Venice, California, store with the jewelry

Tune in to "Showbiz Tonight" at 5 and 11 p.m. on HLN for the latest on Lindsay Lohan's new run-in with the law.

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Actress Lindsay Lohan, facing a new felony grand theft charge, will remain free on bond after a Los Angeles judge Wednesday revoked her probation in a previous case.

Lohan faces a February 23 hearing on the alleged probation violation before Superior Court Judge Keith Schwartz, who could send her back to jail.

The actress pleaded not guilty to the theft of a necklace allegedly taken from a California jewelry store last month.

Schwartz revoked Lohan's probation in a 2007 drunken driving case. He issued a $20,000 bond for the theft charge and an additional $20,000 bond in the probation revocation.

At her arraignment, Schwartz warned Lohan that she could be put back in jail if she violates the law.

"Please don't push your luck, I am telling you, the judge said. "Things will be different."

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The theft charge announced by prosecutors Wednesday comes five weeks after the actress was released from court-ordered drug rehabilitation and less than three weeks before a judge said he might free her from supervised probation from the drunken driving conviction.

Lohan was smiling at times as she sat at the defense table before the arraignment. She wore a tight-fitting white knot dress, with her long blond hair loosely tied in the back. Lohan wore what appeared to be several diamond bracelets on her right arm, complemented by diamond earrings and a large diamond-filled ring on her right hand.

The 24-year-old actress allegedly walked out of the Venice store with the necklace on January 22, a statement from the district attorney's office said. "The owner reported the theft to the Los Angeles Police Department, which investigated the allegation and presented evidence to the D.A.'s office last week."

The necklace was handed over to police just before they were to execute a search warrant to look for the jewelry in Lohan's Venice, California, apartment last week, police said.

Under California's grand theft law, prosecutor Danette Meyers must prove that Lohan intended to steal the jewelry and that she carried it away from the store.

The penalty for a felony grand theft conviction ranges from 16 months to three years in a California state prison, varying based on the value of the property stolen and the criminal record of the defendant.

Shoplifting offenses are charged as petty theft if the property taken is valued at less than $950. The store owner claims the "one of a kind" necklace was worth $2,500, police said.

The judge could reduce the charge to a misdemeanor, which would carry a prison sentence of no more than one year.

"We vehemently deny these allegations and, if charges are filed, we will fight them in court, not in the press," Holley said Saturday.

Lohan is on supervised probation for a drunken driving conviction. The judge overseeing her case told her in October that he would send her to jail for 180 days if she violated her probation rules before her next court appearance, set for February 25.

She left the Betty Ford clinic a month ago after three months in a drug rehabilitation program. The rehab stint persuaded the judge not to send Lohan to jail for failing a drug test.