Lindsay Lohan rejects plea agreement

LOS ANGELES — Lindsay Lohan has rejected a plea agreement offered by prosecutors that included a guaranteed return to jail.

The "Mean Girls" actress appeared in a Los Angeles courtroom Thursday and told a judge she agreed to delaying her case until a preliminary hearing April 22 when prosecutors will present evidence against her.

Superior Court Judge Keith Schwartz had told Lohan he would send her to jail if she accepted a plea bargain offered by prosecutors.

Scoop: The huge cost of that $2,500 necklace

The exact terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Lohan was on probation in January when a Venice jewelry store accused her of taking a $2,500 necklace.

Lohan's return to court comes days after surveillance footage of her trying on necklaces at Kamofie & Co., which reported the necklace stolen on Jan. 22. It was eventually given by a Lohan associate to detectives, who had already obtained a search warrant for the actress' Venice home.

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"Entertainment Tonight" aired the footage, which showed Lohan texting, pacing and talking to a store clerk for nearly 45 minutes. The actress wore the necklace she is accused of stealing for roughly 25 minutes, according to the show, before the clerk escorted Lohan out, smiled and held a door open as she walked out.

The footage was obtained by a commercial images division of the AP and licensed exclusively to "Entertainment Tonight."

The source told the AP that Lohan's defense team thinks the video's release and its sale will benefit the actress' defense.

Lohan's court troubles have long overshadowed her once-promising acting career. A former star in Disney films such as "Freaky Friday" and "Herbie Fully Loaded," her career has been stalled since she was arrested twice in 2007 and later charged with drunken driving and drug possession.

In the past 10 months, Lohan has been jailed twice and sent to rehab twice for probation violations. A judge ordered her to undergo three months of treatment at the Betty Ford Center, and it was within three weeks of her release that she was accused of stealing the necklace.

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While the theft case has caused more uncertainty for Lohan, 24, the incident may go on to benefit others.

The owners of Kamofie & Co. announced Wednesday that they will auction the necklace and donate the proceeds to an unspecified charity after the theft case is resolved. The item remains in the custody of authorities.

"We have already publicly released the videotape which speaks for itself and accurately records the incident, and we believe the next step toward achieving closure is to donate the now-famous jewelry to charity," store owners Sofia and Geoff Kaman said in a statement released Wednesday morning.