娱乐英语新闻:Lindsay Lohan sentenced to 120 days behind bars as felony charge reduced to misdemeanor

LOS ANGELES, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Troubled actress Lindsay Lohan was sentenced to 120 days in jail on Friday for violating her probation in a 2007 DUI case by taking the piece of jewelry.

The actress, who was charged with stealing a 2,500-U.S. dollar necklace from a Southern California jewelry store, was also sentenced to 480 hours of community service at a downtown women's center and the Los Angeles County morgue.

Lohan was taken into custody at the Airport Branch Courthouse. She was expected Friday night or Saturday to post bail, which was set by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Stephanie Sautner at 75,000 dollars, which she is permitted to do since her attorney announced plans to file an appeal.

Earlier at a hearing to determine if there was enough evidence for the 24-year-old actress to stand trial, Sautner reduced her felony charge to a misdemeanor after hearing testimony from a series of witnesses.

The change greatly reduces the amount of jail time the starlet could face if convicted. It also opens the door to possible settlement talks. Lohan was charged Feb. 9 and is free on 40,000-dollar bail.

At the hearing, an employee of the jewelry store testified that the actress almost walked out of the shop four days earlier with an earring she had tried on.

Tinelli Comsooksri said Lohan visited the Abbot Kinney Boulevard shop in Venice on Jan. 18, four days before the alleged necklace theft.

The "Mean Girls" star tried on a pair of earrings, and as she was leaving the store, Comsooksri stopped her to tell her she still had one of the earrings on, the witness testified.

Kamofie and co-owner Sofia Kaman testified that she opened the shop's locked door to let Lohan and her friend out of the store on Jan. 22, the day when the necklace was missing, but she didn't realize the starlet was wearing the necklace.

Kaman realized about 10 minutes after Lohan left the store. She said the actress did not pay for the jewelry, and there was no agreement for her to pay for it later and Lohan was never given permission to remove it from the store.

Lohan only returned the necklace when she learned a search warrant was being served by the Los Angeles Police Department,Judge Sautner said.

The 16-inch necklace, which Kaman had obtained on consignment, was priced in the store at 2,500 dollars, and Kaman said that was an industry-standard markup for such designer goods.

Kaman said she has since had to pay the owner for the necklace, although the amount she paid was not specified.

The former Disney darling rose to fame between 2003 and 2005 when she appeared in title roles in the films of "Freaky Friday," "Mean Girls" and "Herbie: Fully Loaded." Her career was interrupted in 2007 when she was involved in two drunk driving incidents and three visits to rehabilitation facilities.

Lohan spent 13 days in a Los Angeles County jail last summer for violating her probation in the DUI case by missing multiple classes in a court-ordered alcohol education program.