Paparazzi to blame for Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, and Orlando Bloom being burglarized?

Orlando Bloom, one of the high school burglars' victims

Last year, a bunch of Hollywood stars, including Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, and Orlando Bloom, were burglarized. It turns out that the culprits were a group of high school students, say the LAPD. There are seven suspects, mainly 18- and 19-year-old girls, accused of stealing designer luggage, cash, jewelry, and designer clothing.

How did they do it? I’m not sure what the LA equivalent to the Manhattan-based Gawker Stalker is, but apparently, it’s to blame for the burglaries:

They allegedly focused on a celebrity they saw on television or in a magazine, using the Internet to target their movements, Goodkin said, including websites that track celebrity movements. The suspects allegedly staked out their residences, sometimes more than once, the detective added.

via High school classmates investigated in burglaries of young Hollywood celebrities | Los Angeles Times.

The attorney representing the celeb victims hopes that the paparazzi are tried along with the teenage burglars. Metaphorically, at least.

Blair Berk, an attorney who represents some of the victims, said “paparazzi shots and magazine coverage is increasingly prying into the private homes, schools and personal possessions of stars, and that is increasingly creating a very real danger in terms of mentally ill stalkers and criminals.”

“There are only so many shots of a star’s back gate before someone, be it a stalker or burglar, goes through it,” Berk said.

via High school classmates investigated in burglaries of young Hollywood celebrities | Los Angeles Times.

Yes, the paparazzi invade celebrities’ privacy, cause car accidents, and enable stalkers. But I’m going to draw the line at blaming them for turning teenage girls to a life of crime. I blame Heathers.