Tampabay.com
DECEMBER 03, 2007

Her 15 minutes of fame are up

Special to the Times
Sierra, of Tampa, first made headlines in early 2005 as  a top contestant on 'American Idol'.

Jessica Sierra multimedia report
View our extended transformation photo gallery, watch video of Sierra's first appearance in which the judge suggests she find a "new form of entertainment," and watch surveillance video from the night of her arrest.

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TAMPA - After wrestling on the ground following her ejection from an Ybor City club, former American Idol contestant Jessica Sierra punched an off-duty police officer before spewing racial slurs and offering an arresting officer sexual favors for her release, according to a Tampa Police news release.

Sierra_2Sierra, 22, (left) was tossed from Full Moon Saloon Saturday after police said she became belligerent. Outside the club, Sierra walked away but turned back and charged toward a group of clubgoers and yelling profanities, police said.

When officers tried to arrest her , she pushed away and tried to flee. While in custody, police said, Sierra "went back and forth from being combative to apologetic."

In documents made public Tuesday, police detailed the time between her ejection from the Full Moon Saloon until the time Sierra was booked into the Orient Road Jail.

According to the report:

Sierra was outside the club, protesting her ejection with club manager Justin Hay when and officer intervened. Police noted she was "unsteady on her feet and had glassy appearance to her eyes."

After grabbing her arm, Sierra pushed the officer then walked away. The officer grabbed her a second time, and she struck him in the stomach with an open hand. Again, she walked away, this time followed by a friend hoping to calm her down.

Instead, Sierra charged down the sidewalk, pushing people in her way. Sierra and the unidentified friend ended up fighting on the ground.

Placed into a police cruiser, an unruly Sierra started screaming profanities at the officers until she vomited in the back seat. The officer allowed a friend to clean her up with paper towels.

On the way to jail, Sierra was unruly, "disorderly and argumentative at one moment and then apologetic the next." Then came the pleas.

Sierra said she'd do anything to be released, including propositioning the officer for oral sex and letting loose racially-oriented profanities after her proposition was denied.

She vomited once more in the cruiser before pulling into jail, where she continued her profane tirades until she was placed in isolation from other inmates.

Sierra was charged with disorderly intoxication 52322656kw047_americanidol_3 and obstructing or opposing an officer without violence. She was also charged with violating her probation for throwing a cocktail glass at a Hyde Park Cafe patron in April.

Sierra made her first appearance in court Sunday, where she was reprimanded by a Hillsborough County judge.

"Obviously the bar scene isn't working out so well for you," the judge said. "I would suggest that you find another form of entertainment."

John Fitzgibbons, Sierra's attorney, said his client's troubles were the result of her substance abuse.

"Jessica’s most recent problems show once again the wretched curse of drug and alcohol addiction," he said. "It is a horrific disease that has literally destroyed the lives of countless talented and well-known athletes, singers and movie stars, as well as countless other people who are not in the public spotlight.

"There are no easy solutions to addiction and the prognosis is often poor for someone in Jessica’s position, but we will continue to do our best to get her additional help," he said.

-- Casey Cora and Colleen Jenkins, Times staff writer

Photo on left: Booking photo courtesy of Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

Photo on right: Sierra celebrated after being named an Idol finalist in March 2005. Getty Images

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