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The Bling Ring burglaries terrorized Hollywood stars between 2008 and 2009. The infamous gang consisted of seven young adults, Rachel Lee, Alexis Haines (Neiers), Nick Prugo, Courtney Ames, Diana Tamayo, Johnny Ajar, and Roy Lopez Jr. This group lived in and around the upscale Calabasas, California, neighborhood.
Sources state that the squad stole cash, valuables, and designer clothing worth $3 million but were all eventually arrested for their involvement in the offenses. The Bling Ring used Hollywood star maps and the internet to find celebrity locations and schedules.
Although their lives changed since the burglaries, a Netflix documentary titled The Real Bling Ring: Hollywood Heists will revisit the crimes. Alexis Neiers and Nick Prugo, two former members of the Bling Ring, will feature in the docuseries, narrating their side of the story along with a few victim accounts. It airs on September 21, 2022.
Here are five key details to learn ahead of the documentary premiere.
Five critical details about the Bling Ring burglaries in Hollywood
1) A-list celebrities became victims of the Bling Ring burglaries
A-list Hollywood celebrities like Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, Orlando Bloom, Rachel Bilson, Brian Austen Green, Megan Fox, and Audrina Partridge, among others, became victims of these burglaries from 2008 to 2009. The gang reportedly stole jewelry, cash, designer clothes, bags, and other luxury items worth millions from their houses.
2) The Bling Ring members had plans to rob other celebrities
Bling Ring members grew fixated on the prospect of robbing wealthy celebrities. Thanks to minimal security and insider knowledge, they could get into the residences of famous people. Nick Prugo, a Bling Ring member, admitted that they also intended to steal from other celebs like Miley Cyrus, Zac Efron, Hilary Duff, and Vanessa Hudgens in a confession after his arrest.
Alexis Neiers stated in her confession, pinning it all on Rachel Lee, that,
"Rachel’s a klepto freak. She was so manipulating, so conniving. Nick always did what she said. Rachel was in charge. She started it all. Nick, he was a dude—why would he be knocking off chicks’ houses?"
3) Their biggest hit was Paris Hilton's house
In his confession, Prugo admitted that sometime in October 2008, he, alongside Lee, broke into Hilton's massive tile-roofed house in a gated neighborhood in the Hollywood Hills using a key they had discovered beneath the doormat. He described it as "horrifying" to suddenly find himself at Hilton's house. They stole expensive bras, designer dresses, alcohol, and cash.
Prugo allegedly claimed that,
"We found about, like, five grams of coke in Paris’s house. We snorted it and left. Then we drove around Mulholland, having the best time of our lives."
Their idea was to steal as little as possible so that it would go unnoticed. Reportedly, Hilton was unaware of or failed to notify any of the Bling Ring break-ins until Roy Lopez allegedly stole about $2 million worth of jewelry on December 19, 2008. There were four consecutive burglaries at Hilton's residence between October and December 2008.
4) They raided Orlando Bloom's house to steal his girlfriend's lingerie
Sources state that the Bling Ring primarily targeted female stars. However, on July 13, 2009, they targeted actor Orlando Bloom's house because Lee was after Miranda Kerr's lingerie, given that she was a Victoria's Secret model and Bloom's girlfriend.
In his confession, Nick Prugo reportedly said,
"Miranda Kerr, a Victoria’s Secret model, was dating Orlando Bloom, and Rachel [Lee] wanted Victoria’s Secret model clothes. I don’t want to participate in the media attention in this case."
Subsequently, Prugo, Neiers, Lee, and Tamayo broke into his property. They also stole a significant amount of valuable items, including expensive clothes, Bloom's classic Rolex watch collection, Louis Vuitton bags, and artwork nearly worth $500,000.
5) Drugs and firearms found in their possession
Rachel Lee, the suspected ringleader, was arrested in Las Vegas while her accomplices were apprehended in the Los Angeles region. According to police, some stolen items were recovered due to the search warrants issued during the sting operation. They also discovered three weapons and a sizable drug stash in their possession.
Lee was detained on a $3,000 bail bond for possessing stolen items, while the other suspects were all charged with house burglary and had their bail amounts set at $50,000. They all served their respective prison sentences back then and have seemingly moved on with their lives by now.
As previously mentioned, The Real Bling Ring: Hollywood Heists airs on Netflix this Wednesday, September 21, 2022.
