Her massages and manicures have lasted longer…
Eighty-two minutes. That’s how long Nicole Richie spent in jail prior to being set free. According to news reports, a pregnant Richie entered an L.A. jail at 3:15 p.m. on Thursday. She was then processed into the system and released at 4:37 p.m. Now that’s fast.
Officials with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department told reporters the reality TV star only spent 82 minutes of her four-day sentence in jail because the facility is overcrowded. Apparently, based on Richie’s sentence and federal court guidelines, a non-violent female offender sentenced to 30 days or less is typically booked and released within 12 hours.
The 25-year-old mother-to-be pleaded guilty to a DUI charge last month and was sentenced to jail (she was also mandated to serve a three-year probation term), but it’s safe to say no one could have guessed that her time behind bars would be reduced to little more than a hour.
Yesterday, the actress released a statement through her attorney expressing her surprise at her minimal jail time. Her exact words: “I was pleasantly surprised to be released so quickly.” Richie added that she was prepared to serve her entire four-day sentence had the Sheriff’s Department required her to do so.
Richie’s attorney and her alleged fiancé Joel Madden accompanied her to jail. You have to wonder if Madden and the attorney got beyond the jail parking lot before they were called back to pick up the 105-pound pregnant waif. What’s more, jail records show Paris Hilton’s BFF was assigned to a cell for only 35 minutes before she got her walking papers. That’s less time than it reportedly took her to wait in line to get her jail garb.
I wonder what Diane Sawyer has to say about Lionel’s daughter’s speedy release from the slammer?