Exclusive: Inside Hollywood's 'Bling Ring'

March 4, 2010 — -- In December 2008, it was announced that Paris Hilton's home had been ransacked. An estimated $2,000,000 in jewelry, cash, clothing and other items were reported stolen. The burglars had entered through an unlocked door.

It was a seemingly random act targeting a rich celebrity. Surveillance video captured a lone figure in a hood and gloves fleeing the property at dawn. Police had no leads and no arrests were made.

Two months later, another celebrity's home was ransacked and a reported $43,000 in goods were taken. This time, the victim was reality star Audrina Patridge. Surveillance video captured two people, a man and a woman in hats and gloves, running through the star's expansive home with bags slung over their shoulders, grabbing everything in sight.

Patridge placed the surveillance video on her Web site and appealed for help in identifying the burglars.

Three months passed. Then, on May 9, 2009, actress Rachel Bilson's mother discovered her daughter's home also had been ransacked. Once again, the thieves seemed to target the star's vast store of designer goods.

Two months later, surveillance cameras on actor Orlando Bloom's property captured four hooded figures walking backwards to the door, apparently trying to avoid surveillance. Almost $500,000 worth of goods belonging to Bloom and girlfriend Miranda Kerr were reported stolen.

Over the next four months, four more homes were burglarized in the star-studded hills surrounding Los Angeles, including the home of Linsday Lohan and the shared residence of Brian Austin Green and Megan Fox.

With the theft at Lohan's home, police got their first big break. Surveillance video showed the images of multiple burglars, two of whom looked very familiar. Police were certain they were also involved in the Patridge break-in.

The burglars were dubbed the "Bling Ring."