Gina Marie
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Witness Denies Selling Ryder Story
By Jill Serjeant
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (Reuters) - The former Saks security officer at the center of Winona Ryder's shoplifting trial was accused Thursday by defense lawyers of selling her story, inventing testimony and of rifling through the actress's Filofax for movie star phone numbers.
But Colleen Rainey withstood the grueling 90-minute cross-examination from defense attorney Mark Geragos, leaving the defense 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.
The prosecution later wrapped up its case, leaving open the question of whether Ryder will testify when the defense opens its case on Friday.
"I can't tell you now. I'm gonna talk to her," Geragos told reporters when asked if the Oscar-nominated actress would take the witness stand.
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 worth of designer goods and could face up to three years in prison if convicted.
Rainey acknowledged having omitted some details about how she saw Ryder in the fitting room in her initial reports, notably that she was peering through slats in the door.
Rainey, who is now an MBA 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.
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.
"Is that to sell this story?" Geragos asked.
"No" Rainey replied.
"Have you sold the Winona Ryder story?" Geragos asked her again later. "No," she said.
Geragos accused Rainey of rifling through Ryder's Filofax after the "Girl, Interrupted" star was taken to a Saks basement office.
"Didn't you go through her Filofax and say 'That's Bono's number, that's so and so's number?" he demanded.
"No" Rainey replied.
By Jill Serjeant
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (Reuters) - The former Saks security officer at the center of Winona Ryder's shoplifting trial was accused Thursday by defense lawyers of selling her story, inventing testimony and of rifling through the actress's Filofax for movie star phone numbers.
But Colleen Rainey withstood the grueling 90-minute cross-examination from defense attorney Mark Geragos, leaving the defense 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.
The prosecution later wrapped up its case, leaving open the question of whether Ryder will testify when the defense opens its case on Friday.
"I can't tell you now. I'm gonna talk to her," Geragos told reporters when asked if the Oscar-nominated actress would take the witness stand.
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 worth of designer goods and could face up to three years in prison if convicted.
Rainey acknowledged having omitted some details about how she saw Ryder in the fitting room in her initial reports, notably that she was peering through slats in the door.
Rainey, who is now an MBA 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.
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.
"Is that to sell this story?" Geragos asked.
"No" Rainey replied.
"Have you sold the Winona Ryder story?" Geragos asked her again later. "No," she said.
Geragos accused Rainey of rifling through Ryder's Filofax after the "Girl, Interrupted" star was taken to a Saks basement office.
"Didn't you go through her Filofax and say 'That's Bono's number, that's so and so's number?" he demanded.
"No" Rainey replied.
