William Ryan Holt, 26, was arraigned in Los Angeles late Tuesday on one count of sending a threatening letter and one count of attempted extortion. He pleaded not guilty and is being held on $100,000 bail. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for July 18.
His alleged accomplice and the mastermind of the scheme, 29-year-old Michael Robert Mishler, faces arraignment July 15 on two counts of burglary, three counts of sending a threatening letter and three counts of attempted extortion. He is in jail on $300,000 bond.
According the Los Angeles District Attorney, Mishler broke into Macpherson's rented Hollywood Hills digs and swiped some compromising photos of the Batman & Robin costar. Enlisting Holt's aid, he sent Macpherson a note, demanding "U.S. currency." If she did not send him the dough, Mishler purportedly threatened to divulge an embarrassing secret about Macpherson on the Internet, as well as to post the two unpublished photos of the supermodel.
The 33-year-old model, who shot to fame as a bikini babe in Sports Illustrated, did not appear in court Monday. She has been staying in a $6,000-month house in Los Angeles because of her burgeoning acting career. In addition to Batman & Robin, she has appeared in Sirens, If Lucy Fell, Jane Eyre and The Mirror Has Two Faces. She also operates the Fashion Cafe restaurant chain with fellow beauties Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer and Christy Turlington.