Winona Ryder sentenced to probation, community service

Winona Ryder dodged a jail sentence on Friday, receiving a sentence of probation and community service for shoplifting from Saks Fifth Avenue last year. ”If you steal again, you will go to jail,” Superior Court Judge Elden Fox told Ryder, according to wire service reports. Ryder will have to undergo counseling, pay $10,000 in restitution and fines, perform 480 hours of community service, and serve three years of probation, the Associated Press reported.

The judge told Ryder that she needed to change her life, and that she had ”disappointed many people who have been entertained and inspired by your talent and acts of kindness over many years,” according to AP. Earlier, Ryder’s lawyer, Mark Geragos, had reminded the judge that his client had done such good deeds as helping the search for the murderer of abducted 12-year-old Polly Klaas. A lawyer for Saks Fifth Avenue, meanwhile, said that Ryder had mocked the seriousness of her crime with ”Saturday Night Live” skits and other TV appearances.

Ryder was convicted last month of stealing more than $5,500 of merchandise from a Beverly Hills Saks store. Prosecutors had recommended probation and community service instead of jail time, citing Ryder’s clean record.