RENO, Nev. - Girls Gone Wild founder Joe Francis will remain in a Nevada jail to avoid being sent to Florida to be arrested on another charge, the Associated Press reported today.
Arrangements for Francis' release on $1.5 million bail were being finalized yesterday when the circuit judge presiding over his Florida case revoked his bond on state charges filed in 2003 of using minors in sexual performances, conspiring to use minors in sexual performances and prostitution.
The Florida judge also ordered Francis held on new state charges of possession of a controlled substance and possession of contraband, charges stemming from an incident last month in which Francis is accused of bribing a Bay County Jail guard for bottled water to wash down smuggled tranquilizers.
"We had hoped he'd be out today," Francis' defense lawyer David Houston told the Associated Press. "If I post [bail], Joe Francis goes to Florida, and it took us a month to get him here. There's no reason for me to want to send him back to that environment."
Francis was extradited from Florida to Nevada to face federal tax evasion charges. According to Houston, Francis arrived in Reno on Monday and appeared at a hearing in which he pleaded not guilty.
Francis is also facing charges in California over a January incident in which he allegedly groped an 18-year-old girl at a Hollywood birthday party.
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