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" American Idol hopeful Jacob Lusk served time in jail before joining the show for riding on an LA train without purchasing a ticket. In February 2009, Lusk was issued a ticket by police for illegally riding a train, with an arrest warrant following after the singer failed to appear at a court hearing, reports TMZ. Following his American Idol audition in November of last year, the Compton native was stopped for a traffic violation and arrested when the police officer discovered his outstanding warrant. After pleading no contest to illegally riding the train, Lusk served three days in jail and was sentenced to two years of probation by the presiding judge. Lusk later learned that American Idol would not allow him to advance in the competition due to his probationary status.  In a last ditch effort to save his American Idol bid, he returned to court and successfully convinced the judge to terminate the probation so he could pursue his dream. Posting on his official Twitter account on Friday, Lusk didn&amp;#039;t specifically reference the matter but did indicate that his fans would be surprised by the hardships he&amp;#039;s suffered. He noted: &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;ve been through a whole lot more than folks would know in this lifetime...BUT GOD has KEPT ME...and I am so thankful! Be blessed! (sic)&amp;quot; The aspiring musician has wowed the judges over the course of his time on Idol with soulful performances of songs including &amp;#039;Papa Was a Rollin&amp;#039; Stone&amp;#039; and &amp;#039;God Bless The Child&amp;#039;. Before competing on the reality series, Lusk had been a member of a gospel group formed by the late rapper Nate Dogg. American Idol airs Wednesdays and Thursdays on Fox. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/showbiz/american-idol/news/a314841/jacob-lusk-served-jail-time-before-idol/>