American Idol’s Jessica Sierra Pleads "No Contest"
American Idol season 4 contestant, Jessica Sierra, has entered a plea of "no contest" after being charged with battery and possession of cocaine. There’s more!
I read this on E! Online:
The would-be singer, who has been in a drug-treatment program in California after pleading no contest to cocaine possession, will be the subject of an episode of VH1’s upcoming reality series Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, premiering Jan. 10.
She is one of nine participants on the show, which will be hosted by Loveline’s Dr. Drew Pinsky; others include Andy Dick, Tom Sizemore and former wrestler Chyna.
Sierra, 22, was arrested Apr. 29 at a Tampa nightclub after hitting a fellow bar patron in the head with a glass.
Wisam Hadad said he had never met the singer; she in turn claimed he spat at her but later acknowledged she may have been mistaken.
She was sentenced Monday to 12 months’ probation and random drug screening after pleading no contest to charges of drug possession and assault stemming from a barroom scuffle back in April.
Circuit Judge Gregory Holder also ordered her to complete her drug-rehab aftercare program and to follow it up with a second component.
More after the jump!
Additionally, she was ordered to pay restitution to Hadad, who also has filed a separate lawsuit against her.
Sierra had hoped to enter a first-time offender diversion program, where the charges against her would be dropped after completion of her sentence, but Hadad objected, making her ineligible for the program.
Instead, the judge withheld a finding of guilt, meaning that the criminal charges will remain on Sierra’s record, but she will not be considered a convicted felon as long as she completes her sentence without incident.
Sierra’s attorney John Fitzgibbons said he was satisfied with the resolution of the case.
"It’s a very typical resolution for a first-time offender with no criminal history," he told the AP.
In addition to appearing on Celebrity Rehab, Sierra is slated to perform at a Washington, D.C., concert for disabled veterans next month—provided her probation officers approve her travel plans.
Well, at least she didn’t try to get out of it. Hopefully, this will be the end of Jessica’s trouble with the law.
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POSTED IN: Other Season 4 Contestants
13 opinions for American Idol’s Jessica Sierra Pleads "No Contest"
North Country Gazette
Nov 20, 2007 at 4:38 pm
Please remove my copyrighted article from your website. You didn’t ask permission and I didn’t grant permission for you to reprint my work. This is a violation of copyright law and theft of intellectual property. No, it’s not Fair Use.
Jeanne
Nov 20, 2007 at 5:05 pm
No problem. I’m glad to give the link love to someone else. There is a way to disable your text from being copied if you don’t want people to quote you. I think theft is a bit of a stretch. No one here “took” your stuff and claimed it to be theirs. There was a nice big link to your site. No worries, I won’t visit NCG again :) Your writing is safe.
North Country Gazette
Nov 20, 2007 at 6:14 pm
Whatever. It was a little more than a quote. I don’t work for other people to lift the work for nothing. You have a real nice day.
Destin
Nov 21, 2007 at 10:30 am
As someone who has followed this case, is a former reporter, and is familiar with Florida papers, I must say that I was intrigued by the comment exchange above since I had never heard of the North Country Gazette. After Googling it, I found it was based in New York…which means that the the good gazette just did a lot of info borrowing themselves from the stories that originated in Tampa and made the wire. I used to get upset when folks “borrowed” my work too, but I was always the actual originator of the work in question whereas this is just a case of one copier getting upset with another. And yes, the gazette changed some stuff around but paraphrasing does not an original work make.
anthony
Nov 21, 2007 at 10:36 am
No wonder you’re a “former” reporter. Assumption doesn’t go far in the news business. I believe you’ll find NCG covers a lot of Florida news and has on the ground people in Tampa Bay area. Court records are court records. The witch on this forum lifted the entire article. Don’t go trying to play smoke and mirrors. That’s all this “site” is is taking other people’s work. She got caught, pure and simple.
Destin
Nov 21, 2007 at 10:43 am
Anthony, I’m a former reporter because I chose to get a much better paying job. To to be clear: I have no connection whatsoever to this website or its owner; I have never visited her site or yours before today. Court records are indeed court records, but paraphrasing is also paraphrasing. Absolutely nothing in your article is not in the numerous wire stories that all originated from Florida so I think you’re getting upset over it is rather silly. I’ll pose a little challenge to you and your court record access, though include one detail in your story that isn’t on the wire story. I will then in turn do the same.
Destin
Nov 21, 2007 at 10:46 am
Since Anthony may be out there editing…that should be “your”, not “you’re” and there should be a comma after though in the second to last sentence. I’m a former editor too.
And if you’re wondering how I ended up here, it was through a simple Google search.
Jeanne
Nov 21, 2007 at 11:18 am
Excuse me, Anthony? I did not LIFT the entire article. It’s so ridiculous. I worked around a mediocre story and provided a lead in for it “The North Country Gazette reports…” I didn’t use this as my own. I’ve never heard of that publication before and I think that any exchange or name-calling on a PUBLIC forum shows the professionalism of the NCG, especially if you are affiliated with them.
It’s the internet. Go to Yahoo, CNN, blogs, etc… you’re gonna find the same story and it usually comes from Reuters or AP. I don’t think I’ve ever been to the AP or Reuters site - I can’t even tell you if they have one. But because their name is attached to articles that other people cite, they are well-known.
A little name and link placement can go a long way.
Calling people “witches” just shows lowered character. It’s deplorable.
Jeanne
Nov 21, 2007 at 11:18 am
Thank you, Destin, by the way :)
Lauren(lolo)
Nov 21, 2007 at 2:55 pm
What the crap???
Am I missing something? How is that theft? Jeanne linked to your article and gave you credit for it and you call that theft? You’re getting upset for nothing!
Wipe the tears away and move on…
Lauren(lolo)
Nov 21, 2007 at 3:03 pm
Plus, no one really gives a crap about the North Country whatever it is.
Jyle
Nov 21, 2007 at 4:15 pm
I need you as a friend Destin. Do you have a blog?
Destin
Nov 21, 2007 at 6:26 pm
Nah, I don’t, but thanks Jyle. :-) Ditto Jeanne. Later!
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