Hotel heiress walks free after bizarre 3-week stay Celebrity socialite Paris Hilton is received by her mother Kathy Hilton as she leaves the Lynnwood jailhouse in Los Angeles on Tuesday. It’s back to the not-so-solitary-life for Paris Hilton, who walked out of jail early Tuesday into a gathering of cameras and reporters, flashing a beaming smile and waving to the frenzied crowd. The 26-year-old celebutante wrapped up her three-week stay at the all-women’s jail in Lynwood at about 12:15 a.m. She had checked into the Century Regional Detention Facility late June 3, largely avoiding the spotlight, after a surprise appearance at the MTV Movie Awards. Hilton smiled and waved as she filed past sheriff’s deputies and the media, her blond hair pulled back in a braided ponytail. Her parents, Kathy and Rick Hilton, waited in a black sport utility vehicle. Hilton hurried to the vehicle, where she hugged her mother through the SUV’s window. The hotel heiress, who was wearing a sage jacket with white trim over a white shirt and skinny jeans, didn’t respond to reporters’ questions. “She fulfilled her debt. She was obviously in good spirits. She thanked people as she left,” said sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore. Chased by photographers in the air and on the street, Hilton eventually made her way from the jail to her grandparents’ home in Los Angeles’ ritzy Holmby Hills area north of Sunset Boulevard. “What I think is funny is every single news person here apologized to me,” said 50-year-old retired attorney Martha Karsh, out for a stroll with her college-age daughter, Katie. “It’s not real news. What’s the story here?” asked Karsh, adding that she wasn’t aware that any Hiltons lived in the neighborhood until TV satellite trucks and other news vehicles crammed the street. There was little sign of activity at the house, which was shielded by large, wrought-iron gates, a block wall and tall shrubs. A few people in cars drove in and out, including one young man who arrived in a red Mustang convertible, quickly punched in a code to the gate and roared up the driveway. Note of thanks Just before her release, Hilton’s lawyer, Richard Hutton, reportedly slipped a note to Harvey Levin, managing editor of celebrity news Web site TMZ.com, that included a penciled-sketch of Hilton in front of cell doors in the Lynwood jail. Hilton thanked Levin for his “fair and unbiased reporting of the events in my case,” according to the note posted on the Web site. It was signed “Paris Hilton” — each letter “i” dotted with a heart. While Hilton was in custody, Levin repeatedly belittled the judge for the length of her sentence, saying anyone else would have served less time. Hilton will complete her probation in March 2009 as long as she keeps her driver’s license current and doesn’t break any laws. She can reduce that time by 12 months if she does community service that could include a public-service announcement, the city attorney’s office has said. Solitary jail cell During her stay at Lynwood, Hilton was mostly confined to a solitary cell in the special needs unit away from the other 2,200 inmates. After spending only three days there, she was released to home confinement by Sheriff Lee Baca for an unspecified medical condition that he later said was psychological. The following day, Superior Court Judge Michael T. Sauer, who had sentenced Hilton, called her back into court and ordered her returned to jail, saying he hadn’t condoned her release. Hilton left in tears, calling for her mother and shouting, “It’s not right!” She was then taken to the downtown Twin Towers jail, which houses men and the county jail’s medical treatment center, where she underwent medical and psychiatric exams to determine where she should be confined. Eventually she was returned to Lynwood. Her early release caused a firestorm of criticism over whether she was getting special treatment because of her wealth and fame. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors was to meet with Baca on Tuesday to discuss the matter. Hilton’s path to jail began Sept. 7, when she failed a sobriety test after police saw her weaving down a street in her car on what she said was a late-night run to a hamburger stand. She pleaded no contest to reckless driving and was sentenced to 36 months’ probation, alcohol education and $1,500 in fines. In the months that followed, Hilton was stopped twice by officers who discovered her driving with a suspended license. The second stop landed her in Sauer’s courtroom, where he sentenced her to 45 days in jail. She was released after three weeks for reasons including good behavior. Source:dangerousnews
