Homeless man who accepted award for Miley Cyrus is wanted by police
Miley Cyrus. Photo Works / Shutterstock.com
A homeless man who accepted an award for Miley Cyrus at the Video Music Awards on Sunday has a warrant out for his arrest for an alleged probation violation.
Jesse Helt, 22, said he was accepting the award on behalf of 1.6 million runaway and homeless youths in the United States “who are starving, lost and scared for their lives right now. I know this because I am one of these people.”
Helt has an outstanding warrant for his arrest issued in November 2011 after he allegedly failed to report to his probation officer in Oregon, report the Telegraph, CNN and ABC News.
The stories cite court records indicating that Helt pleaded no contest to charges of criminal mischief and criminal trespass after he was arrested in 2010, allegedly for breaking into an apartment in a dispute over marijuana. He was sentenced to probation and drug treatment.
Cyrus defended Helt in a tweet. “People who are homeless have lived very hard lives. Jesse included,” she wrote. “I hope that this can be the start of a national conversation about youth homelessness and how to end it.”
