Jewel Thief Doris Payne, 86, Released From Jail

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Notorious Jewel Thief Speaks at Bond Hearing

02:20

Golden-aged jewel thief Doris Payne was released from jail Saturday after she posted $15,000 bond.

The 86-year-old won her freedom after convincing a judge she wouldn't disappear.

"I've never been late for a court date," the sticky-fingered senior citizen said Friday in her first appearance since she was charged with stealing a $2,000 diamond necklace from an Atlanta-area jewel store.

During the brief court appearance, Payne objected when a prosecutor reeled off a series of past convictions, saying some of them were duplicates.

"I'm not denying that I have a history," Payne said. "I do."

Related: Infamous Jewel Thief Doris Payne, 86, Arrested Again

In previous interviews, Payne has said she's been arrested more than 20 times in a globe-trotting career that inspired a 2013 documentary.

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She's still facing charges in a neighboring Georgia county, stemming from the alleged theft of $690 Christian Dior earrings from a Saks Fifth Avenue outlet.

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She served two years in prison for a 2010 ring theft at a Macy's in San Diego. The judge in the case compared her to the Terminator, who always comes back.

"She's an adventure-seeker and she gets bored easily and she loves the attention," Matthew Pond, co-director of "The Life and Crimes of Doris Payne," told NBC News.

"She likes playing the part and getting into the role. She's a bit of an actress."

While she's lived abroad and once bragged about a $500,000 heist in Monte Carlo, Payne's wings have been clipped. She told the judge Friday that she doesn't have a passport because of her felony record.