Kerry G. Stephens 
Doris Payne, the 83-year-old jewelry thief whose rap sheet dates back decades, pleaded guilty Monday to stealing a diamond ring from a Riverside County jewelry store.
The octogenarian was sentenced to four years in prison – two in a county jail, two under mandatory supervision – after pleading guilty to one count of burglary and robbery, said John Hall, spokesperson for the Riverside County Attorney’s Office.
Judge William Lebov also ordered Payne to stay away from all jewelry stores during this time, Hall said.
Hall said his office opposed the plea and sentence, arguing instead for a maximum of six years in prison. He cited “many aggravating factors”.
“These include a criminal history dating back to 1952, crimes having been committed in the United States as well as overseas, the fact that she used her age to gain the trust of victims, a previous failure to complete. successfully completed probation and parole, and that she was on parole when she committed the crime charged in this case, ”Hall wrote in an email.
But one of Payne’s attorneys, Gretchen von Helms, called the judge’s ruling a “very thoughtful response.” Payne, she said, was “very grateful.”
“The judge tempered the punishment with compassion for his age,” said von Helms. “He took into account the portfolio of taxpayers. And do we really need to incarcerate a non-violent offender – yes, a repeat offender, that’s right – who is sick, who has emphysema, who is elderly? “
Payne made headlines in October when she was arrested for stealing the $ 22,500 diamond and white gold ring from El Paseo Jewelers, which is part of an upscale Palm Desert mall. At the time, she had only been out of prison for about three months.
Payne’s notoriety now borders on fame, as her exploits around the world have been featured on television, in newspapers and in a documentary, “The Life and Crimes of Doris Payne”. Halle Berry has also been mentioned in a film about her life.
Law enforcement officials across the United States said they investigated her, remembering a low-key and elegant woman who repeatedly scammed unsuspecting jewelers and once listed her craft in documents forensic as a “jewelry thief”.
But the director of El Paseo Jewelers said he did not know the woman who walked into his store on October 21. At a preliminary hearing in December, Raju Mehta testified that Payne told him she wanted to spend an insurance check for $ 42,000 and tried on various necklaces, earrings and rings during two visits to the store. That day.
Payne ultimately opted for three pieces – including the ring – and said she would come back the next morning with the money, Mehta said. That evening, store workers discovered that the ring was missing.
Payne pawned the ring for $ 800 at a second-hand dealer located not far from the jewelry store, according to one of the owners of the pawnshop. She was ordered on Monday to reimburse the store, von Helms said.
The lawyer said the post-prison surveillance would be good for his client, who expects not to serve more than six months in prison given her time in detention and her good demeanor. Von Helms said Payne fully admitted to the crimes, helping police find the ring and volunteering to pay off the pawnshop.
But was the Riverside heist Doris Payne’s last?
“I think she has good intentions,” said von Helms. “I know we have to take this with a grain of salt, given its history. She can’t just say these words; it must prove it by actions.
“It will be on her.”
kate.mather@latimes.com
Twitter: @katemather | Google+
