Calabasas reality show star pleads no contest to felony in 'bling ring' case [Updated]
An 18-year-old Calabasas woman who pursued fame on a cable TV reality show after being prosecuted for her role in the "bling ring" celebrity burglary case agreed Monday to plead no contest to a single count of first-degree residential burglary.
[For the record at 11:41 a.m.: A previous version of this post stated she had pleaded guilty. The headline was changed to correct the error.]
Alexis Neiers was a minor player in the burglary ring but took on an outsized role when her arrest and prosecution coincided with production of the E! Entertainment reality show "Pretty Wild" about growing up in the fast lane in suburban Los Angeles.
Under the deal with prosecutors, Neiers agreed to serve six months in county jail and be placed on three years' probation. She also will receive a two-year suspended sentence and pay restitution to actor Orlando Bloom, who authorities said was burglarized by Neiers and several others.
[Updated at 10:19 a.m.: Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Peter Espinoza ordered Neiers to surrender June 24. She also must stay away from Bloom's home in the Hollywood Hills.]
Bloom was among a dozen high-profile celebrities -- including Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Audrina Patridge and Rachel Bilson -- who were targeted in 2008-2009 by the ring made up of mostly young women, many of whom attended the same continuation school.
Neiers had been scheduled to go to trial this month on a felony burglary charge. If she had been convicted, she could have received a six-year prison sentence. She had recently turned down the same plea deal she agreed to on Monday.
At a preliminary hearing in December, Neiers was identified as one of four hooded people seen on a security video entering Bloom's Hollywood Hills home.
LAPD Det. Bret Goodkin testified that Neiers tried repeatedly to conceal her identity and was seen on the video leaving the actor's home with bags of items during the 3 a.m. break-in last year, along with two other alleged ring members, Diane Tamayo, 19, and Rachel Lee, 18.
Goodkin testified that investigators found Bilson's Marc Jacobs handbag and Lohan's black-and-white Chanel necklace in the bedroom of Neiers' younger sister.
Neiers previously had insisted she was intoxicated and unaware she was involved in a break-in. She said she never took any items from Bloom's home.
-- Richard Winton at the downtown Criminal Courts building and Andrew Blankstein in Los Angeles
Photo: Alexis Christine Neiers wipes a tear off her cheek during sentencing Monday in Superior Court. Credit: Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times