Los Angeles (E! Online) - Theres a bureaucratic bump on Jessica Sierras cross-country road to recovery.
The erstwhile American Idol finalist, who was sentenced this week in Florida to a year at an in-house drug treatment center in California, learned Wednesday that its going to take longer than the usual five or six hours to get out West.
While the Pasadena Recovery Centers door is already wide open, the California Department of Probation has rejected Sierras emergency transfer and will instead consider a nonemergency transfer, which could take up to 45 days, according to Assistant Florida State Attorney Pam Bondi.
After sentencing Sierra on Monday, Hillsborough County Circuit Judge Daniel Perry ordered her to remain in custody until she was able to board a flight to Los Angeles.
The troubled 22-year-old was supposed to meet with her probation officer earlier today, after which she and her father were scheduled to fly out of Tampa International Airport. But rather than fly the friendly skies, Sierra has to gear up for another court appearance Thursday morning to address this latest development.
At least she was able to go to her familys house in Tampa to wait it out, instead of back to jail. Sierra told reporters gathered outside Falkenborg Road Jail this morning that she was excited to be out and on her way to rehab. (She also declined to discuss her pregnancy, which was confirmed earlier this week by her family.)
She had been in jail since Dec. 1, when she was arrested in Ybor City on charges of disorderly conduct and nonviolently resisting an officer, raising a few questions about VH1s upcoming reality series Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, which premieres Thursday featuring a pre-arrest Sierra as one of the celebs in need of help.
Her yearlong sentence also encompassed probation violation stemming from her arrest last April at a local nightclub, after which she was charged with cocaine possession and throwing a glass at a fellow patron.
Doctor and radio-TV host Drew Pinsky appeared in court on Sierras behalf on Monday, advising Perry that Sierra needed at least a year to get her act together.
My opinion is, after that year, her prognosis would be reasonably good, Pinsky said.
And although Pasadena Recovery Center, where Pinskys show was taped, is willing to foot the bill for Sierras treatment, which is expected to run somewhere in the six-figure department, Perry would prefer that Sierra start getting the help she needs further away from the Hollywood scene.
I dont want this to be some sort of stepping stone for her to have some sort of a career as a recovering addict, the judge said Monday. I dont want her giving interviews. I dont want her on TV. I dont want anybody glamorizing the fact that shes a drug addict. Im over that.
But center cofounder Michael Bloom told the Tampa Tribune that they want Pinsky on board when Sierra finally makes it to Pasadena.
Bloom said that the celebrity doc doesnt normally treat in-house patients, because he has his own private practice, but, in Jessicas case, we want him involved.
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