BEVERLY HILLS, Nov 7: After all the hype, all the insinuation and a defense conspiracy theory that could only have been written in Hollywood, actress Winona Ryder was convicted on Wednesday of shoplifting from one of the most upscale stores in Beverly Hills.

A jury that included at least three people from the entertainment industry convicted the “Age of Innocence” star of walking out of Saks Fifth Avenue last December with shopping bags stuffed full of 5,500 dollars in designer tops, handbags, glittery rhinestone hair bows and socks.

Prosecutors, who suggested that Ryder may have stolen for thrills, said they would not seek jail time for the 31-year-old actress when she is sentenced on Dec 6, although the charges carry a possible prison sentence of up to three years.

The jury found her guilty of grand theft and vandalism but not guilty of commercial burglary. That charge required proof that she had gone to the store intending to steal.

Ryder did not testify in her own defense during a humiliating six-day trial, where her haul of ripped silk tops and leather handbags costing up to 700 dollars each were put on display for all to see.

The “Girl, Interrupted” star, whose career has been on hold during the 10 months since her arrest, looked tense but poised in a standing-room-only courtroom as the verdicts were read.

She was whisked out of court and away from the media but her publicist told Reuters her car was followed by news helicopters and paparazzi.

Ryder later issued a one-sentence statement thanking her family, friends and supporters for standing by her.

Why a rich celebrity should commit such a tawdry crime was left to guesswork. “I cannot get inside her head. She may have been stealing for the thrill of it, or to see if she could get away with it,” trial prosecutor Ann Rundle said.

Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley said he hoped the court would “address the problems of the defendant that may have led her to engage in the criminal conduct of which she now stands convicted.”

One of the jurors was quoted as telling the TV show “Celebrity Justice” that the jury was “especially impressed” by the merchandise displayed in court and thought the Saks guards called as witnesses were “very credible and admirable.”—Reuters