Winona appears in court to deny theft

Winona Ryder has appeared in court to formally deny charges she stole designer goods from an exclusive store.

Ryder, 30, pleaded not guilty when she was arraigned on felony charges of grand theft, burglary, vandalism and possession of a controlled drug at Beverly Hills Court.

The actress appeared before Superior Court Judge Elden Fox with her arm in a sling after it was fractured when she was struck by a camera at an earlier hearing.

Her lawyer, Mark Geragos, has filed a motion to disqualify the Los Angeles District Attorney's office from the case after claiming prosecutors were not treating Ryder fairly.

The case was deferred until Monday July 15 for a pre-trial hearing when the judge is expected to rule on that motion.

Ryder has maintained her innocence since she was arrested at exclusive store Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills just before Christmas last year.

Last week, following a preliminary hearing, Judge Fox decided there was enough evidence to warrant her standing trial. During that two-day hearing, the court was told Ryder crouched in a changing room and used scissors to cut security tags off designer handbags.

Security officer Colleen Rainey claimed she peered through the changing room's door slats and watched as Ryder stuffed goods into her bag.

Ryder was arrested outside Saks on December 12 last year for allegedly stealing goods including hats, handbags, tops, socks and hair accessories, from Saks. Police say she also had the painkiller Oxycodone, a morphine derivative, without a prescription.

She faces up to three years and eight months in prison if convicted.