Stolen Oscar Or Just Hamming It Up? Alleged Thief Heads To Court

LOS ANGELES, CA — A man accused of stealing actress Frances McDormand's Oscar from her table at the Governors Ball following Sunday's Academy Awards ceremony pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a felony grand theft charge.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Deborah S. Brazil ordered Terry Bryant, 47, to be released on his own recognizance over the objection of the prosecution, which was asking that his bail remain at $20,000. The prosecution cited prior theft-related offenses, along with prior failures by Bryant to appear at court hearings.

Bryant has been jailed since his arrest Sunday night for allegedly lifting McDormand's Oscar statuette, which she won for her work in "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri."

Outside court, defense attorney Daniel Brookman told reporters, "Well, there's a difference between holding an Oscar and what he's charged with so that will play out in court."

Rabbi Naomi Levy described Bryant as a "sweet and gentle man of faith," and told reporters that she came to court on his behalf "to help Terry get through this unfortunate situation."

A legal expert told the Los Angeles Times, the felony is unlikely to stick.

"I think a judge will almost certainly reduce this to a misdemeanor at a preliminary hearing," criminal defense attorney Louis Shapiro told the Times. "Given the issues with the value of the property and totality of circumstances, I would expect that to happen."

However, he added, Bryant may not get off sc0tt-free.

"The circumstances of the incident aren't that favorable to Mr. Bryant.... It looked like he was leaving," he told the newspaper.

Police said Bryant had a ticket to the Governors Ball at the Hollywood & Highland complex.

Bryant took a video of himself holding the Oscar at the party and posted it online. It shows him holding the statuette and saying, "Look at it, baby. My team got this tonight. This is mine. We got it tonight, baby."

A photographer who works for celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck subsequently took a photo of Bryant holding the Oscar while apparently making his way toward the exit and helped security detain him until police arrived, according to reports from the scene.

Bryant refers to himself online as an entertainment journalist and a film and music producer. His social media accounts also include photos of him at shows including the Emmys, Screen Actors Guild Awards and MTV Video Music Awards. He also has a minor criminal past in Oregon, with arrests from 1999 to 2002 for criminal mischief and theft, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The celebrity news website TMZ.com reported that McDormand has no interest in seeing Bryant prosecuted, but the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, which technically owns the statuette and is listed on the police report as the victim of the theft, wants the book thrown at him.

Bryant is due back in a downtown L.A courtroom March 28, when a date is scheduled to be set for a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence for him to stand trial.

Prosecutors said he could face up to three years behind bars if convicted.

City News Service; Photo: Frances McDormand, winner of the award for best performance by an actress in a leading role for "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri", poses in the press room at the Oscars on Sunday, March 4, 2018, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)