Woman in celeb burglary case charged after wearing stolen Lindsay Lohan necklace to court

Suspect in celeb burglary case faces new charges

LOS ANGELES — A woman accused of burglarizing Paris Hilton’s house was charged Thursday with more counts after appearing in court wearing a stolen necklace belonging to Lindsay Lohan.

Prosecutors charged Courtney Leigh Ames, 19, with two counts of receiving stolen property.

The amended complaint accused Ames of wearing a necklace taken from Lohan’s home to a December court hearing where she pleaded not guilty to burglarizing Hilton’s home.

“She was wearing a necklace,” Ames’ attorney Robert Schwartz said after a hearing. “The issue is whether she knew it was stolen.”

Prosecutors also alleged Ames received a leather jacket that belonged to Hilton. Ames is not charged with the August break-in at Lohan’s house.

Ames is one of six people accused of being part of a ring that targeted the homes of celebrities and stole high-end fashion and jewelry.

Victims included Hilton, Lohan and other stars such as Orlando Bloom, Rachel Bilson, Megan Fox, Ashley Tisdale and “The Hills” celebrity Audrina Patridge.

Prosecutors also added a receiving stolen property charge against Diana Tamayo, who is suspected of obtaining Chanel makeup taken from Bilson’s house.

Tamayo and Ames pleaded not guilty to the new charges at a brief hearing. They are due back in court Feb. 10.

Authorities last week charged Rachel J. Lee with felony burglary for break-ins at the homes of Patridge, Lohan and Hilton. Police have accused her of being the group’s mastermind and selecting celebrity targets.

The group’s other accused ringleader, Nicholas Prugo, told police Lee often suggested celebrities whose homes could be targeted, and that he would then search the Internet for more information, according to a search warrant obtained in Nevada.

Lee is due to be arraigned next month. Prugo faces seven counts of felony burglary. He has pleaded not guilty.