The homeless man who accompanied Miley Cyrus to the MTV Video Music Awards has turned himself into police in Oregon, where a warrant was out for his arrest.
Jesse Helt made headlines last week (August 24) when he stepped up and raised awareness of homelessness among young people in America at the VMAs. However, it soon emerged that there was an arrest warrant against him for a probation violation, and that he was wanted in his native Polk County, Oregon.
As Billboard reports, Helt has now turned himself in and posted $2,500 bail at the Polk County Jail. He will be expected to appear before a judge in about two weeks. Helt’s mother gave an interview to a local newspaper saying that that her son had flown back after the VMAs using money given to him by Cyrus.
Court records show that Helt pleaded guilty to misdemeanor criminal mischief and criminal trespass several years ago after breaking into the apartment of a man he believed to be selling bad marijuana. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail and probation. The arrest warrant was issued in November 2011 after he violated probation.
Cyrus condemned the media following news of Helt’s criminal past emerging after the award ceremony. The pop star took 22-year-old Jesse Helt to the MTV VMAs as her guest, having met him at homeless youth centre My Friend’s Place.
The media never fails to disappoint. You’ve chosen to go after Jesse instead of covering the issue of youth homelessness 🙁
— Miley Ray Cyrus (@MileyCyrus) August 26, 2014