'America's Next Top Model' Runner-Up Arrested for Burglary

By Aditi Mukherji, JD on July 15, 2013 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

A former "America's Next Top Model" contestant was arrested on suspicion of burglary and fraud in Palm Springs, and is slated to appear in court this week.

Maybe she'll cat-walk in?

Renee Alway, 27, was a second runner-up on the show's eighth cycle and is no stranger to "smizing" -- for mugshots, that is.

In all, the model is facing a whopping 20 charges, including 12 felonies.

Among the charges she's facing are burglary, credit card fraud and forgery, resisting arrest, receiving stolen property, narcotics possession, reports Southern California's KNBC-TV.

Alway was arrested June 28 after officers found her hiding with a gun in the garage of a home whose owners were on vacation, according to a statement from the Palm Springs Police Department.

This is the fourth time this year the former model has been arrested, reports Styleite. Alway is being held at a Riverside County jail on $150,000 bail, awaiting her hearing.

Bail isn't meant to act as pre-trial punishment or as a fine. Its purpose is to make sure the defendant shows up for court.

When determining bail, the court looks at a number of factors.

For example, the court will consider whether the person was on parole or probation at the time of the present arrest, the nature and seriousness of danger to others in the community, and evidence of the defendant's character.

Before "America's Next Top Model," Renee was a stay-at-home mother. She and her husband have a young son, according to ANTM411.com. She has stated that it was hard for her to find jobs because she was just lost in a sea of blond-haired, blue-eyed models.

Fortunately for the struggling model, modern bail laws try to emphasize non-monetary methods to make sure a defendant shows up for court. It's meant to avoid discrimination against poor defendants.

Unfortunately for Alway, she blew her chance of getting a better bail option by going on an alleged crime spree while already on bail.

That's right, Alway was also charged with committing a felony while on bail, which is its own separate felony charge.

That certainly factored into why her bail amount shot up to over $150,000.

The model is due in court this week for a drug count evaluation.

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