Ezra Miller Pleads Not Guilty To Felony Burglary Charges; ‘Flash’ Star Faces 26 Years In Vermont Prison If Convicted
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(Updated with court documents) The Flash star Ezra Miller pleaded not guilty to felony burglary charges this morning in Vermont.
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Allowed to appear remotely early Monday for the session in the criminal division of the Green Mountain State’s Superior Court, Miller was told to stay away from the neighbor whose home he entered earlier this year. Along with neighbor Isaac Winokur, Miller was also prohibited from interacting with another Vermont resident, Aiden Early, as conditions of their release (Read the conditions of release here).
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Miller faces a maximum of 26 years behind bars as well as over $2,000 in fines if found guilty of the charges stemming from the spring incident which entailed stealing three bottles of liquor –gin, vodka and rum — from Winokur’s pantry. The next hearing in the case is set for January 13, 2023 and scheduled to last about three hours.
In a jovial and chipper mood Monday morning, the casually dressed actor will have to return to court per Superior Court Judge Kerry A. McDonald-Cady, virtually or in-person, at an determined future date for more proceedings in this matter. “Ezra would like to acknowledge the love and support they have received from their family and friends, who continue to be a vital presence in their ongoing mental health,” said in part a statement soon after today’s hearing from attorney Lisa B. Shelkrot.
With more than a few pennies potentially on the line for Warner Bros Pictures and the studio’s long-awaited, $200 million-budgeted The Flash flick out next year, the nonbinary-identifying Miller agreed to five overall conditions, the most pressing being that the actor “can’t have any contact with Isaac Winokur or Aiden Early, either by phone, in person, email, text, posting on social media” and “can’t abuse or harass them as well,” ordered McDonald-Cady.
“We agree to those conditions,” said Miller’s lawyer Skelkrot, who sat with the actor virtually in her Burlington, VT, office.
In response to those conditions, Miller told the judge, “I do understand.”
In an early August release now by all accounts scrubbed from the Vermont State Police website, the cops said: “As a result of an investigation that included surveillance videos and statements, probable cause was found to charge Ezra M. Miller with the offense of felony burglary into an unoccupied dwelling.” Claiming they were in the house that wasn’t theirs to look for ingredients for a recipe for their mother, the actor also was hit with a misdemeanor charge of petty larceny over a trio of stolen booze bottles.
Now, just over two months later, Miller said they were “suffering complex mental health issues and have begun ongoing treatment.”
While not completely erasing the near crash and burn of the last year for Miller, nor their second-degree assault arrest in Hawaii in April, today’s outcome continues to prolong agita for the David Zaslav-run Warner Bros Discovery as it looks to lock in a long-term plan to reset and effectively monetize its DC properties, with The Flash a gleaming jewel in the crown. Lacking much wiggle room with a film that features Miller in almost every shot, the months of behind-the-scenes efforts by corporate bigwigs, Miller’s agency CAA, family and friends have tried to get the actor the help they’ve needed.
Certainly the dust-ups, and other questionable actions from the Aloha State to Vermont to Iceland to Germany and more by a seemingly frayed and spirally Miller had put WB on the back foot in a human and PR nightmare. With their treatment program continuing and some L.A.-set Flash reshoots under their belt in the past few weeks, Miller also had a successful sit-down earlier this fall with Warner Bros. motion picture chairs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy to apologize for all the legal and media spotlight their behavior has caused. Still, as basically finished The Flash lurches toward a late June 23 release date, Issa Rae uttered publicly what many have said OTR about how Miller and Hollywood’s actions should have long escaped the bounds of tolerable.
Naming names, Rap Sh!t creator Rae recently told Elle magazine: “The stuff that’s happening with Ezra Miller is, to me, a microcosm of Hollywood. There’s this person who’s a repeat offender, who’s been behaving atrociously, and as opposed to shutting them down and shutting the production down, there’s an effort to save the movie and them. That is a clear example of the lengths that Hollywood will go to to save itself and to protect offenders. So, don’t do that, and women may be able to thrive. They won’t have to live in fear of keeping silent because it’ll ruin their careers. It’s just a constant pattern of abuse that’ll only persist if Hollywood continues to insist on being this way.”
With Miller in mind, Rae went on to say of Tinseltown, “It’s literally the worst industry when it comes to punishing people for misdeeds and actions, because money will always reign supreme.”
Even though the viral video of Miller apparently choking a female patron of a Reykjavik bar in the spring never led to either an arrest or charges, the actor was hauled in twice in Hawaii during the past 12 months. In addition to the Hawaii and Vermont charges, 30-year-old Miller also has faced allegations of sexual abuse. There was also the matter of the temporary harassment prevention order they were subject to earlier this year from a 12-year-old and a mother in Greenfield, MA after they claimed the actor menaced them.
Perhaps most damningly, the parents of now 18-year-old Tokata Iron Eyes filed for a protection order against Miller in June of this year. The parents accused the actor of grooming and brainwashing the minor when she was as young as 12 and plying her with alcohol and drugs such as pot and LSD in 2021. Disputing her parents claims of Miller’s “cult-like and psychologically manipulative, controlling behavior,” Tokata pushed back in June in Miller’s defense. “My father and his allegations hold no weight and are frankly transphobic and based in the notion that I am somehow incapable of coherent thought or opposing opinions to those of my own kindred worrying about my well-being,” she said in a statement on social media.
Today’s hearing in Vermont originally was set for September 26 but was pushed back late this summer. Delayed on numerous occasions since it was first announced in 2014 for director issues and the Covid pandemic among others, The Flash movie is on the track for a June 23 release, for now.
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