Lindsay Lohan pleads not guilty to theft

Actress Lindsay Lohan pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to a charge of stealing a USD 2,500 necklace from a Los Angeles jewelry store.

In a brief court appearance, Lohan, 24, was charged with a single felony count of grand theft. If convicted, the 24 year-old "Mean Girls" star could be sent to prison for up to three years, prosecutors say.

Lohan is accused of walking out a Los Angeles jewelry store without paying for the necklace in January, just three weeks after ending her fifth stint in alcohol and drug rehab in three years.

Friends have said Lohan believed the necklace, which has been returned to police, was on loan.

Lohan is still on probation for a 2007 drunk driving and cocaine possession offense that has halted her movie career in Hollywood, where the former child star was once considered one of the industry's most talented young actresses.