The Celebrity Truth

Michelle Rodriguez, former star of the television series ‘Lost’, was released from jail after just 18 days on Thursday (January 10), after she was sentenced to 180 days in prison for violating her probation in a DUI case.

With a growing list of offences to her name, Rodriguez commenced her sentence on December 23 after she was charged for failing to complete community service - despite signing a document stating that she had - that stemmed from a previous 2004 drunk-driving and hit and run offence.

The 29-year-old actress, who was serving her time at the Century Regional Detention Center in Lynwood, was released due to overcrowding, with the sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore describing the facility as "bursting at the seams".

"She was treated the same way we do with all females, because of the extent of overcrowding," Whitmore says.

Rodriguez was released under a program that deals with the overcrowding problem by allowing non-violent inmates to go free, after serving a minimum of 10 per cent of their full sentence.

Whitmore also explained that the sentencing judge, who ordered the star to serve the full term, was consulted prior to her release, however the Sheriff’s Department had the final say.. 

Rodriguez was previously sentenced to 60 days jail for probation violation in May 2006, but was released on the same day due to overcrowding. She was sent to jail for another five days for a seperate DUI case that same year.

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Photo courtesy of ABC.

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