January 11, 2008

Jessica Sierra Heading To Rehab

By MTV.com

After a legal snafu that almost landed her back behind bars, former American Idol finalist Jessica Sierra is on her way to a rehab facility in California again.

According to Florida Assistant State Attorney Pam Bondi, the troubled singer - who was ordered to spend a year in the Pasadena Recovery Center as a result of her recent arrest on disorderly intoxication charges - had her emergency probation transfer order rejected by the California Department of Probation. That resulted in the awkward situation of Sierra, 22, being out of jail but unable to begin rehab.

"She was supposed to get on a plane yesterday, but the probation department in California wouldn't accept her transfer on an expedited basis because they take up to 45 days to review requests, so we had the unfortunate situation of a pregnant addict on the streets," Bondi said.

Luckily, Sierra was able to get back into court Thursday (January 10), and the judge in the case gave her permission to travel immediately with her dad to Los Angeles and get picked up by a representative from the Center, where she will be allowed to stay until the probation transfer is approved.