NEWPORT BEACH -- A 79 year old international jewelry thief, whose story is the subject of an upcoming movie starring Halle Berry, is under arrest in Orange County.
Doris Payne was arrested Friday afternoon on suspicion of grand theft after security guards at Saks Fifth Avenue in South Coast Plaza say she stole a Burberry trench coat worth $1,300, according to Costa Mesa Police Lt. Mark Manley.
Payne is being held without bail on a parole violation.
Payne's life as an international jewel thief is the subject of an upcoming movie, "Who Is Doris Payne," starring Halle Berry.
In 1999, she was convicted and sentenced to 12 years in prison after stealing a 5-carat diamond ring from a Neiman Marcus in Denver.
Interviewed by reporters in 2005, Payne said she had no idea how many jewels she had stolen but that her career as a thief had spanned the globe from New York and Las Vegas to London, Paris, Monte Carlo and Tokyo.
Detectives said she would use distraction techniques to confuse jewelry store clerks. She would engage the clerk in an interesting story, or ask to see other rings and confuse them, and easily slip away with the jewels. Eventually, Payne was caught as technology and security systems improved.
Denver police detective Gail Riddell described Payne in 2005 as a female Cary Grant, "smooth and confident."
"She is very good at what she does," said Riddell. "She has the style."
She was sentenced to two to five years for pawning a stolen Palo Alto ring in Las Vegas, as well as stealing a ring in Nevada.
In the spring of 2008, Payne completed her prison sentence in Colorado and returned to California, where she was released on parole until her arrest.
KTLA
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