Judge releases jewel thief after probation violation

An 83-year-old woman, whose six-decade career as a prolific and unapologetic jewel thief took her all over the world, went before an Indio judge Thursday and admitted violating the terms of her post-release supervision in a case stemming from the theft of a diamond ring from a Palm Desert store.

Doris Payne admitted that she failed to report to the probation department within two days of being released from jail in July. She was taken into custody at her last court hearing on September 18 and will be released from jail today at 5 p.m., according to the judge’s orders.

News Channel 3 and CBS Local 2 were in the courtroom Thursday morning as the judge gave the release order. But, the judge also warned Payne that she would find herself back in jail if she commits any other violations.

Payne was ordered jailed in lieu of $100,000 bail at a Sept. 18 hearing at the Larson Justice Center. She allegedly failed to report to a probation officer after she was released from jail in July.

In April, Payne had pleaded guilty to one felony count each of burglary and grand theft for swiping a 3.5-carat, $22,500 ring from El Paseo Jewelers last Oct. 21. She was sentenced to four years in custody and was to serve half of the time in jail and the other half under supervision.

Payne met the criteria to be “fed-kicked” — released because of jail overcrowding — and was let out of a Riverside County jail on July 8 and turned over to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, according to the Riverside County sheriff’s and probation departments. She had been on probation for felony theft in a Los Angeles case when the crime in Palm Desert occurred.

On July 10, Payne was released from L.A. County custody for unspecified reasons, and as of Aug. 8, hadn’t reported to the Riverside County Probation Department. One of the terms of her supervision was to report to probation within two days of release, according to probation and court records.

On Aug. 15, Riverside County’s probation department filed a report alleging that she violated that requirement, and asked that her supervision be revoked and a bench warrant be issued.

On Aug. 28, an Indio judge revoked Payne’s supervision, and a $100,000 warrant was issued by the following day, according to court records. The probation report stated that a probation officer left Payne a message telling her to contact the probation department, and she didn’t report.

Payne’s lengthy career as an international jewel thief was detailed in a 2013 documentary, “The Life and Crimes of Doris Payne.” She had been out of prison for about three months at the time of the Palm Desert ring theft.

Last Oct. 21, Payne entered El Paseo Jewelers, introduced herself as “Audrey” and was shown about a dozen necklaces. She left without buying anything but returned an hour later and was shown some rings. She told the employee she would come back the next day with a $12,000 cashier’s check from Bank of America to buy some pieces, but the next day, employees realized the ring was missing, according to police.

The ring she stole was found by police at a second-hand jewelry dealer in Palm Desert in November.

According to Riverside County sheriff’s Deputy Adan Yamaguchi, detectives identified the woman in El Paseo Jewelers as Payne using images captured Oct. 18 in Saks Fifth Avenue in Palm Desert. A store security guard recognized her “from the company’s run-in with Payne in 2010,” when she was arrested for theft, according to Yamaguchi.