Former "Lost" star Michelle Rodriguez was released from the Lynwood, Calif., jail on Wednesday after serving nearly 18 days of her 180-day sentence.

Joining the club of celebrities who got out of jail early, Rodriguez was reportedly set free due to overcrowded conditions at the jail, despite the fact that a judge had ordered her to serve out her full sentence with no option of work furlough, early release or home confinement.

The 29-year-old actress, who was booked on December 24, left the jail 7:50 p.m. according to her official website. Although the judge, who sentenced Rodriguez to 180 days in jail for violating her probation in a DUI case, made it clear she wanted the actress to serve her full sentence, she ultimately said the Sheriff controlled the jail.

In a similar situation two years ago, Rodriguez served just one day of a 60-day jail sentence for probation violation. She was also ordered to undergo alcohol rehabilitation treatment, perform 30 days of community service and stay on probation until June 2009.
A spokesperson for the sheriff said that as many as 50 non-violent women are released early each day because of overcrowding.

"The sheriff supports, obviously, the desire to have inmates serve their full sentence," but the county has only one women's jail and it is "bursting at the seams," Steve Whitmore, the sheriff’s spokesman said.

Before her portrayal of police officer Ana Lucia Cortez in the successful ABC drama series "Lost," during its second season, Rodriguez garnered public attention and critical appreciation for her role as a teenage boxer in "Girlfight." She has also starred in "The Fast and the Furious" and "S.W.A.T."