'Hot felon' Jeremy Meeks of viral mug shot fame is back, and ready to turn his life around
His mug shot went viral following an arrest on weapons charges, and now Jeremy "The Hot Felon" Meeks is hoping to parlay his fame into a new career.
In February 2015, Meeks, 32, was sentenced to two years in federal prison for a weapons violation, and he was released Tuesday after serving about half the time. When the Stockton, California, police department arrested him in June 2014, they posted his mug shot on Facebook, and it was liked, shared, and commented on by thousands of people who were able to look past his then-alleged misdeeds, focusing instead on his blue eyes and high cheekbones. They called him the "hot thug" and "handsome felon," and offered to have his "convict babies" (for the record, he's happily married and already has three children).
While he was incarcerated, several Facebook groups and fundraising efforts were started for Meeks, the Los Angeles Times reports, and he fielded modeling offers and even posted photos to his official and verified Instagram page. He already has a manager, Jim Jordan, who released a statement saying Meeks has a "multitude of offers on the table," and is "humbled and grateful and overwhelmed by the outpouring of love, support, and prayers for him and his family." Before he embarks on his new, yet-to-be-determined career, Meeks has to spend a few weeks in a transitional housing facility, and then, Jordan says, he's "completely free to start his new journey."
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Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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