Notorious 79-year-old jewel thief faces charge in OC over attempted coat theft

Famed 79-year-old jewel thief facing charges in OC

SANTA ANA, Calif. — A 79-year-old woman whose life as a jewel thief inspired a Halle Berry movie has pleaded not guilty to trying to steal a coat in Southern California.

The district attorney’s office says Doris Payne entered her plea Tuesday on a felony count of grand theft. She was on parole for a previous theft and remains jailed without bail.

Costa Mesa police Lt. Mark Manley says Payne was arrested Friday for trying to steal a $1,300 Burberry trench coat from a Saks Fifth Avenue store.

Payne has described a five-decade career of posing as a fashionable, wealthy woman to steal rings and other costly jewelry around the world. She’s been jailed numerous times.

Halle Berry reportedly has agreed to star in an upcoming movie about Payne’s life, “Who is Doris Payne?”

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — An international jewel thief who claims to have pocketed a small fortune in gems while shoplifting in ritzy stores from New York to Monte Carlo has been arrested in Orange County for allegedly trying to steal a coat.

Doris Payne, 79, was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in Superior Court on a felony count of grand theft, district attorney’s spokeswoman Farrah Emami said.

Court officials did not immediately know whether Payne had obtained an attorney.

Payne was arrested Friday after security guards said she walked out of a department store with a $1,300 Burberry trench coat, Costa Mesa police Lt. Mark Manley said.

Payne was on parole for a previous theft conviction at the time and she remained jailed without bail Tuesday.

Payne, who was born in Slab Fork, W.Va., has described a five-decade career of shoplifting in the U.S. and Europe. Authorities said she used at least 22 aliases.

Her career was detailed in a 2005 story by The Associated Press based on court records and interviews with Payne, prosecutors, detectives, FBI agents, friends and jewelry store employees.

The account said the exquisitely dressed and well-mannered Payne would waltz into a store and begin trying on diamond ring after diamond ring. When the clerk had taken out a number of fancy items and was thoroughly confused, she would steal one and casually slip out, sometimes with the ring on her finger.

The Jewelers Security Alliance, an industry trade group, sent out bulletins in the 1970s warning about her.

The daughter of an illiterate coal miner, Payne said her criminal career began when she was 23 and walked out of a Pittsburgh jewelry store with a $22,000 diamond.

“I’ve had regrets, and I’ve had a good time,” she said.

Payne has served jail time in Nevada, Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, Colorado and Wisconsin.

Variety reported last year that Halle Berry had signed to star in a movie about her life called “Who Is Doris Payne” that was in development.

Messages seeking comment from Berry’s representatives were not immediately returned.