Back in April, Ryan Edwards was arrested following a public meltdown that could have ended in tragedy.
After accusing Mackenzie Standifer of cheating on him, Ryan stalked and harassed her, and trashed the house they once shared to the point that it was no longer livable.
At the time of his arrest, Ryan was found passed out in his car with multiple drugs in the glove compartment.
Edwards was on probation at the time of his most recent brush with the law, and it was widely assumed that he would remain behind bars for a long time to come.
So Ryan was probably as surprised as anyone when a judge granted a furlough on the condition that he check into an addiction treatment facility.
Ryan was serving a 1-year sentence for harassing Mackenzie, and he’s still awaiting trial for a slew of other charges.
But Judge Gary Starnes took pity on the 35-year-old former reality star and gave him one last chance at getting clean.
“It’s time for you to go to the program. It’s your last chance to do this,” the judge told Ryan, according to UK tabloid The Sun.
“You need to do what you can. If you violate rehab, if you leave, you’ll be charged with escape and you will get consecutive sentences.”
Judge Starnes revealed that he had reviewed Ryan’s extensive legal and medical histories — which he called “disturbing” — before reaching his decision.
The judge indicated that Ryan’s time in rehab would count toward his sentence, and he hinted that successfully completing treatment would lead to a shorter sentence for his other crimes.
“You don’t want to spend two to three years in custody if you can get treatment,” said the judge.
Ryan is due back in court on August 14, at which time, Judge Starnes will evaluate his progress.
It’s the sort of second chance that many inmates would no doubt kill for.
But there’s reason to believe that Ryan might not be able to take advantage of it.
After all, Edwards has fled rehab multiple times, with his most recent escape coming earlier this year.
It was a development that left Judge Starnes with no choice but to lock him up.
Interestingly, Mackenzie was in court, but the reporter for The Sun says she did not communicate with Ryan or his parents in any way.
Mack and Ryan have two children together, and she was likely on hand just to find out what sort of fate would be handed down to the father of her kids.
No one from Ryan’s family has publicly commented on the situation.
We’ll have further updates on this developing story as new information becomes available.
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