Friday, 24 August 2007

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Thieves hit Kirsten Dunst's hotel room in New York

Actress gets burgled

Two burglars sneaked into Kirsten Dunst's New York hotel penthouse suite earlier this month and stole the actress's Marc Jacobs and Balenciaga handbags, as well as cameras, cash and an iPod, authorities say.

The burglary, reports the New York Post, occurred about 5 a.m. on Aug. 9 – right after the Spider-Man star, 25, left her suite at the SoHo Grand hotel to shoot scenes for her film How to Lose Friends and Alienate People.

At 4:48 a.m., Dunst, her How to Lose Friends costar Simon Pegg and her assistant Liat Baruch departed Dunst's room. Within minutes, surveillance cameras clocked one of the suspects – Jarrod Beinerman, 33, of Brooklyn – entering the hotel.

Police are searching for his alleged accomplice, whose name is known, the paper reports.

Beinerman – a plumber who served more than three years in prison for his role in a cocaine-distribution ring, says the Post – reportedly took a guest elevator to the floor below Dunst's suite, then switched to a freight elevator to reach the penthouse. There, he allegedly walked through an open door into the penthouse.

He and his accomplice allegedly stole items belonging to Dunst and her companions, including at least two handbags of the actress's (one valued at $13,000), wallets containing IDs and credit cards, two digital cameras, a cell phone and an iPod.

Beinerman and the accomplice were captured on video leaving the hotel, and the theft was discovered about 90 minutes later, according to the paper. Police have since recovered the credit cards, ID and the cell phone.

Beinerman was arrested Tuesday as he left Brooklyn Supreme Court, where he was facing an unrelated charge of allegedly selling heroin. He is being held on $50,000 bond after his arraignment Wednesday in Manhattan Criminal Court on burglary and grand larceny charges.

Beinerman's attorney told the judge on Wednesday that his client was at the hotel because he had heard a movie was shooting there, and he wanted "to check out what was going on."

Also according to the Post, Beinerman's personal MySpace page showed he last logged in on Monday – the day before he was arrested. His "mood" setting on the page indicated he was "worried."

Dunst's spokesperson declined comment on the incident.

By Courtney Rubin