‘American Idol’ Alum Antonella Barba Ordered To Undergo Mental Examination While Serving 45 Months In Prison

“American Idol” star Antonella Barba has been ordered to undergo a mental examination and drug rehab in her criminal case.

According to court documents obtained by The Blast, Barba will not only have to spend 45 months behind bars but complete mental health and drug programs.

Earlier this month, Barba finally found out her fate in the criminal case accusing her of playing a role in a drug ring selling Fentanyl.

In newly filed docs, the judge ordered Barba to enter a prison that is close to her home of New Jersey. The prison must have a facility with a residential drug abuse program for Barba to complete. She must be provided a mental health evaluation, diagnosis and treatment as needed.

Once she checks out of prison she will have to complete five years of supervised release. Barba will be subject to one drug test within 15 days of her release. She will then be randomly tested by her probation officer throughout the five years.

She will be prohibited from hanging out with other convicted criminals or drinking or taking drugs. The judge said if Barba tests positive for drugs or signs of drinking, she will have to enter rehab and pay for the costs.

Barba is currently behind bars serving her 45 months sentence.

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Back in August, Barba plead guilty to possessing and distributing fentanyl. She reached a plea deal with prosecutors. She is facing 10 years in prison in the case.

Prior to her sentencing, Barba pleaded with the judge to not throw the book at her. Barba’s lawyer argued, “The extent of Ms. Barba’s involvement, in this case, is limited to delivering one shipment of drugs and that single instance forms the sum total of her relevant conduct “

Further, “Ms. Barba had very little if any insight into the scope and structure of this conspiracy. In fact, prior to receiving the package, she did not know the type of substance or the quantity she was to deliver. Ms. Barba also did not participate in any of the planning or organization nor did she exercise any decision making authority. As indicated above, Ms. Barba’s conduct in this offense was limited to this single delivery. That was her sole responsibility; she picked up a package and transported it from one location to another.”The documents noted, “Ms. Barba was told where to go, when to go, and what to do when she got there. She did not break down the contents of the package into smaller amounts for resale and she did not collect any proceeds. She had no pecuniary interest in the package and did not stand to benefit in any way by the sale of the narcotics. Ms. Barba was paid only to deliver the package.”

Her mother even blamed “American Idol” for the downfall. The docs said, “one of the common themes is that the American Idol experience brought about a detrimental change in Ms. Barba’s life. For instance, K.J. notes that Ms. Barba’s sudden move to Hollywood following American Idol “was a recipe for disaster” and when it came to pass that Ms. Barba was unable to “achieve the results she wanted, it was devastating to her.” Likewise, Ms. Barba’s mother believes when American Idol happened and “the world intruded and interrupted her . . . dream of a career in architecture” that this is “where it all went wrong”.

Barba was facing 10 years in prison or a maximum sentence of life in prison, a fine of $10,000,000, a possible forfeiture of assets, and five years of supervised police.

Barba was allegedly one of the multiple members of a drug conspiracy that was active in Virginia from 2017 through the fall of 2018.

Barba was attempting to deliver approximately 830.8 grams of fentanyl on the day of her arrest. She also had an additional 400 grams of a "mixture or substance" containing a detectable amount of fentanyl. Barba appeared on the sixth season of “American Idol” and made the Top 16 (Jordin Sparks took home the crown).