Miley Cyrus’ date to MTV awards show turns self in

8/30/2014
Miley Cyrus, front, hugs Jesse Helt, right, at the MTV Video Music Awards. The young homeless man was wanted in Oregon and turned himself in.
Miley Cyrus, front, hugs Jesse Helt, right, at the MTV Video Music Awards. The young homeless man was wanted in Oregon and turned himself in.

PORTLAND, Ore. — The young homeless man who accompanied Miley Cyrus to the MTV Video Music Awards and who had been sought on an Oregon arrest warrant has turned himself in and posted bail, an Oregon official said Thursday night.

Jesse Helt, 22, turned himself in at the Polk County Jail in the Willamette Valley community of Dallas, Ore., was booked on a probation violation warrant and then posted $2,500 bail, said Martin Silbernagel, director of Polk County Community Corrections .

Helt will be expected to appear before a judge in about two weeks, Silbernagel said in a telephone interview.

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.

Helt moved to Los Angeles and lived on the streets while trying to find work as a model.

He gained worldwide attention Sunday when Cyrus let him accept her award for video of the year. Helt, who met Cyrus through the Hollywood homeless center My Friend’s Place, used the platform to call attention to the issue of youth homelessness.

Cyrus selected the charity with help from her friend Trevor Neilson, the president of G2 Investment Group and co-founder of Global Philanthropy Group.