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Prosecutors Drop Charges Against Man Accused Of Stealing Frances McDormand's Oscar

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Criminal charges have been dropped against a man who was accused of stealing actress Frances McDormand's Oscar statuette following the 2018 Academy Awards.

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Best Actress laureate Frances McDormand attends the 90th Annual Academy Awards Governors Ball at the Hollywood & Highland Center on March 4, 2018, in Hollywood, California (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty Images)

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office did not give an explanation as to why it dropped felony grand theft charges against 48-year-old Terry Bryant.

On March 4, 2018, McDormand won the best actress Oscar for her performance in the film "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri."

Bryant was accused of swiping McDormand's statuette from a table at the Governor's Ball at the Hollywood & Highland Center following the ceremony. He then posted video of himself to Facebook posing with the Oscar and shouting, "Look at this, baby…my team got this tonight….this is mine!"

Prosecutors Drop Charges Against Man Accused Of Stealing Frances McDormand's Oscar
Terry Bryant posts video to his Facebook page of himself holding an Oscar statuette at the Governor's Ball on March 4, 2018,. Police say the statue he is holding is believed to have been won earlier in the night by actress Frances McDormand. (Facebook)

He was arrested later that night. Los Angeles police said Bryant had a ticket to the Governor's Ball, but it wasn't clear how he gained access to McDormand's statuette.

During a preliminary hearing in the case back in July 2018, Cesario Tio, a Film Academy worker at the Governor's Ball, testified that he learned that McDormand had left her award on a table and that she couldn't find it.

He testified that he saw Bryant come out of the ball with an Oscar raised over his head. He followed Bryant to the top of the stairs, grabbed the Oscar from him and turned it over to another employee.

(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)

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