LONDON — A woman accused of breaking into Simon Cowell’s house wielding a broken brick and then hiding in the entertainment mogul’s wardrobe appeared in a London court Monday.
Leanne Zaloumis, 29, was charged with aggravated burglary after the incident Saturday night.
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Prosecutors said Cowell was watching TV in the bedroom of his London mansion when he heard a loud bang coming from his bathroom and discovered Zaloumis inside with a brick.
Cowell’s security staff confined the intruder to a bedroom until police arrived and found her in the wardrobe. Police officers drew their weapons as they arrested Zaloumis, and later found bloodstains in the bathroom, prosecutor Paul Mitchell said.
The charge, read out in court, alleges that Zaloumis intended to “inflict grievous bodily harm upon a person therein and at the time of committing the said burglary had with you a weapon of offense, namely a broken house brick.”
She also is accused of shouting at Cowell and hurling items at his bathroom window while standing on a roof outside.
Cowell, 52, has gained fame in both Britain and North America as producer and an acerbic judge on TV talent shows including “The X Factor” and “America’s Got Talent.”
Cowell spokesman Max Clifford said Cowell had described the incident as “just like something out of a horror movie.”
“He was shaken up,” Clifford said. “Strange as it might seem, he feels lucky, because it could have been a gun or a knife in her hand.”
Zaloumis, who appeared in court with unkempt hair and a baggy gray sweatshirt, spoke only to confirm her name and address during a brief hearing at West London Magistrates’ Court.
District Judge James Henderson ordered her detained until her next hearing June 12.
Celebrity hacker admits guilt, faces prison
LOS ANGELES — An unemployed Florida man pleaded guilty Monday to hacking into the email accounts of celebrities, including Christina Aguilera, Mila Kunis and Scarlett Johansson, whose nude photos eventually landed on the Internet.
Christopher Chaney, 35, of Jacksonville entered his plea in federal court to nine counts, including unauthorized access to a computer and wiretapping. He was immediately taken into custody with his head hung low and his hands in his pockets.
Sentencing was scheduled for July 23, and Chaney could face up to 60 years in prison. Under a plea bargain, he also could pay a fine of up to $2.2 million and must pay restitution to his victims, ranging from $15,000 to $400,000.
Chaney was arrested in October as part of a yearlong investigation of celebrity hacking that authorities dubbed “Operation Hackerazzi.”
Prosecutors said Chaney illegally accessed the email accounts of more than 50 people in the entertainment industry from November 2010 to October 2011.
Nude photos that Johansson had taken of herself were later posted on the Internet. Johansson told Vanity Fair that the photos were meant for Ryan Reynolds, now her ex-husband.
Chaney mined through publicly available data to figure out password and security questions for celebrity accounts.
Bobby Brown suspected of drunken driving
LOS ANGELES — Officials in Southern California say Bobby Brown has been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.
California Highway Patrol Officer Mike Harris said Brown was arrested around 12:20 p.m. Monday in the San Fernando Valley north of Los Angeles. He failed a field sobriety test and was booked on suspicion of DUI.
The 43-year-old R&B singer is the ex-husband of the late Whitney Houston and a founding member of the group New Edition.
Grammer won’t be ‘Real’ again
LOS ANGELES — Camille Grammer has decided not to return for another season of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.”
“It was 100 percent her decision,” said her publicist, Howard Bragman. “Bravo seems to be going out there saying it was mutual. It’s just not true.”
Grammer cut ties, Bragman said, because of conflicting views on the direction of her story line. “There were things that she didn’t want to talk about: kids, family, her personal life. Bravo wanted that. She said no.”
Bravo declined to comment.
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