High-flying days are over for 'Bonnie'

LIFE JUST took a seismic shift toward the mundane for the once high-flying Jocelyn Kirsch.

All the things that got the femme fatale of the "Bonnie and Clyde" duo into so much trouble while she'd been out on bail - the alleged fake 9-1-1 calls, the disguises while using allegedly stolen plastic - won't be possible in her new life of house arrest, which will bar her from using the Internet, the phone, banks or credit cards.

The former Drexel University senior, known for her penchant for Starbucks and nights out with friends, will only be allowed to carry a maximum of $50 - when she's lucky enough to leave the confines of her house in Philadelphia for medical or legal appointments.

U.S. District Judge Eduardo C. Robreno ordered Kirsch to stay in town - and not California, where she has been living - as he granted federal prosecutors' motion to revoke her $50,000 bail because she purportedly stole and used a Starbucks co-worker's credit card.

She also spent more than $500 at Ikea and a local drugstore with a stolen credit card, according to the motion. Kirsch, under questioning from the government in recent weeks, also admitted to riding away on a $2,000 bicycle from a Lafayette, Calif., bike shop, federal prosecutors said.

In the meantime, Kirsch pleaded not guilty to aggravated identity theft, bank fraud, access-device fraud, money laundering and conspiracy. Kirsch and her former love, Edward Anderton, notoriously known as "Bonnie and Clyde," are believed to have scammed nearly $120,000 from friends, neighbors and co-workers here in Philadelphia from September 2006 to November 2007.

Her attorney, Ron Greenblatt, said in court that he expects her to plead guilty once a new plea arrangement can be hammered out. Assistant U.S. Attorney Louis Lappen said Kirsch's sentence probably will increase to six-to-seven years in prison under a new agreement.

Kirsch's "conduct proves that the defendant cannot be trusted to follow the terms of release and, thus, that she poses a significant risk of flight," according to the motion filed yesterday by prosecutors. While on bail and "claiming to accept responsibility for her misconduct, the defendant resumed her criminal lifestyle," the court document read.

Kirsch, dressed in a pink blouse under a jacket with three-quarter length sleeves and flared khaki pants, was accompanied to court by her parents, Dr. Lee Kirsch and Jessica Eads, who are divorced. Kirsch's brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she answered Robreno's questions in hushed "yes, Sir" or "no, Sir."

She told the court that she was taking Lexipro and Ambian among other medications that was prescribed by a California doctor and her father, a plastic surgeon.

When asked by Robreno about any alcohol consumption, Kirsch smiled and said she had a beer the night before.

Kirsch, who was arrested three times in Philadelphia for shoplifting, allegedly got the thievery itch in a Moraga, Calif., drug store where she used her co-worker's card to pay for $216 in merchandise. Prosecutors say she tried to disguise herself by wearing a hat and glasses - similar to her M.O. when she committed crimes in Philadelphia with Anderton, Lappen said.

On April 5 - the day after Kirsch purportedly made a 9-1-1 call under a false name that resulted in Marin County Sheriff's officers arresting her stepfather - "Sarah Malone" walked into Sharp Bicycle in Lafayette, Calif., said store manager Dee Sulprizio, 55.

Malone, actually Kirsch, looked at bikes and test-rode a Trek Madone 4.5 for about 15 minutes. Sulprizio said Kirsch "was attractive and flirty and she used that to her advantage." He said she said she wanted to buy the bike. She got it fitted and filled out forms with a fake name and address.

But then "Sarah," as in Jocelyn Sarah Kirsch, wanted to test-drive the bike again, offering up her car keys as collateral, he said. This time, she never came back.

And those car keys? "That didn't fit anything. We still have those," Sulprizio said.

"She played us along for quite awhile, all along pretending she was going to buy it," Sulprizio said, adding that they usually ask for IDs, but sometimes will take keys.

Kirsch's image was captured at the drug store where she wore a "distinctive-looking sweatshirt" that investigators later found in her apartment, along with the $2,000 bike.

Kirsch, additionally, visited an Ikea store in Emeryville, Calif., where she bought items totaling $338. She also used her co-worker's credit card to pay for parking and food at the Ikea, Lappen said.

All of Kirsch's behavior "was, from the government's perspective, outrageous conduct for somebody on release and who was coming in and supposedly admitting all of her misconduct to the government," Lappen said.

Lappen told Robreno in court, "She's basically begging a judge 'detain me, lock me up.' "

The judge did - to a point. Greenblatt countered in court that Kirsch would continue her house arrest in Philadelphia - she was placed on it last week by another federal judge - and be watched by either her mother, father or her grandmother.

He said Kirsch has appeared again and again when the government has asked her to.

Robreno agreed and increased her bail to $100,000. He also warned Kirsch that if she violated the new bail condition terms, she would face additional charges. *

Staff writer Nicole Norfleet contributed to this story.