Burglar Bunch's Alleged Ringleader Won't Fess Up Just Yet
Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images; Jason Merritt/Getty Images; Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images; Dominique Charriau/Getty Images; Michael Williams/startraksphoto.com
One of the alleged ringleaders of the so-called burglar bunch just stole bought himself some time.
While Nicholas Prugo was expected to enter a plea for his role in the A-list thefts in court this morning, he instead was granted a postponement to his arraignment, and will now 'fess up—or, in his case, not fess up—on Dec. 2.
Prugo's attorney, Sean G. Erenstoft, told E! News that the 18-year-old will plead not guilty to the host of felony charges he faces for his role in allegedly ripping off Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, Rachel Bilson, Orlando Bloom, Megan Fox and others.
And while he's keen to promote his client's innocence, he requested the delay to ensure that Prugo—now out on $100,000 bail—will be the last of the suspects to enter a plea, a move he hopes will help distance the teen from his alleged coconspirators.
"Sometimes when your accuser has a Fifth Amendment right to remain silent, you have a conflict," Erenstoft said, insisting that Prugo's rights were breached last week with the accidental release of what should have been a sealed affidavit in the case. In the document, Prugo wasn't shy about detailing the burglaries and otherwise pointing fingers at his pals.
Sixth Hollywood Burglary Suspect in Custody
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Another suspect is down for the count.
Los Angeles police confirmed to E! News Wednesday that Jonathan Ajar, 27, another suspected member of a burglary ring that hit up the houses of Hollywood's rich, young and famous is in custody after turning himself in today.
The cops had no further comment, but the L.A. District Attorney's Office says that charges had already been filed against Ajar in absentia, none of them having to do with the actual act of burglary, but rather related to the guns and drugs found when authorities searched his home on Oct. 22.
"We didn't file any charges against him related to the actual burglary," D.A. spokeswoman Jane Robison said. "We charged him with multiple counts of possession, for sale of a controlled substance and possession of a firearm."
Officials warned last week, when Ajar was nowhere to be found, that he should be considered armed and dangerous.
So far, alleged ringleader Nicholas Prugo, 18, has been charged with seven counts of residential burglary; Diana Tamayo, 19, is charged with two; and Alexis Neiers, 18, Roy Lopez Jr., 27, and Courtney Leigh Ames, 18, are each facing one count.
Prugo is accused of participating in the break-ins at the homes of Lindsay Lohan, Audrina Patridge, Orlando Bloom, Megan Fox and Paris Hilton, and the gang also allegedly invaded Ashley Tisdale's space.
—Reporting by Ashley Fultz and Lindsay Miller
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If only the celebs had employed a Kardashian as a security guard. Check out the damage wrought when Kim & Co. sparred for charity.
Warrants Show Hollywood's Burglar Bunch Made Out Like Bandits
Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images; Jason Merritt/Getty Images; Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images; Dominique Charriau/Getty Images; Michael Williams/startraksphoto.com
Crime may not pay, but it sure can comp you some priceless merchandise. Until you're caught, that is.
According to newly released documents detailing the spoils of the search warrants targeting the celeb-obsessed pals who allegedly ripped off Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, Orlando Bloom, Megan Fox, Rachel Bilson, Audrina Patridge, Ashley Tisdale and Brian Austin Green, the so-called Hollywood Burglar Bunch certainly knew how to get the most out of their home invasions.
Police managed to recover all manner of jewelry, designer goods and, as no ill-thought-out crime ring is complete without them, drugs and guns. The goods were retrieved in raids carried out Oct. 22.
Now get a load of this haul:
Breaking News
Ryan Seacrest's E! Invader: I'm Not Guilty!
For the time being, Ryan Seacrest's alleged stalker will remain just that: alleged.
Chidi Uzomah Jr. pleaded not guilty this morning to one count of felony stalking and two misdemeanor counts of violating a court order to maintain a Seacrest-free perimeter in the wake of last Friday's surprise stop-by at E! HQ.
Uzomah did not speak during the arraignment, leaving his public defender to enter the plea. He's due to reappear for his preliminary hearing on Nov. 16.
In the meantime, however, Seacrest's attorney Blair Berk came through on her promise to get a "much more comprehensive" criminal protective order against Uzomah.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Donald Kennedy ordered the 25-year-old Army reservist to surrender all firearms within 24 hours of his release (which shows no signs of coming soon); and, effective immediately, he is not to harass, contact or otherwise come within 500 yards of Seacrest or his places of employment for the next three years.
