Lindsay Lohan returns to court to face judge

Actress Lindsay Lohan heads back to court Thursday to say if she will accept a plea deal on a felony charge of stealing a $2,500 necklace.

If a plea deal is not reached in Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Keith Schwartz's courtroom, the case will go to another judge for a preliminary hearing and a possible trial, he said.

At her last appearance in February, the judge warned Lohan that any plea deal would involve jail time.

"If you plead in front of me, you are going to jail, period!" Schwartz told Lohan during the February 23 hearing.

Lohan's lawyer Shawn Holley previously said her client would welcome a plea deal, but only if it did not involve going to jail.

Thursday's hearing will mark Lohan's ninth court appearance in 10 months.

The actress is accused of walking out with a necklace from Kamofie and Company, a jewelry store in Venice, California, on January 22.

The store owners said Wednesday they will auction off the necklace and donate the proceeds to charity.

"Sofia Kaman would rather the money go to help an appropriate charity, since at least that way some good can result from this incident," the store said.

The auction will have to wait until the case is resolved, since it is being held as evidence by prosecutors, the store said.

The felony grand theft charge triggered a charge that Lohan violated her probation for a 2007 drunk driving conviction.

The actress is free on bond on the probation violation and the grand theft charge while her lawyer and the prosecutor discuss a plea deal, or until a full hearing.

The penalty for a felony grand theft conviction ranges from 16 months to three years in a California state prison. The exact term would be based on the value of the property stolen and the criminal record of the defendant.

Shoplifting offenses are charged as petty theft if the property taken is valued at less than $950. The store owner claims the "one of a kind" necklace is worth $2,500, police said.