A man convicted in two “bling ring” burglaries of celebrities’ homes was arrested today on charges of stalking a West Hollywood esthetician and her two adult daughters and soliciting a man to rape her.
Nicholas Prugo — who served a year behind bars for break-ins at thebhomes of actress Lindsay Lohan and reality TV star Audrina Patridge — is charged with three felony counts of stalking and one count of solicitation to commit sexual assault.
Prugo, 24, was arrested today by Los Angeles police and is due in a downtown courtroom tomorrow for arraignment, according to the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office.
Co-defendant Edward Feinstein, 31, a former West Hollywood resident, is free on $450,000 bail and is set to be arraigned Oct. 6 on the same charges, according to the D.A.’s office.
Dawn DaLuise, the alleged victim, was acquitted in January of solicitation of murder and solicitation of assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury involving rival business owner Gabriel Suarez. DaLuise owned Skin Refinery, a salon at 8543 Santa Monica Blvd. near West Knoll in West Hollywood. She was said to be upset when Suarez opened Smooth Cheeks salon nearby.
Deputy District Attorney Christine Von Helmont told jurors that DaLuise had wrongly convinced herself that Suarez was responsible for stalking her. Someone had also distributed sexually explicit fliers and posted ads on Craigslist posing as DaLuise and soliciting men to act out a “rape fantasy.”
DaLuise’s attorney, Jamon Hicks, said his client did not do anything to solicit murder. He told jurors that she “was venting. She was upset. She said some things that aren’t nice,” but “never intended for anybody to die. She did not want this man murdered … We all say things in the heat of the moment that we don’t mean, that we wish we could take back.”
Prosecutors allege that Prugo and Feinstein were the ones who actually harassed DaLuise and her two adult daughters between Dec. 1, 2013, and April 1, 2014. Prugo and Feinstein allegedly posted an Internet ad in January 2014 soliciting someone to go to DaLuise’s home and rape her, according to prosecutors.
The two were initially arrested last year in connection with the allegations, but were released as the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Fraud and Cyber Crimes unit continued to investigate.
Prugo was one of six people convicted of charges stemming from the “bling ring” case in which he and other young people stole more than $3 million of jewelry and clothing from the homes of celebrities. The burglaries inspired a movie titled “Bling Ring” that was directed by Sofia Coppola and starred Emma Watson.
He could face up to 14 years in state prison if found guilty in the stalking case. Feinstein could face a maximum of seven years in county jail if he is convicted of the charges, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
