A prosecution witness has described how she saw Hollywood actress Winona Ryder cutting security tags off items in Saks Fifth Avenue store last December.
On the third day of the trial, the Saks security guard told the court she had been asked to keep Ryder under surveillance and had seen her cut tags from handbags inside a fitting room.
She said that when detained, Ryder said "Didn't my assistant pay for it?" and then told security staff she was preparing for a film called 'Shopgirl'.
Yesterday, Ryder celebrated her 31st birthday as the trial continued with the jury watching a 90-minute security video showing the actress in the department store.
A store security manager told the jury Ryder had been polite when confronted, "She just said she was doing what her director told her to do in preparation for her role as a shoplifter".
Ryder's defence attorney has argued that the security guards targeted the actress because she was a celebrity and that they lied about what they saw.
The actress is accused of attempting to steal more than $5,500 worth of designer goods. Free on bail, she has denied the charges of grand theft, commercial burglary and vandalism She could face three years in jail if convicted.
Ryder stars in 'Mr Deeds', which is released in Ireland this weekend.
The trial is expected to last up to a week.
