'Real Housewives' star Kim Richards accused of shoplifting at Target

[August 05, 2015]  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Kim Richards, part of television's "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" ensemble, spent a night in jail after her arrest on suspicion of shoplifting $600 worth of merchandise from a Target discount store in Los Angeles, police said on Tuesday.

Richards, 50, a former child actress who already faces a public drunkenness charge stemming from a separate incident in April, was detained by store security personnel on Sunday and turned over to Los Angeles police officers called to the scene, according to police.

She posted $5,000 bond and was released from jail on Monday afternoon, said officer Matthew Ludwig, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department. The misdemeanor case is to be turned over to the City Attorney's Office for review, Ludwig said.

He said Richards was caught removing several pieces of merchandise, valued at more than $600, from the Target store in L.A.'s Van Nuys neighborhood without paying for them.

Ludwig said he had no details about what she was accused of taking or how she allegedly tried to conceal it. A Target spokeswoman, Molly Snyder, declined to elaborate.

A spokeswoman for NBC Universal, the parent company of Bravo, had no comment on Richards. The woman listed as her manager was not immediately available.

Richards and her sister Kyle have been regular cast members since the 2010 premiere of "Real Housewives," which follows the exploits of several affluent women in one of the nation's most well-heeled zip codes. The show's fifth season ended weeks ago.

The Richards are half-sisters to Kathy Hilton, the mother of socialite Paris Hilton and spouse of luxury hotel magnate Richard Howard Hilton.

Kim Richards was arrested April 16 on charges of public intoxication and trespassing after a reported disturbance at the Beverly Hills Hotel. She also was accused of kicking an officer in the leg at the police station.

As a youngster, Richards appeared in the 1970-71 sitcom "Nanny and the Professor" and in several Walt Disney Co films, including "Escape from Witch Mountain." She has since had guest spots on various TV shows and played a supporting role in the 2006 film "Black Snake Moan."

(Reporting by Steve Gorman; Editing by Doina Chiacu)

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