Michelle Rodriguez has said that she doesn't like being in one place for too long. Hopefully she can handle 60 days.
The Lost actor, whose tough-as-nails ex-cop character Ana Lucia bit the dust a few weeks ago, was sentenced to 60 days in county jail Monday after admitting she violated the terms of her 2004 probation sentence for DUI-related misdemeanor charges, the Los Angeles city attorney's office confirmed.
Rodriguez is expected to turn herself in by May 31. Judge Rex Heeseman also sentenced her to 30 days of community service for the L.A. Sheriff's Department, and she must abstain from alcohol while undergoing court-ordered educational alcohol monitoring. To further fill her post-Lost schedule, Rodriguez was ordered to attend a MADD victim impact session and a hospital-morgue program (where the tragic effects of driving under the influence are displayed in full force). Her probation has been extended to 2009.
The 27-year-old actor opted to spend five days behind Hawaiian bars and pay a $500 fine in lieu of community service last month after pleading guilty to one DUI count. She was pulled over Dec. 2 and recorded a blood alcohol level of 0.17, more than twice the legal limit. (Cast mate Cynthia Watros was pulled over that night, too, and later pleaded guilty to a DUI and was sentenced to counseling. Her character, Libby, joined Ana Lucia on the Lost casualty list May 3.)
Despite the guilty plea, the infraction on Oahu--where Lost is filmed--led L.A. city prosecutors to file a motion to have Rodriguez's current probation revoked. (She was given three years in '04 after pleading no contest to a hit-and-run, driving under the influence and driving with a suspended license.)
While Ana Lucia's exit from Lost certainly coincided with Rodriguez's escalating legal woes, producers swore that her character's fate had nothing to do with her offscreen behavior, which also included three speeding violations in Hawaii since joining the cast in 2005.
Upon completing her short stint in jail on Apr. 28 after four days (getting a day's credit for time served), during which she drew pictures, wrote poetry and sang show tunes with her fellow female inmates ("Blue Hawaii," anyone?), Rodriguez told TVGuide.com that she had signed up to do Lost under the condition that she only be required to put in a year.
"The biggest fear for me is being in one place for too long," she said. "I'm a gypsy. If I stay somewhere too long, it's trouble, as you can see from what happened."
Well, someone sure seems to be maintaining her sense of humor.
As for Ana Lucia's demise at the hands of Michael (is he brainwashed, going nuts or acting out of sheer desperation?!): "Well the boys [executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse] kept their promise. They made sure I went out with a bang."
And what about driving too fast and too furiously?
"It was stupid to drive [drunk]," she said. "But it's something I did because--I honestly believe--I was agitated from the steroids [which she was taking for allergies she had suffered from since arriving in Hawaii]. And I did a lot of stupid stuff that didn't involve just drinking. I was very 'energetic.' Put it that way."
Now that she's no longer Lost, Rodriguez has said that she would like to start her own clothing line."
"I thought it'd be a good idea because I can't rely on a paycheck from Hollywood," she said. "I don't want to have to do some sci-fi movie that I think is really awful. I'm tired of that. So, I'm gonna go make my own money and then decide whether I want to do something in Hollywood, instead of doing it because I need to."
Perhaps designing her fall line will keep her from starting any Girlfights in the L.A. County Jail.