Is Lindsay Lohan Headed Back to Jail on Necklace Theft Charge?

Feb. 9, 2011 — -- Prosecutors will likely ask that bail be set at $20,000 when Lindsay Lohan appears in court today to face felony grand theft charges for allegedly stealing a $2,500 necklace from a Venice, Calif., jewelry store.

The "Mean Girls" star allegedly walked out of the jewelry store with the gold necklace Jan. 22, the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office said in a statement Tuesday.

According to the felony complaint filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, prosecutors are recommending that the judge set bail at $20,000, nearly 10 times the value of the necklace Lohan is accused of stealing.

If convicted, Lohan could go to California state prison for up to three years. Lohan has already spent three brief stints in jail in the past three years.

A felony charge could potentially violate her probation. The 24-year-old recently rehabbed starlet is on probation from a 2007 misdemeanor DUI charge. Lohan's probation requires her to obey all laws and submit to random drug and alcohol testing.

"The probation violation alone could leave her with six months in the county jail, and also the judge is going to try and consider whether or not this is related to her drug use and addiction," former Los Angeles County prosecutor Robin Sax said. "Was the [alleged] stealing somehow related to her abuse of drugs ... was she trying to sell the necklace in order to get drugs?"

Representatives for Lohan did not immediately return ABC News.com's requests for comment.

On Saturday, Lohan's lawyer, Shawn Chapman Holley, refuted allegations that Lohan stole the necklace.

"We vehemently deny these allegations, and if charges are filed, we will fight them in court, not in the press," Holley wrote in an e-mail to ABCNews.com.

The star was linked to the disappearance of a gold necklace with semi-precious stones from the Kamofie & Co. jewelry store. Law enforcement sources told the Los Angeles Times that surveillance video shows Lohan wearing the necklace after her visit to the store.

"We're just letting the police do what they need to do," Jeff Kaman from Kamofie & Co. said.

After detectives started looking into the case and began preparing a search warrant, a friend of Lohan's brought the necklace to the Pacific Division police station. Lohan has reportedly said that the necklace was loaned to her by the store, and her assistant returned it to police.

Lohan Accused of Stealing Before

It's not the first time the star has been connected to a theft investigation.

In 2009, British police investigated the disappearance of $400,000 worth of Dior jewels from a photo shoot Lohan did with Britain's Elle magazine. At the time, Elle released a statement exonerating Lohan, saying, "Elle has no reason to believe that Lindsay Lohan was in any way responsible."

In 2008, Lohan was sued by a college student who claimed the actress stole and wore her $12,000 mink coat.

In April 2010, the actress was questioned by police in connection with a stolen $35,000 Rolex. The person who filed the report withdrew her complaint before police could determine if a crime had been committed.

Lohan was not charged with theft in any of these incidents, but prosecutor Sax said that those previous accusations could hurt Lohan's case.

"The prosecutors are hanging their hat on these three prior incidents that she's faced ... where there's been stealing in her past. There's been a situation of a Rolex watch, a mink coat and a handbag," Sax said. "Under the law in the state of California, you can use what's called prior bad acts. So bad behavior can come in to show that she had the mindset and the intent to steal based on those prior acts," Sax said.

Lohan has also been the victim of theft. She was one of many celebrities whose homes were looted by the Hollywood "Bling Ring" in 2008 and 2009.

If Lohan ends up on the wrong side of the law this time around, the consequences could be dire.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elden S. Fox spared Lohan jail time in October after she tested positive for drugs and violated her 2007 DUI probation. But he warned Lohan that she'd go to jail for six months if she broke any laws and violated her probation again.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Keith Schwartz will oversee Lohan's court appearance today and determine the conditions of her release.

ABC News' Sheila Marikar contributed to this report.