Reality bites, and so do jury verdicts.

Winona Ryder was found guilty Wednesday of picking through a pricey Beverly Hills department store with as much precision as Edward Scissorhands. The charges were felony grand theft and vandalism.

Ryder, 31, was cleared of burglary, the third and last count facing her. Jurors apparently didn't buy the prosecution argument that the actress' shoplifting spree was premeditated.

The six-woman, five-man, one-Hollywood mogul jury revealed their judgment in a 90210 court, one day after beginning deliberations.

Ryder, wearing a black hair band to match her typically somber courtroom ensemble, remained impassive as the verdicts were read. Earlier, she seemed more relaxed in the courtroom than she had in days, smiling and chatting with a friend.

The actress, who has twice attended the Academy Awards as a nominee, now faces induction into a state prison as an inmate--although prosecutor Ann Rundle said outside the courtroom Wednesday that the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office would ask for probation, community service and restitution to Saks Fifth Avenue, the pricey department store. Sentencing was scheduled for December 6.

Ryder, who previously posted $20,000 bail, was allowed to remain free until that court date, with Judge Elden S. Fox ruling she was neither a flight risk nor a threat to Beverly Hills denizens.

But Fox was strict when it came to conduct in his courtroom. Before the verdicts were read, he advised the assembled to keep a lid on their reactions; after, he warned jurors to steer clear of TV tabloid shows and other publicity, at least for three months.

After Fox wrapped things up, Ryder was ushered out of the courtroom and left the courthouse via the underground parking garage so she wouldn't have to deal with the press. Her publicist later released a written statement: "Winona is grateful to her family, friends and those who have supported her, especially during this time."

Ryder's troubles began last December 12, when she was arrested at the Saks Fifth Avenue store in Beverly Hills. Prosecutors argued the Gen-X icon, often cast as a misunderstood outsider, acted the part of the seasoned con, slicing security sensor tags from merchandise with "burglary tools" (chiefly, a small pair of scissors); trying to walk off with more than $5,500 worth of hair bows, handbags, socks and other designer wear; and, finally, trying to excuse her behavior by saying she was researching a movie role.

The defense portrayed Ryder as the wronged party, saying the Age of Innocence star was victimized by player-hating security guards, who manhandled the gamine during questioning.

Attorney Mark Geragos accused Saks guards, early and often, of making up their accounts of Ryder's alleged shoplifting spree. Geragos hammered away especially hard at guard Colleen Rainey, who testified she spied on Ryder through her dressing-room door and saw the actress cutting tags off clothes. He tried to paint Rainey as a wannabe on the take, eager to make bucks off her star encounter.

But Rainey did not back down from her story. And prosecutors didn't back down, either, branding the case from the get-go as "a simple case of theft."

On Wednesday, Rundle told reporters she was proud of the Saks guards for bearing up under "personal attacks" and scrutiny from the Ryder camp.

Rundle denied the D.A.'s office--its track record of winning high-profile convictions best summed up with one name, O.J. Simpson--was motivated in pursuing a felony case against Ryder by its desire to not to let another celebrity slip through the system.

"I found Miss Ryder to be a very nice individual," Rundle said. "This was never about her character, only her conduct."

The 10-day trial began October 24, after several fitful months of pretrial hearings marked, most bizarrely, by Ryder being excused to visit her doctor after colliding with a TV camera on her way into court. Ryder showed up two days later modeling an arm sling--a sling that may or may not have been worn on the same wing she claimed to have injured.

The trial, by comparison, was spectacle-free. It was not, however, without its moments. Rundle laid out her closing argument in a David Letterman-inspired Top 10 list. Geragos' prime witness, an ex-Saks employee who accused Saks guards of being out to get Ryder, turned into a liability as the prosecution accused him of being out to get Saks.

The biggest fizzle was the vaunted security-cam footage. Rather than serving as the smoking videotape, the store-shot footage turned out to be 90 minutes in the boring shopping life of a Hollywood actress.

Another letdown: no Winona. The actress was present, of course, every day in court, but she did not take the stand. It's believed her defense was trying to avoid the matter of a statement she signed after being detained by Saks security, a statement that read: "I, Winona Ryder, agree that I have stolen these items."

That statement was never revealed to jurors. It was, however, hotly debated in a pretrial hearing in October, during which Geragos charged that burly Saks guards "in excess of 250 pounds" lifted up Ryder's shirt--and skirt, the actress chimed in--during their interrogation.

The jury, including producer Peter Guber, debated the case for five hours Tuesday before adjourning. Those expecting the Batman impresario to stage a redo of 12 Angry Men were bound for disappointment. On Tuesday, the jury appeared to do its work without fireworks, sending no notes to the court and asking no questions.

Jurors needed only another 40 minutes Wednesday morning before telling the judge they'd reached a verdict.