(Reuters) – Los Angeles prosecutors on Tuesday declined to charge actress Lindsay Lohan or her assistant with theft from a Hollywood Hills home where they recently stayed, citing insufficient evidence.
Lohan, 26, was questioned by police after the home’s owner named her in connection with the alleged theft of about $6,400 worth of property. But after investigators completed their probe, Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Deborah L. Kranze declined to charge anyone, including Lohan and an assistant who was with her.
“We do not have sufficient evidence to prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt,” Kranze wrote in evaluating the case.
Kranze’s evaluation added that Lohan and the alleged theft victim had a “longstanding relationship,” and said potential eyewitnesses refused to become involved and no stolen property was found in the possession of Lohan or her assistant.
Celebrity website TMZ.com earlier reported that the troubled actress and her assistant were guests at the home during an all-night party and the owner later reported the theft of stolen jewelry, including watches, amounting to an estimated $100,000.
But District Attorney spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons disputed the amount. “According to evidence presented to us to review, the property loss was $6,400. None of it was jewelry,” she said.
Gibbons said the probe showed property losses of “$3,000 in cash, four pairs of sunglasses, an iPod and some keys to two cars and a house.”
“Lindsay is glad this matter has been cleared up so she can focus on her upcoming projects. It is unfortunate that many media outlets were quick to point fingers and jump to conclusions without having all the facts,” Lohan’s spokesman said in a statement.
Lohan was released from formal probation in March over charges in 2007 of drunk driving and cocaine possession. Recently she has had guest roles on TV sketch comedy show “Saturday Night Live,” a cameo appearance on “Glee” and has filmed the TV movie “Liz & Dick.”
The actress is still on informal probation until 2014 in connection with a jewelry theft case last year. If charges had been brought in the latest incident, officials could have revoked her probation and sent her to jail.
(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte, Xavier Briand and Lisa Shumaker)
