BEVERLY HILLS, CALIF. — Is Winona Ryder a thrill-seeking thief, or is she the victim of a corporate conspiracy?  That's the question that will face jurors in her Beverly Hills shoplifting trial when they begin deliberating Tuesday morning.

On Monday, lawyers offered their take on the evidence presented over the past week, which included footage of Ryder shopping at the upscale Saks Fifth Avenue and testimony from the security team that apprehended the actress.

"She came, she stole, she left," said deputy district attorney Ann Rundle, offering jurors a Hollywood-style summary in her closing argument Monday. "End of story."

Gesturing to two Saks executives who have attended most of the trial, Ryder's defense attorney, Mark Geragos, suggested that a conspiracy was afoot.

"Why is it that Saks is involved and so heavily if this is just a simple case of theft?" asked Geragos rhetorically, gesturing to the executives. 

Ryder, who is charged with burglary, vandalism, and grand theft for allegedly stealing $5,560.40 of merchandise from the Beverly Hills Saks on Dec. 12, 2001, offered an impromptu closing argument of her own Monday, calling out as Rundle discussed a small pair of orange-handled scissors the actress allegedly used to remove security tags from clothing.

"That's not true!" Ryder blurted out before Geragos quickly silenced his client.

Throughout the trial, the actress has made clear her impression of the prosecution's story, often glowering at Rundle, rolling her eyes and shaking her head in confusion.  But the muted outburst came as the jury was poised to mull the charges, which carry a maximum sentence of three years in prison.  Ryder is likely to receive probation if convicted. 

Using poster boards plastered with "inconsistent statements" that Ryder made after her arrest, as well as a David Letterman-style Top 10 List explaining what the law doesn't require for conviction, Rundle reiterated her case while rebuffing the brief defense that was presented Friday by Ryder's attorney.

"Despite all of the hype, despite all of the speculation, insinuation and accusation, a week later we come back to the same exact place, a simple case of theft," Rundle said.

Mark Geragos rested his defense Monday without calling Ryder to testify.  In addition to his corporate conspiracy theory, the lawyer suggested to jurors that the testimony of the prosecution's two key witnesses was marred by inconsistencies.

"You have to understand that all roads lead through [lead guard Kenneth] Evans and [then-assistant security guard Colleen] Rainey," Geragos said.  "Their testimony just changes on cross-examination.  It changes at a whim." 

Geragos has maintained that Ryder was the victim of overzealous security guards, who wanted to profit from her prosecution.  Monday morning, he lost a bid to bring in a last-minute witness to mar the character of Rainey, the Saks security guard who testified she saw Ryder cutting security tags off some items.

During its four-day case, the prosecution showed surveillance video of Ryder's hour-and-a-half shopping spree. Although the tape does not show her cutting security tags off items, stowing away merchandise in her bags, or hiding the security tags in parts of the store, it does show her moving throughout the store and the dressing rooms while her bags grow steadily larger.

Rainey testified that, once confronted, Ryder admitted she had been shoplifting but claimed to be doing it to prepare for a movie role.

Rundle's Top 10 List, which drew a few laughs from the courtroom, warned jurors of such misconceptions as "only poor people steal" (number one on the list), "if you sell $200 hair bows you deserve to get ripped off" (number eight), and "there is a higher standard of proof for celebrities (number 10).

But the 12-person jury, who chose a foreperson before retiring Monday evening, remained stone-faced.