Judge will rule on legitimacy of jewel thief Doris Payne’s bail money

A Riverside County Superior Court judge is expected to rule this week on whether the money an 83-year-old career jewel thief wants to use to post her jail bond is from a legitimate source.

The hearing over Doris Payne’s $65,000 bail is scheduled for Friday. A trial readiness conference was scheduled for early February.

Payne, whose exploits have garnered international headlines, is charged with second-degree burglary and grand theft — she is accused of stealing a diamond-encrusted ring from a Palm Desert jewelry store in October — and has pleaded not guilty.

In his decision to keep Payne in custody in lieu of $65,000 bail, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Richard A. Erwood noted that Payne had listed her occupation on court papers as “jewelry thief” — which she had done in at least one prior arrest.

Payne’s attorney, Gretchen von Helms, said she respected Erwood’s decision but was disappointed. “Doris has a long history of coming back to face the music,” she said.

In a preliminary hearing this month, store manager Raju Mehta testified that it was Payne who walked into El Paseo Jewelers on the morning of Oct. 21 and said she wanted to buy a necklace with a $42,000 insurance check. The woman tried on a few pieces before leaving the store, Mehta said.

Payne returned shortly after, he testified, and said she wanted to buy a necklace, earrings and a ring for her pinkie finger. Mehta said he helped the woman try on a few pieces, then moved her to a seat at a ring display case after she complained that her hip hurt.

The woman tried on several pieces — including a diamond and white gold ring valued at $22,500 — and said she would return the next morning to purchase three items, Mehta said.

That evening, he testified, he was notified by his store employees that the $22,500 ring was missing.

Store employee Jodi Clapinski testified that she realized something was wrong when she noticed a finger mount in the display case was bare.

Mehta and Clapinski each said they didn’t see Payne take the ring.

Later that day, Payne walked into the Exchange, a secondhand dealer near the jewelry store, testified Michael Jacobs, whose wife owns the shop.

Jacobs said Payne asked for $1,000 for a diamond ring, a price he said he “wasn’t comfortable” offering after examining the piece. He said the center diamond had “some imperfections.” He offered her $800 instead.

Payne agreed to the deal and followed store protocol by signing and putting her thumbprint on a form required for sales, Jacobs testified. A copy of that form goes to police, Jacobs said, to report what items the store purchases.

Authorities came to the Exchange “shortly” after Oct. 21 to ask about the ring, Jacobs said.

The witnesses said they didn’t recognize the woman who walked into their stores. It wasn’t until later, they said, that they learned who she was.

joseph.serna@latimes.com

kate.mather@latimes.com