Uzomah has not yet posted his $150,000 bail and remains in police custody. As a result, he appeared in court behind a protective clear glass barrier.
The 25-year-old Army reservist (as expected, Uncle Sam is not exactly thrilled with that affiliation) has been on probation since his switchblade-wielding attack on one of Seacrest's security guards last month. He pleaded guilty to assault, battery and possession of said weapon in the incident.
If convicted on all three new counts, he could face up to four years in prison.
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Get caught up on Ryan's scary saga.
Army Apologizes for Armed Seacrest Obsessive
Really, the Army sloganeers should have been a bit clearer. Be all that you can be, sure. Just as long as that doesn't entail obsessively traipsing after one of television's biggest talents.
Fresh off the news that Ryan Seacrest's knife-wielding alleged stalker Chidi Uzomah Jr. is, in fact, a current member of the U.S. Army Reserve, a spokesman has offered an apology to the E! News host for behavior most unbecoming a would-be soldier.
"It is disappointing to have a soldier act in that form or fashion, however we will allow the local police to do their initial investigation and we will chime in afterwards," Lt. Col. Nathan Banks told E! News.
Banks added that Uzomah is a member of the Civil Affairs Unit, "who goes into places like Afghanistan and Iraq"—and, uh, Los Angeles radio studios?—"and bring stability into the city, brings normalcy back."
Pretty soon, however, Uzomah's only affiliation may be as an army of one. Though right now he seems to have plenty of company...a whole cell's worth, to be precise.
Exclusive
Ryan Seacrest on Stalker Scare: "An Interesting Day Here at E!"
Ryan Seacrest wants the world to know that he's doing find after this morning's scary visit from an obsessive, weapon-wielding fan.
"An interesting day here at E!" Seacrest says of his headline-making (and delivering) day. "My sincerest thanks to the LAPD, who helped us out here at the building today."
As for unwanted guest Chidi Uzomah, the 200-pound, 6-foot-four-inch man apparently just doesn't get the hint. He was arrested last month for brandishing a knife and bumrushing Seacrest's security guard at a charity event at a children's hospital in Orange, Calif.
And despite pleading guilty to two misdemeanors and sentenced to three years' probation for that dust-up, Uzomah still sought face time with Seacrest.
Uzomah turned up in vain at KIIS-FM's Burbank offices looking for the host (whose radio studio, as Uzomah clearly figured out, is actually located at E!'s HQ in Los Angeles).
"He asked somebody where Ryan was," a source said. "They said he didn't work here, he works at E! That was a few weeks ago."
Between that drop-in and today's incident, Uzomah may be facing jail time for a probation violation.
Paris Hilton on Burglary Ring: "A Bunch of Dirty Rotten Thieves"
So Lindsay Lohan finds answering questions about the Hollywood Burglar Bunch awkward (although it's way more awkward watching her be all awkward about it), but Paris Hilton has no problem talking about the sticky-fingered teens.
"They're a bunch of dirty rotten thieves," Paris said last night as she left West Hollywood restaurant Philippe.
The heiress had about $2 million in jewelry stolen by the student burglary ring, most of which has been returned. But still, Paris admits she would much rather hang out with the Brady Bunch than the Burglar Bunch...duh. Great question, paparazzi man.
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What's scarier than the Hollywood Burglar Bunch? These TV shows!
Megan Fox, Ashley Tisdale Among Targets of Hollywood Burglar Bunch
Good thing the Los Angeles Police Department isn't as sensitive to awkward topics as Lindsay Lohan is.
Adding to the ever-growing list of celebrity victims of the bizarre student burglar ring, the LAPD announced that Ashley Tisdale, Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green were the latest stars to have their home heists linked to the fashion-forward hooligans.
They're in such fine company as the celebrity victims previously identified: Lohan, Paris Hilton, Orlando Bloom, Rachel Bilson and Audrina Patridge. Investigators say the suspects hit at least 10 residences, two of whom were not famous (just apparently in possession of a killer wardrobe).
"The celebrities had a couple of things in common," Officer Brett Goodkin said. "That they were celebrities, it was easy to find out where they live via the internet, and that none of the celebrities knew any of the suspects in this crime."
