West Side Tale Blog

Paris Hilton checks into L.A. jail

Paris Hilton completed the first night of her probation sentence as morning arrived Monday in her new surroundings - a county jail cell that will be her home for much of this month.
The 26-year-old heiress worked the red carpet at the MTV Movie Awards Sunday afternoon, then traded her strapless designer gown for a jail-issue jumpsuit and a solitary cell.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, which runs the jail, turned mum Monday, but the media crowd outside the jail had grown since the weekend.
Hilton entered the Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood just after 11:30 p.m. Sunday. She is due to serve three weeks for violating her probation in an alcohol-related reckless driving case. The sheriff’s department on-line booking site showed a projected release date of June 26.
She surrendered to sheriff’s deputies after making a surprise visit to the MTV awards.
“I am trying to be strong right now”, she told reporters on the red carpet. “I’m ready to face my sentence. Even though this is a really hard time, I have my family, my friends and my fans to support me, and that’s really helpful.”
The “Simple Life” star is being housed in the “special needs” unit of the 13-year-old jail, separate from most of its 2,200 inmates. The unit contains 12 two-person cells reserved for police officers, public officials, celebrities and other high-profile inmates. Hilton’s cell has two bunks, a table, a sink, a toilet and a small window. She does not have a cellmate.
“I did have a choice to go to a pay jail”, Hilton said Sunday, without giving details. “But I declined because I feel like the media portrays me in a way that I’m not and that’s why I wanted to go to county, to show that I can do it and I’m going to be treated like everyone else. I’m going to do the time, I’m going to do it the right way.”
Officers arrested Hilton in Hollywood on Sept. 7. In January, she pleaded no contest to the reckless-driving charge and was sentenced to 36 months’ probation, alcohol education and $1,500 in fines.
She was pulled over by California Highway Patrol on Jan. 15. Officers informed Hilton she was driving on a suspended license and she signed a document acknowledging she was not to drive. She then was pulled over by sheriff’s deputies on Feb. 27, at which time she was charged with violating her probation.