All charges dismissed against man accused of stealing Frances McDormand's Oscar

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- All criminal charges were dismissed Tuesday against Terry Bryant, the man accused of stealing Frances McDormand's Best Actress Oscar after the Academy Awards last year.

"I'm blessed, I'm good," Terry Bryant told Eyewitness News shortly after the charges were dismissed. "I feel vindicated, I feel happy that this entire case was dismissed. It made absolutely no sense."

Bryant was arrested outside the Governor's Ball in 2018 after he was spotted holding and posing with McDormand's Oscar. Bryant has insisted all along that he's "not a thief," and that he was just and taking photos with the Oscar like dozens of other people had been doing that night.

"I'm going to live my life and I'm glad this whole ordeal is over with," Bryant says. "It hurt me, it hurt me."

Bryant's attorney, Daniel Brookman, took Bryant's case for free and speculated Tuesday that the District Attorney's case fell apart because McDormand may have refused to testify.

"First of all, I'd like to thank the Academy," Brookman quipped to Eyewitness News.

A spokesperson for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office would only say that their office "told the court that we are unable to proceed at this time" and that "we don't intend to refile at this time."

Bryant could have faced prison time if he'd been convicted.

"It was all completely blown out of proportion," says Bryant.

According to the LAPD police report obtained by Eyewitness News, "Ms. McDormand is not desirous of prosecution." Eyewitness News reached out to representatives of McDormand, but has not heard back.

A spokesperson for the Academy says, "The decision not to proceed further with the case is at the discretion of the District Attorney's office. The Academy takes security at the Oscars very seriously and thanks the LAPD, the District Attorney and the Los Angeles City Attorney for their responsiveness to this and other matters."

"Terry is ecstatic," Brookman says. "He's never lost faith even though this was very, very trying for him. But he had faith in his lawyers and the system and faith in a higher power."

Bryant says he's still invited to all sorts of red carpet events and is even working on a book. Bryant tells Eyewitness News he's received support from celebrities like Stevie Wonder and Patti LaBelle.

Over the weekend, Bryant posted a video to his Instagram that appears to show him singing and dancing on stage with La Belle at The Forum in May of this year. In the video, Bryant tells La Belle and the crowd, "Don't believe that stuff about the Oscar baby."