Paris Hilton Admits Lying, Avoids Jail

"Purpose here is to change your conduct," declares judge

You can call Paris Hilton a liar, but at least she's not an inmate.

The hotel heiress appeared in a Las Vegas courtroom early Monday to answer to charges stemming from her Aug. 27 drug arrest and pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors – drug possession and obstructing an officer. Hilton was required to state exactly what she did wrong on both counts.

"Guilty, your honor," she said after being charged with the first. "I was in possession as well as tell an officer that the bag wasn't my purse."

Pressed to state for the record what she was in possession of, Hilton responded: "Cocaine, your honor."

Then, she copped to the obstruction charge.

"Guilty, your honor," she pleaded. "I said that the purse wasn't mine to the officer, your honor."

The plea helped the 29-year-old blond beauty stay out of jail, but not without a stern warning. She'll be on probation for a year, and any arrest will land her in the clink.

"The purpose here is to change your conduct," Clark County Detention Center Justice of the Peace Joe Bonaventure told Hilton.

Hilton was nabbed just before midnight on Las Vegas Boulevard after police pulled over her boyfriend Cy Waits' SUV. Waits was arrested on DUI drug charges. Cops busted Hilton when a bag containing .8 grams of cocaine fell out of her purse.

On Monday, Hilton wore a white blouse and black pencil skirt when she arrived with her attorney, David Chesnoff. The lawyer later told reporters Hilton was given no favors by the justice system.

"She was treated like anyone else would be treated under the circumstances, and I'm very proud of the way she's dealt with this," he said. "I think she's on the road to success and I wish her personally the best."

Hilton must also complete a substance-abuse program, pay a $2,000 fine and complete 200 hours of community service.

"Defendant shall stay out of trouble. Defendant agrees that an arrest for any charge, excluding minor traffic violations for which a citation is issued, shall result in the immediate termination of her probation and the execution of the suspended sentences," reads the deal.

Telling the judge multiple times that she understood and agreed to the plea bargain, Hilton admitted that she lied to Las Vegas police officers when she told them the purse that contained the cocaine wasn't hers.

Selected Reading: E! Online, People, TMZ.

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