California prosecutors charge woman suspected of key role in Lohan, Paris Hilton burglaries

Prosecutors charge woman in celebrity burglaries

LOS ANGELES — A woman suspected of being the mastermind behind a series of break-ins at the homes of Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan has been charged with felony burglary and receiving stolen property.

Rachel Lee, 19, was charged Wednesday. She joins five other young men and women charged with burglaries at the homes of celebrities including Orlando Bloom, Rachel Bilson, Ashley Tisdale, Megan Fox and Audrina Patridge.

Lee turned herself in Wednesday afternoon and was quickly released after posting $150,000 bail, jail records showed.

She is charged with the burglaries at the Hollywood Hills homes of Hilton, Lohan and Patridge. She was arrested in October in Las Vegas, where she lives. Los Angeles County prosecutors initially declined to press charges against her, instead asking police for more investigation.

Lee and Nicholas Prugo, who faces seven counts of first-degree burglary, have been accused by authorities of spearheading the burglaries. Prugo told police that Lee often suggested celebrities whose homes they should target and he would search the Internet for more information, according to a search warrant obtained in Nevada.

Attempts to reach Lee were unsuccessful and jail records did not list whether she has an attorney. An arraignment date for her has not been set. Criminal charges have not been filed against Lee in Las Vegas, Clark County courts spokesman Michael Sommermeyer said.

The other suspects are due in court later this month. Prugo has asked for a separate trial, but a judge denied that request last month, saying it was premature.

The burglaries occurred between December 2008 and October 2009. Lohan and Patridge, who stars on MTV’s “The Hills,” provided police with surveillance footage.

A press release stated the property Lee is suspected of receiving includes a fur coat and photographs.