Man pleads not guilty to stealing Frances McDormand's Oscar

The alleged crime took place at the Governors Ball on Sunday night.

ByABC News via logo
March 7, 2018, 7:24 PM

The man who allegedly stole Frances McDormand’s Oscar pleaded not guilty in a Los Angeles court on Wednesday.

The suspect, Terry Bryant, is due back in court on March 28.

Bryant, 47, has been charged with one felony count of grand theft. According to the criminal complaint, Bryant “did unlawfully steal, take, carry, lead, and drive away” McDormand’s Best Actress Oscar statuette, which has a value of more than $950.

He faces a maximum sentence of three years in county jail if convicted.

Bryant was arrested Sunday night shortly after he allegedly swiped the trophy from the annual post-Oscars Governors Ball.

In a statement obtained by ABC News Monday, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences said, "Best Actress winner Frances McDormand and her Oscar were happily reunited after a brief separation at last night’s Governors Ball. The alleged thief was quickly apprehended by a photographer and members of our fast-acting Academy and security teams. The 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri' star resumed her celebrations."

PHOTO: Terry Bryant, the man accused of stealing Frances McDormand's best actress Oscar at the lavish Governor's Ball party, is seen with the statuette in this still image from Reuters video in Hollywood, Calif., March 4, 2018.
Terry Bryant, the man accused of stealing Frances McDormand's best actress Oscar at the lavish Governor's Ball party, is seen with the statuette in this still image from Reuters video in Hollywood, Calif., March 4, 2018.

McDormand won the best actress Oscar -- her second -- for her role in "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri." She plays Mildred Hayes, a foul-mouthed woman who rents three billboards in an attempt to shame the local authorities into solving her daughter's murder.

She'd previously won for her role as pregnant police chief Marge Gunderson in the 1996 movie "Fargo."

ABC News' Andrea Tuccillo and Lisa Siversten contributed to this report.

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