Former “Jackass” star Bam Margera will be released to a rehab facility after spending a week in a suburban Philadelphia jail after recently being pulled over for alleged DUI.
Margera's legal team announced outside of the Chester County Courthouse Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, that the 44-year-old reality TV star would be released to a rehabilitation facility for treatment after returning to the county jail.
"It was a very good day in court this morning," attorney Michael T. van der Veen of Philadelphia-based Van der Veen, Hartshorn, Levin & Lindheim said while holding an umbrella outside the courthouse.
The decision to release Margera to a rehab was announced during a brief violation of probation hearing in front of Chester County Judge Patrick Carmody that came two days after the judge requested a substance use evaluation on Margera be completed.
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Court records show that Margera was jailed in Chester County since last Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, following a driving under the influence arrest in south central Pennsylvania days earlier.
In court Monday, it was noted that Margera had been doing OK with substance and alcohol usage, but recently relapsed and was cited for DUI.
Due to a past DUI arrest in California and Margera's history of substance issues, the judge decided the incident is about more than just a probation violation. Carmody said that the choice of intoxicated driving scares him, hence the evaluation needed to be done.
Cameras are not allowed to capture images inside Pennsylvania courtrooms, so Margera wasn't photographed or seen on video.
What's next for Bam Margera?
Under the terms of the release from jail ,Margera will get short-term inpatient rehab, van der Veen and William J. Brennan of Philadelphia-based Brennan Law Offices said outside court following the hearing.
Margera is being placed at "a world-renowned facility," Brennan said, while not naming the rehab. By going to the facility he is going to, the placement can take place quickly.
Margera's legal team called the DUI incident "one hiccup" in what has otherwise been a good time for Margera as he has gotten married and renewed his work. They said he is missing his wife and the "people that he loves" while behind bars.
"He'll get some short-term inpatient rehab and he'll be back on the road to a successful career and a happy family," van der Veen said.
"Probably in a couple weeks this all will be over," Brennan said.
Margera's legal team praised Judge Carmody -- calling the case one of rehabilitation, not punishment.
Why was Bam Margera on probation in the first place?
Back in June, Margera was sentenced to six months on probation after pleading guilty to disorderly conduct over an altercation at his home near Philadelphia.
Margera was charged with assaulting his brother and making threats to other family members during what the brother called a “frightening and unpredictable” two-week visit home last year.
The plea ended a long legal case that spun out of his stay at the Chester County home known as "Castle Bam." At a hearing last year, Margera told the judge he was getting drug and alcohol treatment.
Jess Margera, at the same court hearing, called his brother “a good dude when he’s not messed up,” but said he had exhibited troubling behavior for two decades and, while home, had been awake for days. Jess Margera suffered a ruptured eardrum in the altercation, while Margera’s girlfriend at the time called police when he kicked in her bedroom door, the brother testified.
At the time of Margera's June plea, Brennan said Margera pleaded guilty to two summary offenses, and was clean, sober and productive a year after the arrest.
“You can really say he won his case before today just by turning his life around,” Brennan said.
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