Sheriff Lee Baca's decision to let Paris Hilton out of jail after she served only three days of a planned 23-day stay sparked outrage Thursday, prompting an emergency court hearing today that could send the hotel heiress back behind bars.
Infuriated prosecutors asserted Thursday that Hilton had received special treatment from the Sheriff's Department, which they accused of contempt of court. The judge who sentenced Hilton ordered her back into court to consider whether the department acted improperly by allowing her to serve the rest of her sentence at home while wearing an ankle monitor.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Tuesday July 03, 2007 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 71 words Type of Material: Correction
Paris Hilton: Articles in The Times about Paris Hilton's jail sentence have given differing accounts of how long the hotel heiress spent behind bars the first time before Sheriff Lee Baca released her. Hilton entered custody at 11:15 p.m. on June 3 and was released early in the morning of June 7. The Sheriff's Department credited her with five days in jail, but she actually served less than four full days.
"My understanding is she will be brought in a sheriff's vehicle from her home," said Allan Parachini, a Los Angeles County Superior Court spokesman.
Hilton's brief jail stay came after both the judge and sheriff had said she would serve more substantial jail time.
Superior Court Judge Michael T. Sauer sentenced Hilton to 45 days in jail after the 26-year-old multimillionaire repeatedly violated her probation on alcohol-related reckless driving charges by driving on a suspended license. Sauer had admonished Hilton for her actions and said she must serve the full term in the county jail.
Baca, who runs the jail system, had said he was fully prepared to enforce what legal experts described as a tough sentence. He declared that Hilton would be treated like any other inmate, warned her to take her incarceration seriously and said with standard credit for good behavior she would spend 23 days in jail, not a moment less.
Instead, sheriff's officials announced Thursday that an undisclosed medical condition led them to reassign Hilton to electronic monitoring, despite Sauer's specifically barring that option. Baca strongly denied that Hilton had received any preferential treatment and said she had served about the same time in jail as others sentenced for similar crimes.
To the displeasure of prosecutors and the judge, Hilton returned to her Hollywood Hills home, where she was met by family and an assortment of gourmet cupcakes.
"If law enforcement officials are to enjoy the respect of those we are charged with protecting, we cannot tolerate a two-tiered jail system where the rich and powerful receive special treatment," Los Angeles City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo said.
A spokesman for Sauer said the judge disagreed with letting Hilton out and told sheriff's officials that her release "did not concur" with his sentence.
