Michelle Rodriguez's Four-Hour Jail Stint

TMZ has learned Michelle Rodriguez's 60-day DUI jail sentence turned into four hours and 27 minutes behind bars -- a byproduct of overcrowding and budget problems in LA's jails.

The 'Lost' star checked herself into jail last Thursday to begin a 60-day sentence for DUI-related probation violations. At the time, the star said she would serve her time, then flee the country for France.

But a spokesman for the LA city attorney's office said Rodriguez was released after just less than four and a half hours as part of a book and release program typical for non-violent offenders with sentences of less than 90 days. Steve Whitmore, a spokesman for the LA County Sheriff's Department, said the early release program was implemented in 2002 "as a last resort" to meet budget cuts that reached $180 million.