Despite reports that recent burglaries of Kourtney Kardashian and Stephanie Pratt's homes were perpetrated by the same gang, police said there wasn't enough evidence to connect the crimes.
Police are already working to get the stolen goods back, having succeeded in Hilton's case. (Thus answering the question of what, exactly, you get the girl who has everything: her stuff back.)
D.A. Disses Jayde Nicole-Joe Francis Death-Defying Scuffle
This is a case of he said, they said and the district attorney said, "Whatever."
Joe Francis claims Brody Jenner's girlfriend, Jayde Nicole, attacked him outside L.A. nightclub Guys & Dolls early in the morning on Aug. 28.
Nicole, however, claims the Girls Gone Wild guru came after her, and she's since filed a $1 million lawsuit against him. Francis in turn countersued last week, claiming he thought Playboy model was going to "kill" him.
They don't have any major injuries to speak of, so it's a good thing they have those civil suits to help them figure out what happened that night. Prosecutors are wiping their hands of the drama.
"The interests of justice do not support the filing of criminal charges against any of the three suspects," states the Los Angeles County District Attorney's charge evaluation worksheet.
Of course, the authorities don't completely give up on pointing fingers at the instigator of all the hair-pulling drama.
Lindsay Lohan Feeling "Awkward" About Burglary
"Relieved" isn't the word Lindsay Lohan is using to describe police catching her alleged burglars.
Nope, when asked how she feels that the people supposedly responsible for targeting her Hollywood home—and those of other stars—Lohan wasn't as psyched as we thought she'd be.
"[That's] the most awkward question you could possibly ask," she told E! News just before she scurried into the Rock the Kasbah event in Los Angeles Monday night. "Yeah, I'm talking to the detectives, but it's nobody's business but my own."
Actually, if the clues add up the way they appear they might, it's also Orlando Bloom, Paris Hilton, Audrina Patridge and Rachel Bilson's business, but LiLo admits she's not clear on the semantics.
Balloon Brood's Greatest Hits: Listen to 911 Calls
When Mayumi Heene called 911 last Thursday, it wasn't the first time those three digits were dialed from Balloon Boy's household in 2009.
In February, someone called and hung up. The Larimer County, Colo., Sheriff's Office attempted to call back twice, but only got Richard Heene's answering machine message and hung up.
Listen to the answering machine message
Three months later, the Ft. Collins Police Department Dispatch received another hang-up call from the Heene home. The sheriff's office again tried to call back, and again reached a machine, but this time, however, left a message.
Listen to the sheriff's office message to the Heenes
On Aug. 6, 2009, the helium-happy Richard Heene made the call to alert law enforcement of an alleged "threat" made against his family by "a guy that works for another guy that cosigned a loan for me on my vehicle."
Listen to Richard Heene's 911 call
"I'm supposed to talk to somebody about an incident that occurred yesterday," he says. "I was made an indirect threat. We feel like we've been threatened, a guy was running around the house late last night after the threat and then, this morning, there was two suspicious looking characters doing things that are just not conducive to what I know about construction work in front of the house. They painted a line and they were just looking at the house, measuring with a stupid wheel roller thing, and they had no ID with them."
Perhaps shady characters attract shady characters?
And hear the call that started it all
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Some famous people don't think too highly of Balloon Boy's parents either. Get the scoop right here.
Snoop Dogg's Bullet Bling Makes Airport Security Bark
Memo to Snoop Dogg: Airport security guards—especially foreign ones—aren't, um, too fond of bullets as baubles.
The Doggfather wound up in the dogghouse after donning some blinged-out ammo at the Beirut International Airport. The star was on his way back to the U.S. following a concert in the Lebanon capital.
"It has nothing to do with U.S. customs; it was the security in Beirut that caused the issue," a source tells E! News.
The necklace, from the socially conscious Bullets 4 Peace collection promoting world piece, was confiscated.
The rapper clearly has a sour relationship with airports. He was arrested in 2006 for trying to board a plane with a collapsible baton, was banned from Heathrow Airport in London in 2006 for a fight and drugs and weapon possession charges from Burbank's Bob Hope Airport in 2007.
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Speaking of dogs, check out the problem-free pups of the Very Important Pets gallery!


