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How a Group of Affluent Teens Pushed the Boundaries of Celeb Worship and Netted Nearly $3 Million Worth of Stolen Designer Duds

The courtroom lighting is unforgiving. Everyone looks dingy, affected, sleepy. Everyone wears black; it’s a funeral of sorts — the death of a Great Idea. Nick Prugo and Courtney Ames (both 19 years old) sit on opposite ends of the second row. Diana Tamayo (19) is makeup-less as she tosses her hair in the third row. Roy Lopez, Jr. (27) has his hands in a pensive fold in the back row.

When their case is called, they line up with their respective attorneys, single-file style, in front of the judge. There is mention of Rachel Lee (19), the supposed “mastermind” behind the Burglar Bunch. Prior to turning herself in, Lee was hiding out at her dad’s house, loaded with loot, in Las Vegas. Thus, the preliminary hearing is postponed for yet another month, when she is available to grace the Los Angeles Criminal Court with her Mean Girls presence. It is only Alexis Neiers (18) (aka Alexis Taylor, aka Alexis Arlington, aka Alexis Who-Knows-What) who isn’t discussed. Neiers is — at this moment — absent. She is filming her reality show.

Let’s backtrack.

Between December 2008 and October 2009, at least 10 Hollywood Hills homes inhabited by the style-savvy likes of Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Orlando Bloom, Rachel Bilson, Audrina Patridge, Brian Austin Green and Megan Fox, among others, were burgled. The strategy is impressive, if only because it took this long for some bored kids to concoct it.

After an initial Internet perusal of Chanel handbags and Rolex watches and then, with the aid of Google Maps’ ability to zoom in on a star’s private address, the Burglar Bunch attained their target’s schedule (be it of the nightclub attendance or filming location variety) and broke in when they knew the particular celeb and their paparazzi pals would not be present.

Some of the break-ins were more like walk-ins, considering a few front doors were completely unlocked. (Oversight is a bitch.) But their ploy was clever. Where they weren’t so sleuth, however, is in scanning the area for surveillance cameras and then the big “duh” in the form of Facebook bragging. Prugo, for one, displayed a picture of himself wearing a chain that was also seen on Benji Madden, Paris Hilton’s then-boyfriend, with the photoshopped text, “Hey PARIS, look FAMILIAR?”

Ames swears the necklace she’s been parading all over town isn’t the one stolen from Lindsay Lohan, but, instead, was purchased at T-Mart for $6.99. There’s a photo of Lee wearing a silver necklace with an apropos “R” charm, as well as the images of Tess Taylor — the one-time Playboy “Cyber Girl of the Week,” whom Neiers calls her “sister” and fellow reality show castmate — sporting a chic cropped jacket, both of which were previously seen on Rachel Bilson. After Prugo was arrested and featured in a tabloid as the celebrity thief, Ames posted a Facebook photo of herself pointing and laughing at his image in the magazine. Let their 15 minutes commence.

Adding to the scandal is Jonathan Ajar (28), aka “Jonnie Danergous,” who was arrested for hoarding a plethora of prescription drugs and weapons, including Brian Austin Green’s handgun. Ajar, who promoted at clubs such as Les Deux, is suspected, along with Roy Lopez Jr. (who was a bouncer at a Calabasas bar where Ames also worked), of pawning the stolen goods. Ajar also, apparently, had a romantic relationship with Ames. Regardless of her actual involvement, Ames seems to be the thread holding the fabric of the accused together.

Meanwhile, Alexis Neiers was busy shooting her upcoming reality show, Pretty Wild, for the E! Network. Premiering this month, the show documents her and her two sisters’ goings-on, while their eccentric mother, a former model with a “heart of gold,” attempts to maintain structure and stability. (Note: there’s is no actual blood relation between the eldest “sister,” Tess Taylor, and the Neiers girls.) The girls are depicted as pretty young things on the periphery of Hollywood and fame. After her arrest, Neiers spoke in sound-byte-ready speeches, claiming her only accidental criminal involvement was a drunken car ride with Prugo: while he robbed Orlando Bloom’s house, she, unaware of where they were or the nature of the visit, urinated in his yard.

Neiers has said, “I just learned my lesson that I need to make some better friends and some better decisions as far as my friends go.” However, on October 12, 2009, Prugo was photographed leaving Teddy’s — the popular nightclub at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel — with Neiers “sib” Tess Taylor. This was long after the Bloom robbery. Did Neiers not know she needed to make better decisions regarding her friends until after she was arrested? Twenty-twenty hindsight or the guilty’s rebuttal? You decide.

A friend of Patridge’s (who wished to remain anonymous) said that after the break-in and before knowing the face(s) of the accused, Patridge was afraid to be home alone and worried there were people out to hurt her. Judge as you will the merit of one’s rise to fame sans demonstrative talent or creative expression, but scaring someone for the sake of emulation is just not cool. Period. There is nothing glamorous about fear. Or stolen goods. Or, for that matter, the cult of celebrity that has perpetuated greed to the point of no return, where desire overrides rationality. The cache is replaced by entitlement where living within one’s means is no longer acceptable and the most accessible alternative is to manifest significance by any means possible, without considering consequence.

Celebrity fascination has gotten out of hand. Not only can a person do nothing but show indecencies to TMZ or procreate with a rabbit-on-Viagra fervor in order to become famous, but now the people who negatively affect these celebrities, even in the most insignificantly miniscule (albeit awful) ways are they themselves fruit-ripened into Us Weekly fodder. The rush to celebrity by any means possible is ridiculous, but we can only blame ourselves. We, after all, buy the magazines and watch the shows and read the blogs.

This charade is far from over. Unfortunately, there will be more finger-pointing and blame-placing before we, the rubber necking-audience of this debacle, are satiated. However, we can discretely actualize justice by transferring the violation of those who were burgled to those who were convicted of said burglaries. Every embarrassing antidote and all-access denial must be executed ad nauseam, showing the Burglar Bunch that, even if their criminal record can endure a little bruising, maybe their egos can’t. Show them that incrimination can be subversive, that evidence can come in forms beyond designer jeans and vintage jewels. If these alleged crooks want so badly to fit in with Hollywood’s privileged few, then the most palpable action we can take is to deny them that and stop the perpetuation of exploitation.

Besides, if they can’t stand the heat, maybe they shouldn’t have messed with Hollywood’s hottest.

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