Nick Hogan (née Nick Boella), son of famed wrestler Hulk Hogan who was sentenced to 8 months of incarceration (including 5 years probation, 500 hours of community service and 3 years driver’s license revocation) last May after pleading “no contest” to the felony charge of reckless driving involving serious bodily injury (stemming from a car accident that occurred in 2007 that left his friend John Graziano in a vegetative state), was released early this morning after serving only 166 days of his sentence on account of good behavior. Nick’s older, more famous, sister Brooke Hogan (also née Boella) was on hand at the Pinellas County Jail in Clearwater, FL to collect her little jailbird bro. Here are a few photos of Nick walking free from the jail in the wee hours this morning:
Six months after going to jail following his no-contest plea on a reckless driving charge, Nick Bollea (a.k.a. Nick Hogan), son of Hulk Hogan, was released from jail early Tuesday morning (October 21). According to the Tampa Tribune, the 18-year-old Bollea raced into the arms of his sister, Brooke Hogan, upon his release from Pinellas County Jail, where he served 166 days of an eight-month sentence in connection with an August 2007 street racing crash that severely injured Bollea’s friend, John Graziano. Bollea, who was released early for good behavior, walked out of Pinellas County Jail at 12:30 a.m. and did not speak to photographers before getting into a sport utility vehicle and heading home. His mother, Linda Bollea, released a statement Tuesday morning asking the media to respect the family’s privacy.
“This is our time as a family to come together to support Nick’s adjustment back into the public life, keeping it as normal as possible,” she said. “Neither Nick, nor we as a family, has any interest in making this anything but private. We respect the media’s role and only ask that they respect our privacy. Nick went into prison as a juvenile and has experienced something that will mold and affect him for the rest of his adult life. His focus is to make a positive difference in this world, media-free. Since his future actions will speak louder than any words, there is no need to speak to the media at this time.”
Bollea, a veteran of his father’s “Hogan Knows Best” show on VH1, had said in jail that he wanted to star in his own reality show after release, an idea Graziano’s lawyer, George Tragos, felt was exploitative. “It’s awful Nick is going to get a reality show because he went to jail because of the permanent harm he caused another human being,” Tragos said, according to the Tribune.
Brooke Hogan not only was there to collect her just-sprung brother from jail but she also seems to have gotten a new tattoo in honor of her brother Nick’s new lease on life:
I think it shows a real strength of character and the true bonds of committed support for an older sister to get a Redemption “stripper plate” or “tramp stamp” tattoo for one’s younger brother who was just released from jail for almost killing a person. Even if her tattoo has nothing at all to do with her brother — kudos, still, for having the foresight to get such an apropos tattoo in the first place. I gotta say, I’m actually surprised that Nick ended up serving 6 of his 8 month sentence. While I honestly believe he should be locked up for much more time, I’m impressed that he was forced to serve so much of his sentence (rather than getting out after a month like his family tried to pull off earlier this year). It remains to be seen if Nick will actually stay out of the media spotlight (those reality TV camera lights can be very inviting) but I sincerely hope that he manages to stay out of trubs. I also am still hoping for a full recovery by John Graziano, who has been sentenced to a punishment far worse than incarceration and for a much longer period of time.
[Photo credit: INFdaily, Splash News; Source]
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